If you’ve passed a colorful group of men on bicycles in the past couple weeks in Goochland it’s highly probable that they are some of the world’s best riders.

Every day for the past couple weeks members of the Rite Aid Pro Cycling Team have set out from team director Jon Wirsing’s home in Sandy Hook. Some days they ride 130 miles, others just 20. They’re here training for some of cycling’s biggest events.

With two National Racing Calendar cycling events in Virginia during the month of April, the team is taking advantage of the winding roads and convenient location of Goochland, Wirsing said. 

The riders will be participating in the U.S. Open Cycling Championships on April 7, winding 112 miles along Route 5 from Williamsburg to Richmond. The seven-stage Tour of Virginia runs from April 24 to 29.

“These riders are some of the best athletes in the world,” said Wirsing.

One such rider is Alejandro Borrajo. He is the current South American Road Race Champion and has competed in the second largest race in the world, the Tour of Italy.

In fact, Wirsing has added eight new riders for 2007. Coming from Colavita is Sebastian Alexandre, the 2006 Track Rider of the Year at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome. Also from Colavita is Ian Ayers.

“This is the ideal team we assembled on paper off season,” said Wirsing. “We’ve been very fortunate to be able to get every rider on our wish list. The new signings should provide us a well-rounded attack with a lot of depth. We’re confident that this will be our best team to date.”

This is only the second season for the Rite Aid team. Wirsing, who rode for the team last year, took over as director in 2007 and added eight new riders in an effort to “build a team capable of challenging in any of the major North American races.”

There are 13 members of the team — eight Americans and three Aregntinians — eight of whom will compete in the U.S. Open.

“This is one of the biggest races of the year,” said Sebastian Alexandre, adding that the riders are chosen for the races based on individual abilities suited for the course. “Each of the riders has their strengths, some climbing, some sprinting.” 

A Goochland resident of two years, Wirsing was a professional rider for a couple years and an elite amateur for many more, ranking as one of the top riders in the country and winning a national championship along the way. 

A Henrico County school teacher, Wirsing made the decision not to stay pro for his family and his career. “I had offers, but they just didn’t pay enough for me to quit,” he explained. 

His responsibilities now include looking after the riders, selecting them, organizing the year in events and training and working with sponsors. Jamie Davis is the team’s managing director.

The riders train anywhere from two to seven hours a day, burning up to 7,000 calories, said team member mike Norton. He added that most professional riders have a lung capacity double the average person’s. The rider’s bikes cost an average of $6,000, have 20 gears and weigh about 15 pounds. Top speeds hover around 45 mph.

“I think it’s great out here,” said Norton, a New York native, of his time training in Goochland. “The drivers are courteous, the roads are super quiet and it’s cool because they twist through the countryside. The tricky part of the long rides is not getting lost.

“Of all the places I’ve trained, this is up there,” he said. “We’ll probably be back because it’s so nice.”