By Mark Deterline © 2009
Charting a Path
One of the most important precepts in group cycling and particularly in bike racing is holding one’s line of travel. This is essential as multiple riders naturally form one or more moving columns in order to benefit from the aerodynamic slipstream formed by the rider in front of them. This tendency also serves to keep the group as compact as possible, whether it’s hurtling along the edge of a busy road or filling the width of a designated race course devoid of public traffic.Holding one’s line is a concept easy for motorists to grasp if they consider how dangerous it would be to swerve out of their chosen lane on the freeway toward other cars. In a bike race, where participants can travel at close to 30 MPH while sporting nothing but Lycra and a grimace, straying off one’s line toward other riders is equally perilous and can more easily cause a devastating chain reaction. Bike racers not only intentionally tailgate one another (they call it “drafting”) to stay out of the wind, but in their efforts to save energy behind other riders and to cover one another’s accelerations, they ride in airshow-tight formation, which often includes overlapping one another’s wheels. If a rider swerves out of their own line and across another, but competitors’ front and rear wheels don’t cross, calamity can be avoided. Elbows, handlebars and hips will often brush or bump, but the more experienced the racers the less such instances of contact result in anything other than a slight adjustment in position or an angry word. However, if a rider comes off their line and crosses wheels with someone else, mass crashes and injuries can result.
Holding one’s line becomes increasingly important – and difficult – as roads curve and bike racers push themselves deep into a realm they simply refer to as pain. Many people can go fast on a bike, but going hard while holding their line through turns in a dense pack of riders requires as much mind as body, as much brain as brawn. And we don’t even have room here to discuss team race strategy, which is one of the most compelling aspects of bike racing and something Team PROMAN has always excelled at. Perhaps another time.
Holding one’s line in the face of challenges, supreme exertion and even hardship serves as a nice metaphor for the path that the PROMAN Women’s Cycling Team has chosen and that – despite outside skepticism – has proven not only successful, but immensely satisfying for its riders and fans alike.
Now in only its fourth year, the PROMAN “Hit Squad” has amassed numerous national and international-level wins and high finishes, and simply could not be deterred after deciding to launch its Junior squad at the end of last year. (PROMAN’s blossoming Junior Women’s program has racked up multiple wins itself and is now officially part of the USA Cycling Junior Development Program.) Some of the following I’ve recounted before, but please indulge me as I do so again, because you just can’t make up stuff like this…
Better Than Fiction
When I began working on the Peninsula in the fall of 2006 as marketing director for a bike components manufacturer, I was already a strong proponent of women’s cycling. Having grown up with a single mom who regularly attended aerobics classes, and sisters who excelled in Pilates instruction and soccer, respect for women’s sports and their unique equipment needs came with the territory. In 2002 I had become an enthusiastic bike racer myself, and the individuals who made the biggest impression on me during my formative years were elite females, all of whom trained with men, and sometimes even raced with us.
I began receiving calls from PROMAN’s sponsorship director Julia Violich, former owner of San Anselmo-based bike shop, Paradigm Cycles, in December of 2006. At first it appeared to be just one more of countless requests for sponsorship that arrived on my desk each week. I had maxed out my 2007 budget with commitments by then, and my initial thoughts were how to let this determined woman down as easily as possible.
As the brief phone conversations continued, however, now also with Team Founder and Manager Nicola Cranmer (center), I began taking this PROMAN squad more seriously. Ultimately, Julia and Nicola won me over: I could see they would do anything for their riders, women’s cycling and the success of this team, so how could I say no?
Champions, Mentors, Up-and-comers
When I first met Nicola, she brought a promising young Category 4 (the lowest race category) rider, Shelley Olds, with her to the office to see if we had any product options that might help a smaller rider fit better on her bike. Of course, proper fit is essential if a rider is to reach her potential… Well, Shelley has lived up to her billing and a whole lot more, as have many of PROMAN’s stars, support riders and, most recently, Juniors.
An accomplished international competitor on the track (3rd and 6th at the Copenhagen and Melbourne Track World Cups, respectively, as well as distinguished representation at Track World Championships), Shelley has won and placed well at US National Race Calendar road events and prestigious regional events like the San Rafael Twilight which she helped a teammate take last year.
Rachel Lloyd is another prominent PROMAN rider, whose mountain bike and cyclocross accomplishments are too numerous to list, including participation at Cyclocross World Championships last year and winner of the 2008 mountain bike Super D National Champion’s title.
And the list goes on.
So, what do you do when you’re formula is working and you’ve gained such valuable experience? If you’re Team PROMAN, you share it, passing it on to new teammates – including the next generation of female racers. Coryn Rivera is PROMAN’s new Junior star who has likewise collected national-level titles and champion’s jerseys. She is flanked by other Junior women who are making their presence known with wins and high placings at local and regional events, and who hold the promise of even greater things in years to come.
The Role of Sponsors
Over the past few years, Nicola et al have kept raising the bar. Having begun with the support of PROMAN (a German engineering company), Paradigm Cycles bike shop and some key equipment sponsors, Cranmer and her posse now boast the support of BMC Bicycles, SRAM, Rudy Project, Cane Creek, WTB, Mez Design, Violich Farms, Voler, ClifBar, Kreitler Rollers, JL Racing and Northwave Shoes. The generosity of these sponsors has made growth of the team possible, enabling its athletes to compete at the World Cup level and in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games. Cranmer and staff are working toward continued growth, including expansion of its Junior program, so I am advised that additional sponsorship inquiries are always welcome. Please contact Nicola Cranmer via email at ncranmer@aol.com or by phone at 415.246.8791. See what the team is up to at http://proman-paradigm.blogspot.com and arrange to follow them by receiving tweet updates by visiting http://twitter.com/nicolacranmer.
Making It Happen
Formerly known as Carrera de San Rafael, the San Rafael Twilight Criterium has been held off and on for eleven years. In 2008, race organization and promotion was taken over by Project Sport, a small sports marketing company founded and headed by two long-time amateur bike racers, one of whom competes at the elite level. Putting on an event like the San Rafael Twilight is inspired as much by love and good will as it is by the hope for profits. Ryan Dawkins, Founder and President of Project Sport, explains it this way: “This is the rock ‘n’ roll show that every racer in Northern California looks forward to each year. It’s a lot of work for our team, but the energy on race day is unparalleled.”
“I am very grateful to Ryan and Project Sport for all of their hard work in organizing and promoting the San Rafael Twilight Criterium, a truly classic event,” expressed Cranmer. “I also extend my gratitude to the City of San Rafael and its downtown merchants. Well promoted and well attended events like this are important for the growth of women’s cycling and our Marin-based PROMAN team. The San Rafael Twilight offers us an opportunity to showcase our sponsors, as well as our riders. It is the best twilight criterium on the West Coast; a fun evening of dynamic racing!”
See It and Believe
If you have never watched a bike race, you will be blown away by the speed and exhilaration of a downtown venue like this one. If you have watched bike races but have never watched Shelley Olds and the PROMAN Hit Squad in action, you will be awestruck. If you already follow these women like myriad other fans and fellow cyclists, you will agree that they always impress.
The San Rafael Twilight is indeed well organized and draws big crowds. It is the perfect opportunity for female athletes to demonstrate their skill, savvy and fitness – all within a few feet of thousands of spectators who line the downtown streets each year.
It is often said that the role of a champion is to inspire. Behind the scenes, these figures set their course, commit to reaching their goals and then with the kind of discipline and determination that can move mountains, they hold their chosen line through all types of challenges. Not everyone has understood or appreciated PROMAN’s unconventional path, nor the collective strength they’ve demonstrated when faced with setbacks.
As if taken from a screenplay, Shelley’s track bike was stolen last year the day before Track Nationals where she was hoping to qualify for a US Team berth that would mean participation at Track World Championships. Shelley and team locked arms, called on the greater cycling community – their extended family – recovered the bike and proceeded to attain another of their hard-fought dreams the next day when Shelley took the National title despite everything cast in the team’s way.
Watching PROMAN riders impact an electrifying event like the San Rafael Twilight by taking hair-raising lines at speed through tight downtown corners is inspiring for women AND men. It’s the perfect metaphor for the journey and trajectory that have set this team apart since its inception. If you dare be inspired by a group of likeable, down-to-earth female athletes, I’ll see you at this bike race on July 11th and will take great satisfaction in saying, “I told you so.”
PROMAN women at the San Rafael Twilight:
- 2008 1st Place, Helene Drumm; 2nd Place, Shelley Olds
- 2007 2nd Place, Shelley Olds
- 2006 1st Place, Rachel Lloyd; 2nd Place, Shelley Olds
Photos: Courtesy Rob Evans
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