Coach Jeff Winkler

I began my relationship with cycling at age 17. What started as riding to and from school quickly became a lifelong pursuit that has now spanned more than four decades as an athlete, competitor, coach, and student of the sport. My racing career took me from the junior ranks to the national team, where I represented the United States from 1989 to 1990. Along the way, I earned a collegiate national championship and raced professionally in both the United States and Europe.

While those experiences shaped my understanding of performance, my greatest education has come from the thousands of hours spent coaching athletes and continuing to challenge myself on the bike. After four decades in the sport, I've seen training trends come and go. What remains constant is helping athletes train consistently, stay healthy, and arrive at the start line ready to perform.

For more than 30 years, I've coached cyclists at every level, from athletes preparing for their first major event to national champions and riders who have gone on to compete at the highest levels of the sport. During my time coaching the University of Colorado Cycling Team, I helped guide athletes to multiple individual and team national championships across road, mountain bike, and cyclocross disciplines. Among the many athletes I've coached are riders who later achieved success on the world stage, including Grand Tour winner Sepp Kuss.

Today I continue to compete in gravel, mountain bike, and endurance events, because I believe great coaching requires staying connected to the realities athletes face today. In recent years, I've raced events including Unbound Gravel, Leadville Trail 100 MTB, SBT GRVL, the Belgian Waffle Ride Series, USA Cycling National Championships, and other premier gravel and mountain bike events throughout the country. I've also completed endurance challenges such as the Colorado Triple Crown Cycling Loop, an Everesting, and a 23-day "Grand Tour" on Zwift.

My coaching philosophy is straightforward: successful training must fit into a successful life. Most athletes are balancing careers, families, travel, recovery, and countless competing demands. My role is to help them train intelligently, build confidence, stay healthy, and perform at their best when it matters most. Whether your goal is finishing your first gravel race, conquering Leadville, qualifying for a championship event, or standing on the podium, the process starts with understanding your unique strengths, challenges, and goals.

What continues to inspire me after all these years is seeing athletes discover they're capable of more than they believed possible. There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone achieve a goal they once thought was out of reach.