V is for Victory... and Velo Girls:
San Ardo and LARPD CX

Submitted by Lorri Lee Lown | September 5, 2007

Velo Girls scored a pair of wins - one to end the road season and one to begin the cyclocross season.

San Ardo Road Race

At the San Ardo Road Race on August 25th, the Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program (part of Velo Girls Coaching Services) was out in full force, with 9 women competing in their first road races. The race was the culmination of a 6-week training program, coached by Lorri Lee Lown, in which the women received intensive fitness training, along with experience in skills and tactics. And all those hours paid off, with a win for Linsey Weitzenberg. Linsey was assisted by teammates in a textbook lead-out, sprinting for the line and scoring a victory for the team.

San Ardo marks the final race in the 2007 Tri-Flow Women's Development Racing Program. Watch the website for details on an expanded program for 2008.

LARPD CX#1

September 1st marked the first cyclocross race on the Northern California racing calendar - a hot and dusty affair held in Livermore. Jenny Feix and Lauren Haughey represented Team Velo Girls, and Veronica Lentfer joined them from the club. The course was fast, but also had some challenging technical (and fitness) aspects, including a lengthy sand pit, lots of barriers to jump over, and a set of stadium (yes, stadium) stairs. We scored a one-two punch, with Jenny bringing home the win and Lauren scoring 2nd place, and Veronica not far behind in 6th.

Cyclocross action, including lots of local races, continues most weekends through January. Cyclocross is a fabulous spectator sport, so we hope you'll come out and cheer the girls in pink this fall! Click here for the full race schedule (NCNCA).
Founded in 2002, Velo Girls fielded our first little "race team" for the Livermore Hills Road Race in 2002. In the fall of that year, we announced the formation of the Velo Girls Racing Team. The team, comprised of almost 40 brand-spanking new racers, was developed as a true grassroots program. We provided skills clinics and training all fall before making our racing debut in 2003.

That team has continued to develop, now completing four full seasons of racing action! And we've grown beyond the development phase, with women competing in national pro events and regional CAT 2 through CAT 4 races. We've also got a strong masters presence. In 2004 and 2005 Velo Girls was the winningest women's team in northern California and Nevada, with individual racers ranked at the top of the NCNCA BAR, the Bay Area Women's Cycling Association Points Series, and the USA Cycling national rankings. Since 2002, Velo Girls has developed close to 150 new women racers through the team and our highly successful racing development program.

In recognition of our commitment to developing cycling in the US, Velo Girls was selected by USA Cycling as the 2003 Women's Club of the Year and the 2004 Division II Club of the Year.

In 2006, Velo Girls was once again honored by USA Cycling as Women's Club of the Year, and further recognized as the top team in Northern California and Nevada for developing and retaining more new racers than any other club in the district, winning the NCNCA Club Challenge. It just doesn't get any better than that!