Hartfeld, a track racer with Echelon Santa Barbara cycling club, just won the national championship in the 17-18 Men’s Kilometer Time Trial at the Junior National Championships. He also finished in the medals in the 17-18 Men’s Keirin race, where he placed second. The championships took place in Trexlertown, Penn.

And his summer competition is far from over. Hartfeld is in Pennsylvania right now at the final preparation training camp for members of the U.S. Junior Team, before they travel to Vienna, Austria, for the Junior World Championships. Five young men will represent the U.S. in track racing; three young women are going to race on the track. Competition will take place Aug. 7-14.

“I decided I wanted to try something a little bit different,” he said. “I didn’t even know what the Tour de France was.”

The bike shops referred Hartfeld to Rory O’Reilly, an Olympic cyclist in 1984 and Harfteld’s coach the four years he has been racing.

Prior to his bike shop visits, Hartfeld had played club water polo, something he took up because his sister, who played the sport for Dos Pueblos, had encouraged him to try.

At 13, Hartfeld took his “rusty mountain bike,” he said, out on the road for a ride with Echelon Santa Barbara’s juniors.

“I knew absolutely nothing. Rory helped me find a used road bike so I could keep up with the guys on the junior team, and I slowly got into it,” he said. “It grew into something I’m absolutely passionate about.”

Adam Duvendeck, another champion track cyclist from Goleta, has been a great mentor for him, Hartfeld said. “It was very helpful to know that somebody so similar to me has gone on to do great things with the sport. I call him my mentor because he’s always been there when I needed him, and he’s always kept me updated on new sports medical info and techniques.”

“I found out a couple of months ago,” said Hartfeld with a smile, “that Rory told my parents very early that I didn’t really have a whole lot of talent, but that I definitely had determination.” Hartfeld’s mother Nancy, dad Miles and sister Skylar were in Pennsylvania for the Junior Nationals, and will be in Austria cheering him on in the International competition, too.

There’s no question that Hartfeld has worked hard, and continues to do so. “The thing is,” he said “especially with sprinters, the sport is a building block type of thing. Because so much muscle mass is required, each year builds on the previous one; next year’s performance depends on what you do this year.”

Harfeld’s routine includes “a lot of weight lifting and a lot of really intense [cycling] workouts,” he said. “You really need to keep at it at a very high level in order to reach whatever your next goal is. It takes a lot of focus and effort over many years.”

And nutrition is no small part of the equation, either. Hartfeld is advised primarily by his coach, O’Reilly, but he also works with the U.S. National Team nutritionist. “I was pretty surprised,” he said, “when I learned I should be consuming at least 3,200 calories on my tough work out days.”

Hartfeld trains both on the road and the track, and for track training he commutes to Encino.

In track racing, there are both sprint and endurance events, explained Hartfeld. The kilometer time trial, in which Hartfeld is the Jr. National Champion, is a race for 1 k (.6 mile) from a dead stop. Track bikes have no brakes and one gear -they’re direct drive, he said.

The Keirin, in which Hartfeld took second at nationals, is a six-man race that begins when a motorcycle comes up onto the track and takes off, leading the cyclists. For the first five-and-a-half laps of the eight-lap race, the motorcycle travels at consecutively faster speeds, and then drops out. “There’s a lot of head butting and jostling for position in this race,” said Hartfeld. “It’s very tactical.” He also said it’s probably the most dangerous of the track events.

In Austria, Hartfeld will be competing in the above two events, the Team Sprint, a three-man competition, and the match sprints, a two-man event.

An exceptional student at Dos Pueblos, Hartfeld was accepted at U.C. Davis in the aeronautical engineering program for fall. He won’t be in class in September, however. Granted a year’s deferment, Hartfeld plans to cycle full time.

“Riding on the U.S. National Development Team next year will give me a chance to see what it’s like riding full time,” he said. “Then, after this year, I’ll decide if I want to ride now or go to college first. I’ll go to college sooner or later, but I’m going to try this for now.”

“When I first started riding, I wasn’t obsessed or anything,” said Hartfeld. “It wasn’t until I started racing that I really got into it.” The strategy is both interesting and challenging, he said. “Racing can definitely be stressful. I get nervous about it, but also have fun with it, and I just love it.”

“And,” said the champion, “it’s not just the racing part - wanting to win - either; it’s the people that you meet and see again. It’s always nice to see them again.”

PHOTO BY MARTHA LANNAN

Caption: Spencer Hartfeld, with 13-year-old family pet Heidi, takes a break from road and track workouts.