Get To Know Astellas Cycling Team... Ryan Aitcheson

New for 2014, we are proud to sponsor Astellas Cycling in the team's first year as domestic professionals. Get to know the team: 

Name: Ryan Aitcheson

Age: 23

Hometown: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

When/Why did you start cycling? 
Tried out many summer sports and didn’t enjoy them as much as mountain biking. Joined a local club at the age of 13 and rode with them.

What do you like about cycling? 
Started out mountain biking and loved being outdoors in the woods on trails that would always change. The speed also helps.

What do you not like? 
The long hours training, but it's worth it when you win.

What do you do outside of cycling? Jobs, hobbies, family? 
Work at a bike shop and train year around, so not much outside that. I pick up the guitar when I'm home and like to go out with my girlfriend.

When did you start riding with Astellas? 
2013 season. It was their second season around.

How do you feel about becoming a Professional domestic team this year? 
The many years of training have paid off. Being able to call myself a pro after years working up the ladder is a huge step that not many get to take.

What type of racing is your “specialty?” 
Crits and one day races.

What races are you excited for this year? 
Canadian Nationals is my most important race and also Joe Martin, since I have done well in the past.

What bike will you be riding this year? 
One of the C-Series frames. Excited to get it as it looks fast and very unique to the company.

You can follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanAit, and be sure to follow @astellascycling this year.

2014 Litespeed C1R

Cutting-edge.  Smart design. AeroLogic. The aerodynamic design of our C-series flagship, the C1R, was fine-tuned and tested in Charlotte's A2 wind tunnel. We carefully constructed it with aerodynamics in mind at every turn- aero seat post, shrouded water bottle mount, and aero tuned tube cross-sections-so that the C1R reduces average aero wattage by almost 30 watts, a 16% advantage across all yaw angles compared to a traditional road bike.  It is not unlike adding an expensive pair of race wheels to a non-aero bike... minus the expense.

To round out this ground-breaking frame design, we incorporated features such as full internal cable routing for all cables/wires, 60T carbon, Di2 compatibility and BB30 for one loaded bike. The C1R is available as a frameset or completely decked out bike with Shimano Di2 components as shown.

Refined carbon construction for 13% increase in stiffness of front end, thanks to our Reactive Pressure Molding (RPM) carbon fiber construction method.

Unique Aero shrouded water bottle mounting, which makes such necessary cargo almost invisible to the wind.

Morphed seat stay design to increase aero performance, stiffness and ride comfort, while saving weight at the same time.