While Al Krueger is not a professional cyclist, he’s not exactly an amateur, either.
Krueger, director of digital and innovation at MorganMyers in Waukesha, placed eighth overall in this summer’s Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD). The annual competitive cycling event draws ambitious cyclists like Krueger from across the country to perform in a series of road races all throughout Wisconsin.
The 10 official races of the 11-day event included two 60- to 70-mile races in which athletes completed laps on a designated course. The other eight races played out criterion style so that competitors were speeding through rigorous sets of timed laps on courses less than a mile long.
“We’re fueling and feeding our competitive interest,” Krueger said about the event, which pushed cyclists a total of 350 miles in June.
Krueger, who began cycling in high school and college and returned to the sport after taking six years off to focus on his family and career, participated in ToAD for the second year in a row with his cycling team, KS Energies/Team Wisconsin.
After capturing second overall in the 2012 race as a Masters 3/4 competitor, Krueger set out to perform in a higher tier this year as a Masters 1/2 competitor challenging others age 35+.
To train, Krueger devoted time year round to cycling and sat down with a personal coach to map out a training regime that would help him overcome his weaknesses and build maximum strength in his legs. He also devised a strict diet that included Eggo waffles, protein shakes, scrambled eggs, chicken breasts and pasta.
As serious as Krueger is about his training, he’s learned to relax since his days of racing mountain bikes 15 years ago.
For Krueger, cycling creates balance and mental focus and drives his fitness. The sport also surrounds him with a core group of teammates and friends.
“This time around, I was really focused on the camaraderie and finding a really great group of people to be friends with and ride with as much as (I was focused on) the fitness and competition part of it,” he said.
