| Alumni

Please email [email protected] if you are a Williams cycling alum who would like to be added to our page.

 

Name: Gabriel Wong

Major: Political Economy, Art History

Bio: Gabriel realized early on that Western Mass truck drivers have way too much time on their hands, and he can now often be found hugging the shoulder, maybe.

Cycling clothing you can’t live without: Probably whatever Lachy Morton’s wearing atm.

Stop and pet the alpacas or keep riding and get the kom: Well my one and only, meager Willytown kom is shared with Adrian, and I think I got it one day after visiting the alpacas… so both? Alpaca power?

Name: Berit Olsson

Major: Astrophysics*
(*has yet to actually take an astronomy class)

Bio: Berit is from Rhode Island, shares a birthday with not one, but two of America’s most hated criminals, and brews a lot of kombucha. She likes the rush of snatching discarded water bottles.

Biggest Exercise Accomplishment: Marathon

Biggest exercise regret: Same marathon but in an unexpected blizzard

Name: Kim Rogers

Major: Biology

Bio: Kim kinda joined as a joke but liked the team so much that she actually went to practice and now sometimes calls herself a cyclist.

Favorite hill: N/A (unless you count descents)

Worst hill: Bee hill

Name: Spencer Huang

Major: Economics

Bio: Spencer is from the San Francisco Bay, a place known for obnoxious groups of cyclists, and for that reason he never rode a road bike before coming to Williams. He joined the team mainly so he could leave campus during Maud’s COVID lockdown, but the picturesque rides into Pownal and North Adams, the best group of teammates, and late night shenanigans at Fitch house means he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. ROOOOOOOLL EPHS!

Cycling goal: Ride down Mount Greylock without ending up in a bush

Favorite ankle exercise: popping pain pills

Name: Kent Barbir

Bio: After taking three tries to pass his driving test, Kent decided that he should probably look at alternative modes of transportation. He finds cycling a great way to see the beauty of the Williamstown area and burn off his favorite dining hall food, Whitmans’ chocolate chip cookies.

Favorite cycling route: Mount Hope

Person you trust to draft behind with your life: Lance Armstrong?

Name: Adrian Moeller

Major: Econ

Bio: From the humble hills of Ann Arbor, Michigan, it’s fair to say Williamstown has been pretty sweet. Fair to say I’m quite passionate about cycling at Williams – some might even call me the team’s #1 fan (sometimes bested by the occasional honking car). Seriously though – gotta love the team. Last words: Roll Ephs, baby!

Bike’s Name: Le Allez

Favorite Williamstown KOM: Easily the Petersburg Pass into NY. Can’t go wrong with Greylock, though.

Name: Li Platz

Major: Environmental studies

Bio: Li likes eating other people’s granola bars and making silly little posts for her silly little Strava profile.

Best part of Wyoming: There are big rocks. Sometimes those rocks are so big that you can climb them.

Craziest thing you’ve done on a bike: Biked with no hands.

Name: Jonathan Fischer

Major: Political Economy, Economics

Bio: After an illustrious ten year career as a slightly above average swimmer, Jonathan decided to take his talents to the world of two wheels and of narrowly missing cars while bombing descents.

Pro cyclist you strive to be: Eddy Merckx “The Cannibal”

Weird talent most people don’t know about: Yelling “roll ephs” at max volume anytime a cow is spotted on a ride.

Name: Sammy Sasaki

Bio: I started cycling because I was too scared to drive and didn’t want to take the bus everywhere. Still can’t drive but at least I can sometimes bike with no hands?

Best coast: west

Favorite post-ride Paresky meal: chocolate cake!

 

 

Name: Niku Darafshi

Major: Geosciences

Bio: Niku has never lived outside of Williamstown. Biking is her sole escape, even though it only lasts a few hours. Someone please help her leave.

Favorite Skyr flavor: Raspberry maple, mixed vigorously, and exclusively eaten on the go.

Craziest thing you’ve done on a bike: I changed a tampon while cycling. When you’re biking across the country, every second counts!

Best tan line: croc tan

Rapper name: lil’ neeks

 

Name: Charles Xu

Major: History

Bio: After his baseball career ended, Charles decided to take up an even more boring sport: cycling. So far, he’s finding his personality to be well-suited for the sport.

Favorite food combo: macaroni and chili (“maca-chili”)

Coolest trick on the bike: Forgetting to clip out.

Favorite moment on the team: Spinning together! Nothing builds team chemistry like a nice Zone 4 workout with friends.

Go-to party accessory: a hug from my JA

 

Name: Austin Huang

Major: Environmental Studies and Sociology

Bio:

Most classes you’ve taken at once:

Favorite ride:

 

Name: Becca Brody

Major: Prospective Biology Major

Bio: Once, during a race, she ran over a girl, so watch out.

Legitimate Fear:  Breaking the one carbon fiber piece of my bike

Illegitimate Fear: Getting murdered while walking back to Tyler Annex at night

Favorite snar order: Water (for Skratch)

 

Name: David Shakirov

Major: Economics

Bio: David is from the flat state of New Jersey! When he was younger, he was scared of biking on roads and would get yelled at for riding on sidewalks. That was a difficult time in his life. Swallowing his fear of the road, he bravely ventured on and now finds himself riding for Williams. His favorite place to cycle is in warm weather along the New Jersey Palisades (with Bruce Springsteen in his ear).

Nickname: Van Dessel

Most Likely: Networking

Pre-race Food: CLIF Bar

Post-race Food: Chicken & Chocolate Milk

 

 

Name: Hannah Jackson

Major: astronomy + geosciences double major

Bio: Bikes and planes are the only things she calls sexy.

Best only-child perk: “involved” parents

Favorite bike tool: chain whip

Least favorite bike tool: gloves

Dream race location: Mars

 

Name: Aidan Lloyd-Tucker

Major: Computer Science and Economics

Bio: Aidan is a junior from Stanford, California. A crunchy granola snack, he’s the least aero rider around. Find him on top of a mountain or at the ~Penthouse~.

Bike: Clark Kent, a titanium beast.

Rule To Live By: Always be outside

Favorite line of code: sudo rm -rf /*

Favorite TV Show: Planet Earth II (very on brand)

 

Name: Ben Platt

Major: Undeclared

Bio: Ben is a sophmore from New York City (best place in the world).  He loves the outdoors and can usually be found on a WOC trip when not cycling. No, he is not the Tony-winning actor Ben Platt, but Ben’s boss this past summer went to school with him and said our Ben was the better one.

Biggest life regret: Not learning to write legibly.

Nicknames: Splatt, Plattypus

Craziest thing you’ve done on a bike: The five-boro bike ride in New York City three times! It’s the only day in the year where cyclists can say “Fuck you!” to cars.

Favorite place to pee on campus: 5th floor Sawyer or the Arc.

 

Name: Ashton Voehl

Major: Undeclared

Bio: Ashton is a sophmore who hails from the great state of Minnesota. He used to be a competitive rower until he switched to a superior sport. He is also an alumni of The Mountain School.

Favorite Cyclist: Used to be Lance… Now it’s Peter Sagan.

Ultimate Pump-Up Song: American Idiot

Favorite Place to Store a Bike: In the closet (dorm room) where he lives.

Last Thing you texted  your mom: Roger.

 

Name: Kim Rogers

Major: Prospective bio major

Bio: Kim kinda joined as a joke but likes the team so much that she actually comes to practice and now sometimes calls herself a cyclist.

Favorite hill: N/A (unless you count descents)

Worst hill: Bee hill

 

Name: Spencer Huang

Major: Economics

Bio: Spencer is from the San Francisco Bay, a place known for obnoxious groups of cyclists, and for that reason he never rode a road bike before coming to Williams. He joined the team mainly so he could leave campus during Maud’s COVID lockdown, but the picturesque rides into Pownal and North Adams, the best group of teammates, and late night shenanigans at Fitch house means he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. ROOOOOOOLL EPHS!

Cycling goal: Ride down Mount Greylock without ending up in a bush

Favorite ankle exercise: popping pain pills

 

Name: Gabriel Wong

Major: Political Economy, Art History?

Bio: A Freshman, Gabriel also happens to be the safer New Yorker on the team, maybe. He realized early on that Western Mass truck drivers have way too much time on their hands, and he can now often be found hugging the shoulder, maybe.

Cycling clothing you can’t live without: Probably whatever Lachy Morton’s wearing atm.

Stop and pet the alpacas or keep riding and get the kom: Well my one and only, meager Willytown kom is shared with Adrian, and I think I got it one day after visiting the alpacas… so both? Alpaca power?

 

Name: Berit Olsson

Major: Astrophysics*
(*has yet to actually take an astronomy class)

Bio: Berit is a freshman from Rhode Island, shares a birthday with not one, but two of America’s most hated criminals, and brews a lot of kombucha. She likes the rush of snatching discarded water bottles.

Biggest Exercise Accomplishment: Marathon

Biggest exercise regret: Same marathon but in an unexpected blizzard

 

Name: Kent Barbir

Major: Undeclared

Bio: After taking three tries to pass his driving test, Kent decided that he should probably look at alternative modes of transportation. He finds cycling a great way to see the beauty of the Williamstown area and burn off his favorite dining hall food, Whitmans’ chocolate chip cookies.

Favorite cycling route: Mount Hope

Person you trust to draft behind with your life: Lance Armstrong?

 

Name: Adrian Moeller

Major: Econ

Bio: From the humble hills of Ann Arbor, Michigan, it’s fair to say Williamstown has been pretty sweet. Fair to say I’m quite passionate about cycling at Williams – some might even call me the team’s #1 fan (sometimes bested by the occasional honking car). Seriously though – gotta love the team. Last words: Roll Ephs, baby!

Bike’s Name: Le Allez

Favorite Williamstown KOM: Easily the Petersburg Pass into NY. Can’t go wrong with Greylock, though.

 

Name: Li Platz

Major: Environmental studies (probably)

Bio: Li likes eating other people’s granola bars and making silly little posts for her silly little Strava profile.

Best part of Wyoming: There are big rocks. Sometimes those rocks are so big that you can climb them.

Craziest thing you’ve done on a bike: Biked with no hands.

Name: TJ Watkins

Major: Undeclared

Bio: TJ is from Oklahoma, and because you probably haven’t been there and don’t plan on going soon, you should know it’s pretty flat. So when he enrolled at Williams, the mountainous riding in the Berkshires turned out to be an… interesting… surprise. Undeterred from the 15+ grade inclines, TJ has enjoyed crushing PRs and trying to race cars in Vermont!

Dream riding location: An endless Rails to Trails with a cool 65 ºF and a slight breeze.

Dream riding companion: Anyone from the cycling team, of course! Love you guys <3