Julia Violich

Ralf Medloff

“Do, wherever you are, your best, with the things you have” – Winston Churchill

Team Role/Title: Head Mechanic

City and Country of Birth: Berlin (East)/Germany

Currently reside: Corte Madera/California

Ralf was born on May 22nd, 1974 in East Berlin/Germany. Growing up there was a bit different then the life he is enjoying now in Marin. After his whole school education in the East German system he got the chance to go to Munich and study Mechanical Engineering. As a former Track Cyclist he tried to make his way on to road racing, which was a short-lived dream. Knowing that he can make his way in the sport of cycling being “on the other side”, he didn’t look back and started to work for shops and teams as mechanic.

At that time he met his American wife in Munich and followed her, after a couple of years in Munich together, to America. The San Francisco Bay area had so much to offer and he started over again to work with teams and in the cycling world.

After a couple years with smaller teams he took a fulltime position with the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team (known as Jelly Belly Cycling p/b …..) and stayed with them for the last 6 years. He is very fortunate and thankful for the opportunities he got to make his passion for cycling in to a great career. Like they always say: “Follow your heart and the success will come”. He is living on that dream and is looking forward to finally support the women side with his knowledge and expertise.

Prior Teams / Organizations

Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team (6 years)

US National team (Junior Development) (5 years)

Team Waste Management/racelab U23 (2 years)

Neutral support (Mavic)

Five Major career highlights

  • Multiple wins at Tour de L’Abitibi (UCI Junior Nations Cup)
  • Win U23 Jersey at Japan Cup 2012 (Luis Davilla)
  • Win US Pro Nationals 2013 (Freddie Rodriguez)
  • 2nd place Womens Team Pursuit at UCI Track World Cup #3 (2014)
  • 3rd place GC at US Pro Challenge 2014 (Serghei Tvetcov)

What are you looking forward to working with such a strong team of diverse female athletes?

I’m looking forward to give my expertise to a group of talented and strong minded women who deserve to get the best support in achieving there goals. To be there for them in sharing our passion and maximize the success we can achieve together.

What do you see as the most difficult aspects of working for a professional women’s team?

For me I don’t see any difficulty or specialty working for a women’s team. We are all in for the sport and passion and that’s what it comes down to! The women do the same then the men and for that should have given the same chances to achieve their goals and success.

What are your ultimate goals/overall vision for the team and its athletes?

To provide the athlete with the most professionalism and technical support to achieve there goals to the highest possible. My goal for the team is to be a strong support beam as a valuable staff member.

What are the essentials to carry in your saddle bag?

A spare inner tube, CO2 cartridge, $1 bill, small multi tool

List 5 things that you would like every rider to do when taking care of their bike

  • Your bike should always be clean. It reflects yourself to the other riders and your view of your profession! Keep your drivetrain (chain/chain rings/cassette) clean! You loose a lot of power!
  • Traveling with your bike – clean it first (please don’t bring your bike dirty to the race!), don’t over pack it – bike cases are designed to protect your bike, it isn’t always necessary to also include an additional 10lbs of packing materials (extra space for your clothes is ok until you hit the over weight limit)
  • These are racing bikes, they don’t belong laying on the ground! Lean them stabile against somewhere, stack them (be careful of the paint, hang them, … )
  • If you change something on your bike, the mechanic needs to know – any change, otherwise we can’t make that same change on your race bike or a spare bike or a bike we are building for you
  • If something is broken – tell the mechanic

TWENTY16 has a strong focus on development and preparing girls for Olympic/world level racing. What sets this team apart in terms of development?

The girls get the environment to develop and learn the sport, about themselves, how to accept and respect others around them. They learn to win and lose together, accepting that loosing is winning for the future. A strong support structure is the base to be a better person in the future, on and off the bike!

If you weren't a team mechanic where would you see yourself?

Since I love the sport of cycling I would be involved in Development of some kind of younger athletes, mainly the Track Cycling

TWENTY16 has an emphasis on education with the initiation of our Junior Scholarship program in 2015.  https://teamtwenty16.com/education.htm

Explain why it is important to go on to college after high school

Nothing counts more then education!!!!! With any sport, your time is limited to perform on the highest level, even if you’re the most talented one in what you’re doing. There will be always life after your sports career! For that you need a well rounded education to prepare for your success after.

What does RideBiker Alliance mean to you?

A great chance to grow a network of likeminded people from different cycling oriented sports. We can learn, and use the resources, from other cycling disciplines to get better and stronger on the market. Sharing experiences is a valuable key to become a more successful organization.

Tell us something that people would not know about you

I was a competitive Ballroom dancer for 9 years

Your favorite things to do when not working with the team?

  • Riding a bike myself (mainly Fixed gear)
  • Enjoy a good coffee with friends
  • Go for a hike or beach walk
  • Working on bikes (especially problem solving)
  • Having a glass of wine to close the day

Favorite Foods:  

  • Pasta (in many variations)
  • Croissant
  • Almond pastry
  • German food (especially Bavarian)
  • Red wine

Sho-Air SRAM Felt Bicycles ZIPP Quarq JL Velo