A unique component of the Best Buddies Breakaway Camps are the caliber of pro riders providing guidance, support and jaw-dropping stories of careers spent racing at the World Championship level. Pros selected for each camp may range from current superstars, emerging neo-pros or legends recently retired from racing.
Our pro ambassadors have included: Chris Froome, Mari Holden, Tim Johnson, Cole Kessler, Andrew Talansky, Geraint Thomas, Cam Wurf, & others.
Renowned as one of the most accomplished stage racers in history, the 41-year-old Contador is celebrated for his dynamic climbing skills and has clinched victories in all three Grand Tours, marking his presence in the cycling world with nearly every significant stage race on the UCI World Tour.
Nicknamed El Pistolero, he dominated the sport for more than a decade before retiring in 2017. He has served as a commentator for Eurosport television since 2018 and recently launched Team Polti-Kometa.
A native of the Pinto district in Madrid, Contador’s journey from an amateur to a professional cyclist saw him turning professional in 2003 and claiming victories in some of the most grueling climbing stages across the globe. His breakthrough came in 2007 with a win at the Tour de France, followed by victories at both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in 2008, accumulating seven Grand Tour wins over his career.
Contador’s connection to Best Buddies mission of inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is personal, inspired by his younger brother, Raul, who lives with cerebral palsy.
A native of New York raised in Miami, Andrew Talansky enjoyed success as a high school runner. But at 17 cycling drew his interest. He never looked back.
At Lees-McRae College in North Carolina, he won the national collegiate championships in 2008 as a freshman. Hooked, he moved to Italy to race at the professional level and bounced between Europe and the U.S., posting impressive results in 2010. This included winning the Under-23 National Time Trial Championship in 2010 and placing second in the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir in France. Rung-by-rung he continued climbing the ladder of sport. He scored his first professional win at the 2012 Tour de l’Ain, winning the points jersey, scoring a stage win, and taking the overall. He finished second in the Tour de Romandie, also claiming the best young rider jersey. Talansky also made a stunning debut in a Grand Tour, the Vuelta a Espana, finishing seventh overall.
The hits kept on coming with a top 10 overall in the Tour de France (2013), second at Paris-Nice (2013), victory at the Criterium du Dauphine (2014), a national time trial championship (2015), 5th overall in the Vuelta Espana (2016), and stage wins in the Tour of Utah and the Tour of California, with overall third place finishes in both events.
In 2018, Talansky switched focus and went into the sport of triathlon and began to transition his career to coaching, living in Northern California where he runs Talansky Performance Group. During his cycling career he also attended several of the Best Buddies Challenge rides as a pro ambassador.
About the Talansky Performance Group: talanskyperformancegroup.com
Cam Wurf was labeled the “world’s most versatile elite endurance athlete” by podcaster and wellness guru Rich Roll. A native of Tasmania and longtime ambassador for Best Buddies, Wurf has achieved world-class status in three sports. Having competed in rowing at the 2004 Olympics, Wurf switched to cycling with immediate success. He earned a spot in the UCI World Tour in Europe and completed the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia. He then became one of the top triathletes in the world, setting the fastest bike time in two successive editions of Kona. Popular with fans and other riders, Wurf is referred to as the “Chief Motivation Officer” of every team he joins. For that, the INEOS Grenadiers recruited the Australian for both cycling and triathlon. Now 40, Wurf shocked not only pundits but also his fellow riders when he delivered a solid team ride in Paris-Roubaix, finished the grueling “Queen of the Classics”, and then laced up running shoes and ran a half marathon for training.
