San Rafael Twilight Criterium by Pacific Sun

Rob Evans, www.otbphoto.com “Shelley Olds breaks away from the ﬁeld winning the Nevada City Classic.

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 her 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 her 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 out-

6 SAN RAFAEL TWILIGHT CRITERIUM // Official Race Guide

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 the 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, 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 as well as 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. What do you do when your 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. Making It Happen

Formerly known as Carrera de San Rafael, the San Rafael Twilight Criterium has been held off and on for 11 years. In 2008, race organization and promotion was taken over by Project Sport, a small sports marketing company founded and headed by two longtime 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 goodwill as it is by 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

side 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…