Tela Crane

  
  


Date of Birth: October 10, 1986
Height: 5’9”/1.75m.
Weight: 150lbs./68kg./10.1st.
Place of Birth: Seattle, Washington
Hometown: Sammamish, Washington
Residence: Cypress, California
Teams: Lake Washington Velo-Broadmark Capital Cycling Team, Revel Consulting-Rad Racing NW
Education: Western Washington University, B.A. in Journalism/Public Relations
Twitter: @TelaCrane

Olympic/World Championship experience:

10th place — 2004 UCI Junior Track World Championships, Los Angeles, California, Sprint
2004 UCI Junior Track World Championships, Los Angeles, California, Keirin
13th place — 2004 UCI Junior Track World Championships, Los Angeles, California, Time Trial

National Championship Experience

1st place — 2013 USA Cycling Elite Mass Start Track National Championships, Rock Hill, South Carolina, Keirin, Sprint, Madison (w/ Cari Higgins)
2nd place — 2011 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Carson, California, Team Sprint, Time Trial
2nd place — 2010 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Carson, California, Team Sprint
5th place — 2010 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Carson, California, Sprint
5th place — 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Carson, California, Team Sprint
3rd place — 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Sprint
5th place — 2007 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, Kansas City, Kansas, U23
1st place — 2007 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, Kansas City, Kansas, Collegiate Division II Women
3rd place — 2005 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, Providence, Rhode Island, U23
1st place — 2004 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships, Los Angeles, California, 500m TT
1st place — 2004 USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships, Los Angeles, California, Sprint
3rd place — 2004 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, Portland, Oregon, Espoir 17-and-up

Career Highlights

Leading my collegiate team to a team cylocross national championship in 2007
34th place — 2012 UCI Track World Cup, Beijing, China, Sprint
14th place — 2012 UCI Track World Cup, Beijing, China, Team Sprint
25th place — 2012 UCI Track World Cup, Beijing, China, Keirin
8th place — 2011 Pan American Championships, Medellin, Colombia, Keirin
5th place — 2011 Pan American Championships, Medellin, Colombia, Sprint

Points of Interest

  • Tela (pronounced TAY-lah) was named for the beach in Honduras, where her parents met.
  • Tela almost always has bubble gum handy and is quite adept at blowing bubbles.
  • Tela tore her anterior cruciate ligament while practicing ballet. While waiting for knee surgery, Crane earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Personal

Tela Crane's parents encouraged her and her brother, Ian, to ride bicycles. Her mom even encouraged Tela to participate in a class at the local velodrome. While Crane did not find instant success, but she did thoroughly enjoy it.

It wasn't long before Crane's enjoyment in track cycling returned stand-out results. At 17 years of age, collected her first two national titles, winning the Time Trial and Sprint. Later in the year, on the same track in Los Angeles, Crane's investment paid more dividends as she placed tenth in the sprint and 13th in the time trial at the Junior Track World Championships.

The four-time national champion, who has collected a total of 18 national championship medals in her career, excelled on the track and in cyclo-cross. As a collegiate at Western Washington University, she collected the women's Division II cyclo-cross national title to help her school win the overall team title for the event.

She continued collecting medals domestically and was selected to compete in the 2011 Pan American Championships. Crane posted a pair of top-10 results, finishing eighth in the Keirin and fifth in the Sprint. She competed in the UCI Track World Cup in Beijing where she contributed to a 14th-place result in the Team Sprint.

Crane credits her parents for their support in helping her reach her goals and her brother, Ian, for his advice and motivation. She also attributes parts of her success to her first coach, Renee Duprel, who agreed to coach her after Crane committed to working through an entire winter. Crane also recognizes the contributions from the junior program she participated in, Revel Consulting-Rad Racing NW, run by Jim Brown, who treated her like an elite athlete "long before" she deserved it. She also credits Jennie Reed for offering training tips to help Crane reach an elite level.
 
Over the last six years, when Crane is back in Washington she has been involved in building the youth cycling program at her home track, the Marymoor Velodrome. One of Crane's proudest accomplishments was starting a junior racing series where 25-30 kids race regularly race on any given night. She also enjoys reading either a historical fiction story or mystery or playing board games in her down time.


This Article Updated August 8, 2014 @ 08:15 PM For more information contact: