CPT Tristan Manderfeld

Cycling

As professional-caliber cycling goes, Tristan came to his sport extremely late. In high school, he became known in wrestling, placing at state three times, earning a place on the academic gold team and being named academic all-state twice. In light of his high school accomplishments, West Point recruited him to wrestle, but a back injury ended his career in that sport. He craved competition, though, and the mental and physical demands of competitive cycling appealed to him. He found quick success, too, bounding from the lowest collegiate level to the UCI (professional) level before graduation. Tristan now focuses on indoor events including team pursuit and omnium as he progresses toward the Olympics.