Meet Our Coaches
Years of Experience - On and Off Race Courses
Cadence's cycling and triathlon training staff is comprised of an unparalleled group of accomplished athletes and seasoned coaching professionals. Each coach has been hand-picked based on their qualifications, personality, and track record. Not only does each coach need to bring valuable experience and credentials to our operation, but they must also share our clients' enthusiasm, passion, and even obsession for the sport. We are extremely proud of the coaching staff we have assembled, and we are certain that each coach will provide you with a level of personal service, attention, and dedication never before experienced.
Please review below the credentials of Cadence's Philadelphia triathlon coaching team. You'll quickly see what sets Cadence apart!
Brian Walton
VP In Charge Of Performance - Cadence Partner
bwalton@cadencecycling.com
Unequalled racing and coaching experience is provided by Cadence partner, Brian Walton. Brian has one of the most illustrious histories in professional cycling, a history that began with the notorious 7-11 Team and the likes of Sean Yates, Bob Roll, Norm Alvis, Eric Heiden, Alex Stieda, and Frankie Andreu. From 7-11, Brian became a teammate to Lance Armstrong with Team Motorola, and subsequently went on to be the team leader for Team Saturn from 1993 to 2000.
In all that time, Brian had both overall victories, stage wins and top GC results in some of the world's most prestigious races, including the Milk Race, the Tour of Langkawi, the Tour of Japan, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan American Games, and the Giro d'Italia.
Brian was a three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, 2000), and took home the Silver Medal in the 1996 Olympics in the Points Race. He raced numerous times in Philadelphia's own US Pro Championships, where he placed in the Top Four on 3 occasions and finished Second twice.
From 2000 to 2003, Brian was the head coach and Directeur Sportif for Team Snow Valley, the Nation's premier elite men's racing team. As coach for Snow Valley, Brian was elected USA Cycling's Developmental Coach of the Year, and nominated to the USOC's 2003 Coaching Forum. In 2005, Brian was chosen as the Executive Cycling Coach for USA Triathlon's U23 Team and directs Cadence's coaching program for the United States Marines Corps' Triathlon Team. It's no coincidence that the United States won it's first USAT World Championship in 2005!
Brian Walton's palmares:
- Olympic Silver Medalist – Points Race 1996
- 3 Time Olympic Team Member (1988, 1996, 2000)
- 3 Time Pan American Games Gold Medalist
- 1995 Gold-Road Race (Mar del Plata, Argentina)
- 1995 Gold-Points Race
- 1995 Bronze-Pursuit
- 1999 Gold–Road Race (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
- 1995 Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal – Scratch Race
- 1989 Overall Winner Milk Race (Tour of Britain)
- 1988 Overall Winner International Dortmund Ritter
- 1991 Overall Winner International Tour of Bavaria
- 1991 Winner Stage 6 (Time Trial) Tour of Pays Basque (over Miguel Indurain)
- 10 Time Canadian National Champion-Road and Track
In 2006, Brian was inducted into British Columbia's Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and recognized for his lifelong accomplishments in the sport of cycling.
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Brady Gibney
Performance Center Manager - Road Racing, Time Trialing, Bike Fitting & Physiological Testing
bgibney@cadencecycling.com
After competing in running races for as long as he can remember, Brady gave it all up when he went to college to get a degree and a “real” job. Two years into school, though, made Brady realized he missed training and competing in organized sports. That spring while watching the Little 500 collegiate bike race, best known for being featured in the movie “Breaking Away,” he realized sitting in a cubicle was not his destiny. Brady got a bike and never looked back. One year later, he had moved up to a category 3 bike racer, won both state championship and collegiate races, and had become the 2004 Little 500 Rookie of the Year.
After graduation, Brady moved from Bloomington to Chicago and raced full time in the summer, even putting 25,000 miles on his car in his first year racing in the elite category. Shortly thereafter, Brady moved to Philadelphia, joined the Alliance Environmental racing team as a Cat. 1, and joined the staff at Cadence as a Level 2 USAC Certified Coach. Brady utilizes his degree in TV production while working on
CadenceTV as well as his racing experience to get riders comfortable and efficient with our bike fittings.
Brady Gibney's Racing Palmares:
- 2004 – Little 500 Rookie of the Year
- 2005 – Two stage wins: Superweek International Cycling Classic – Cat. 3
- 2007 – 8th place Wilmington Grand Prix – Elite Category
- 2007 – 4th place Road Race Stage Altoona stage Race – Cat. 2
- 2008 – 3rd place Time Trial – Tour of Millersburg Stage Race – Elite Category
- 2008 – PA State Road Race Championship Bronze Medalist – Elite Category
- 2009 – PA State Criterium Championship Silver Medalist – Elite Category
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Colin Sandberg
Senior Cycling Coach - Road, Cyclo-Cross, and Track Cycling
csandberg@cadencecycling.com
In 1999, Colin graduated from the highly regarded University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Industrial Engineering. After Pitt, Colin began working with Delphi Automotive Systems in Warren, Ohio and pursued his passion for cycling by becoming a formidable amateur racer while obtaining his USA Cycling coaching certification. Now a USAC Level 2 coach, Colin maintains his passion for cycling by training and racing hard.
With the mind of an engineer, Colin is Cadence's resident expert on everything scientific, from shaving a few seconds off a time trial with improved aerodynamics and training techniques to maximizing caloric intake for efficient training and weight loss. Colin's expertise includes: bike fitting, power-based training, and training for masters and juniors. Colin emphasizes a holistic approach in his coaching and examining all aspects of the sport, including: technique, training, recovery, nutrition, tactics, and psychology.
Currently riding for one of the Nation's premier elite teams, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute/GPOA, in 2008 Colin was ranked as the #1 Masters rider in the U.S. He finished 7th in the Master’s National Championship Road Race in 2007, 5th in 2008 and 11th in 2009. He won the Pennsylvania Master’s State Road Race in 2007 and 2008. He has had top-10 finishes in the Tour de Toona and Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic. He won the Turkey Hill Classic Road Race in 2006 and won the Cat. 3 Best All-Around Rider series in 2003.
Colin Sandberg's Racing Palmares:
- 2008 #1 Ranked Masters road racer in U.S.
- 2006 Winner of Turkey Hill Classic
- 2003 Winner of Pennsylvania Cat.3 Best All-Around Rider Series
Colin Sandberg's Coaching Palmares:
- Coached athletes to 6 National Championships, 4 State Championships, and 1 regional championship
- Cadence Coach since 2004
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Holden Comeau
Senior Triathlon & Swimming Coach - Triathlon, Swimming
hcomeau@cadencecycling.com
As a swimmer and an undergraduate at Penn State University, Holden was the 1999 & 2000 NCAA Division I All-American Athlete. In 1999 and 2000, he also secured the ranking of 10th in the World as a member of his team’s 800m Freestyle Relay. For the same period, he was consistently ranked top 50 in the Nation in the 100 and 200 Freestyle events. For his efforts, Holden also earned the title of Big 10 Champion in both 1999 and 2000. In 2000, Holden was invited to participate in the 2000 Olympic Swim Team trials where he was a two-time top 50 finisher.
After retiring from swimming, Holden switched his attention to the sport of triathlon, which rekindled the passion he once held as a cross country and track runner through high school. After only 2 years in the sport, he earned his professional license, and has been racing as an elite athlete ever since. His career has been marked by steady progress, and has exposed him to the best competition in the world, including Olympic medalists and Ironman World Champions. He is an eager student of the sport, and is quickly approaching the ambitious goals he has set for his career.
Holden’s coaching credentials are equally impressive as his personal athletic pursuits, and he engages in the profession with a similar focus. His commitment to Cadence is rooted in an understanding of the value and importance of working with and learning from the training strategies and philosophies of successful coaches. But it is through his commitment to the athletes that he coaches in which he finds motivation and fulfillment for his job. Though already very successful after 4 years as a coach, with proven results and a dedicated roster of athletes, Holden very much feels as though he is just getting started.
Holden has a BA in English from Penn State University and resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Carrie.
Holden’s Racing Palmares:
- USAT Professional Triathlete: 2007-present
- NCAA Division I All-American swimmer – Penn State University
- Big Ten Swimming Champion
- 2008 and 2009 professional triathlon results include top ten finishes in:
- Miami Olympic Triathlon
- Columbia Olympic Triathlon
- Deleware DiamondMan HalfIron
- Geneva, NY ITU Continental Cup
- Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon
- NYC Triathlon
- Westchester Triathlon
- 2009 Triathlon Champion
- Wildwoods Triathlon
- Quakerman Triathlon
Holden’s Coaching Palmares:
- USA Triathlon Certified Coach Level 1
- 2009 Coach of 4 Ironman World Championship Qualifiers
- 2008 Coach of USAT Women’s Professional Triathlete Rookie of the Year
- 2009 Coach of Ironman Coeur d’Alene AG Champion
- 2007-Present Coach of US Marine Corp Triathlon Team
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Michael Gibbons
Cycling Coach - Mountain Biking, Road, Cyclo-Cross
mgibbons@cadencecycling.com
After playing years of soccer at an elite level, Michael decided to enter his first mountain bike race in 1992 and was instantly hooked. After competing in every aspect of the sport, he quickly progressed and was eventually signed by Rocky Mountain Bicycles to ride on their small US team. Michael went on to race for four years on this squad, competing on a national level in cross country, downhill, dual slalom, and 24-hour endurance races. Focusing on the mental aspect of the sport and visualization, Michael won the Pennsylvania State Master's Downhill Championship in 1997 and 1998. Even willing to race on snow, he won the Big Boulder Snow Dual Slalom in 1999.
A non-cycling-related injury forced Michael to retire from mountain bike racing, but he soon decided to take on the challenges of road cycling. He took to this just as he did mountain biking, competing in all forms of the discipline: road races, criteriums, time trials, stage races, and cyclocross.
Since getting his coaching license, Michael passes on his knowledge and love for the sport while persuing his interests in sport psychology and nutrition.
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Jack Braconnier
Triathlon & Running Coach - Triathlon, Running
jbraconnier@cadencecycling.com
Coming from a running background Jack adds a new dynamic to the Cadence coaching staff. Jack’s knowledge of running has been built through years of success in racing a huge range of events. His versatility has enabled him to earn honors in distances as short as 400 meters to distances as long as the marathon. In high school Jack set state and national records as a member of his team’s distance medley relay. He continued his track career running Division 1 cross country and track for one of the most prestigious middle distance track programs in the country at the University of Connecticut.
Following his track career, Jack has taken on training and racing triathlon with the same motivation and passion as he did as a track athlete. He has raced to top results as a triathlete and continues to push to reach the next level.
Jack graduated from the esteemed Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. Before working with Cadence Cycling and Multisport Center, Jack used his degree working with a Sports Medicine practice helping all types of athletes recover from injuries and get back to competition. Eagerly, he uses his knowledge of the body’s biomechanics to provide a bike fit that is not only comfortable but efficient to maximize power output. As a coach Jack uses his physiology background to properly train athletes to achieve their performance goals.
Jack Braconnier’s Racing Palmares:
- 3 Time Track and Field All-American
- Named All-East at IC4A Championships in 2004
- Undefeated in 20-24 age group for 2008 triathlon season
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Ryan Oelkers
Cycling & Triathlon Coach, Cadence Cycling Foundation Executive Director - Road & Track Cycling, Triathlon & Duathlon
roelkers@cadencecycling.com
Ryan has been coaching cyclists and triathletes with Cadence Cycling & Multisport since its inception since 2004. With over 20 years racing experience, 10 as a professional cyclist, Ryan has his share of praiseworthy results including capturing 12 medals at the National Cycling Championships and also winning the 2002 Moscow Six Day Race, where he won with Olympic Champion, Marty Nothstein. Nothstein and Oelkers became the first American team to win a European 6-Day in over 50 years. Ryan has raced with EDS, Sportsbook.com, Fuji and Snow Valley professional cycling teams.
Ryan is a graduate of Kutztown University, is a certified USA Cycling and USA Triathlon coach, and has over 15 years of coaching experience. Previously, he was involved with the American Cycling Academy, where over 80 medals where won at the national championships in junior and senior divisions.
In 2007, Ryan and Cadence Cycling & Multisport owner, Jay Snider, started the
Cadence Cycling Foundation (CCF), a non-profit with a mission to Help Kids Create Opportunities through Cycling. CCF helps Philadelphia youth between the ages of 9 and 18 discover the possibilities that the sport of cycling has to offer and helps develop life skills, goal setting, self-esteem, teamwork and commitment.
The Cadence Cycling Foundation has also developed the Cadence College ConneXion (CCC) to help kids transfer all of the positive traits developed through cycling into a successful college planning, preparation and application process. To develop the CCC program, the Cadence Cycling Foundation initiated a strategic relationship with JEVS Career Strategies, one of the largest, private nonprofit organizations in the Delaware Valley that focuses on education and training, to provide customized programs for our kids, including SAT tutoring, college admissions counseling and financial aid advising.
Working together, the CCF cycling coaches and academic mentors provide the resources, guidance, and support to students throughout high school and in the college preparation process. CCF is deeply committed to changing the lives of youth in the Philadelphia region. For more information on the Cadence Cycling Foundation, please visit
www.cadencefoundation.org.
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