Although bicycle racing seems to have a testosterone imbalance (and in fact doping tests seem to support this) the estrogen level is rising among Seattle-area road racers. The number of Seattle-area women competing in road races has grown dramatically in the past few years as a result of the dedicated efforts by several veterans, particularly Martha Walsh and Gina Kavesh.
According to Gina:
“The category 4’s are amazing this year. There were huge fields at both Mason Lake (3 weekends of racing) and Sequim (aka Tour de Dung–2 weekends of racing). From all accounts the racing was solid, fast and fun especially considering how many new folks were out there.
The category 3’s are also doing pretty well. They had good-sized fields at Mason Lake and a good number showed up for both Tour de Dung events showing that they’re ‘up’ for the challenge of racing in a combined 1/2/3 field. Both Sequim races had close to 40 1/2/3 women.
Just 3 years ago Tour de Dung had a 1/2/3 field of like 10 of us….so very exciting stuff happening across the board in women’s racing. And the competition has jumped up another HUGE notch.
At Tour de Dung the 1/2/3 field averaged 23+ mph both weeks. Week 1 had a problem at the start, and without that issue the pace probably would have been even faster.”
Veteran Tricia Sandstrom’s had these insights about women’s road racing this year:
“Team tactics have come to form on all teams, as opposed to just one or two teams “playing” to force the breakaway.
Jennifer Wheeler (Hagens Berman) has been a standout so far this season. She started racing last summer as a category 4, and has quickly risen through the ranks to category 2, and won both Sequim races.
Mason Lake had record numbers for the category 4 field, and the category 3 field is slowly following suit. At the Sequim races 62 competitors entered to compete (exceeding a 50-rider limit), but race organizers and officials quickly arranged a second category 4 race.”
Although bicycle racing can be intimidating at first, the Seattle area has a great support system to help newcomers (of both genders) get their bearings. Women-only event’s are held throughout the season, and as part of the Pacific Raceways Tuesday night racing series a women-only training race series is going to be held every other Tuesday evening at 6:30 from April 13 through June 22.
Riders will be divided by skill level and experience, and elite racers from local teams will ride along to offer riding and racing tips as each race unfolds. This is a terrific opportunity for the true beginner as well as the developing cat 4 rider to pick up cycling and racing skills in a low-key, women-only environment. The cost is $10.
Pacific Raceways will also host three category 4 women’s races in 2010:
-July 6
-July 27
-August 10
Pacific Raceways is an auto racetrack closed to motor vehicles when used for bike racing. The bicycle race course varies a bit throughout the season to take advantage of some of the site’s terrain features. Pacific Raceways has a reputation for being one of the safer bicycle racing venues in the area.
