Collegiate cycling builds invaluable assets and elite careers for women
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Print by Mary Topping
Mara Abbott won the 2013 Giro Rosa and was fourth in the 2014 edition.What do this year’s two best American finishers in the Giro Rosa, Mara Abbott (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team) and Megan Guarnier (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team), have in common? Both professional riders picked up road racing in college.
Historically many of the elite women who succeed in the most prominent events on the women’s international cycling calendar have emerged from collegiate cycling. Two-time Olympian and world mountain bike champion Alison Dunlap competed for Colorado College. Coryn Rivera, best young rider at the inaugural La Course by Le Tour de France and prolific winner as a professional rider with UnitedHealthcare, currently races for Marian University. The talent list runs long with among others Kristin McGrath, Erica Zaveta, Katerina Nash, Amber Neben, Kaitie Antonneau, and Sinead Miller.
“In terms of development and wanting to race professionally,” says Emily Palmer, “for women collegiate cycling is the avenue.” Palmer is the interscholastic and club development coordinator at USA Cycling.
She points to opportunities that arise from collegiate national championships where only collegiate license holders participate. Over 75% of USA Cycling’s July women’s talent ID road camp members came from the collegiate ranks, selected based on performances at nationals. Women from talent ID camps can move on to race with the USA Cycling's national team program in Europe where they represent their country, gain valuable experience, and showcase their abilities to trade team managers.
The advantages range beyond finding a path to the sport’s highest level. Palmer cites learning how to race as part of a full-fledged team in addition to competing with peers. “In many of our conferences, collegiate racing offers more competition and development opportunities for women than their local amateur season,” she says.
Everyone fits in
Currently 285 schools of higher learning offer collegiate club or varsity programs, of which 17 are varsity. They operate within eleven regional conferences. Races in road, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and track are scheduled and organized by the conferences during the school year; work is underway to add regional BMX competitions. In 2012 BMX became the fifth discipline of collegiate national championships.
In addition to staging national co
Megan Guarnier nears the summit of the Via Salviati during the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Casey B. Gibson)mpetitions, USA Cycling issues licenses for collegiate-only events at reduced cost, provides stipends to male and female athletes through the USA Cycling Development Foundation’s John Stenner and Joshua Kuck Memorial Scholarships, and aims to make cycling more accessible through college programs while providing opportunities for personal and leadership growth. Just now Palmer is constructing alumni databases that schools can use to raise funds for their clubs or conferences.
Guarnier joined Middlebury College when Ted King, a nine-year professional rider now on the Cannondale Pro Cycling team, acted as club president. Other teammates at the time included mountain bikers Spencer Paxson and Lea and Sabra Davison. Men and women race under the same collegiate team and every rider counts because each generates points that determine coveted team classifications.
Inclusivity ranks high among collegiate cycling’s attractions. Experienced junior cyclists as well as beginners find a welcoming place to develop skills in one of the five categories of competition. “I think it’s a good choice for anyone who is just starting to race,” says 2008 Whitman College graduate Abbott.
“Collegiate Cycling is a perfect entry to a sport that can be very daunting to try to participate competitively in,” Guarnier states. “There is always a sense of development and more senior members of the teams are constantly providing assistance in whatever way possible.” Guidance arrives in the form of learning about training and race nutrition, proper clothing, and technical items like how to draft and open up a sprint.
Many conferences offer beginner road clinics, a learning series that USA Cycling would like to expand to all regions. Conferences also run starter track clinics; several are looking into introductory mountain bike programs. Any school, including two-year degree establishments, can apply to start a club program and compete in conference events in its division regardless of the club’s size. USA Cycling waives a club’s first year annual dues.
“We really try to emphasize that you don’t have go to a varsity program to be involved with collegiate cycling and you don’t have to be the best athlete to make an impact on your team,” Palmer says. “We often find that our best leaders are sometimes not the best athletes.”
Fellow student riders produce huge impacts by acting as race directors or simply speaking up.
“I think one of the biggest things I took away from collegiate cycling is the crazy amount of cheering from the sidelines,” Guarnier says. “Each member of the team would be present to cheer for their teammates and there was really a ‘team’ feel to the sport.” Even now seven years after graduating, she still hears US race spectators cheer for her using the nickname “Midd Meg.”
Eligibility rules promote inclusiveness as well. An undergraduate or post-graduate student can race as long as she likes while demonstrating full-time academic status. Student athletes can begin professional careers while competing collegiately. Palmer says many teams will work with athletes and their professional or amateur squads to balance schedules.
Asked about any downsides for women pursuing a professional cycling career by following the educational path, Abbott says, “You’re not giving anything up by doing collegiate. It’s just an addition.”
Benefits for women
For Guarnier, “Collegiate racing was my introduction and launch pad to women’s racing.
“I will never forget my first bike race. It was a collegiate race (ECCC) and I had no idea what I was doing!” She won the contest around Vermont’s Mount Philo that ended with a climb to the summit. The Boels-Dolmans rider recalls how she “was notorious for 13 hour library sessions.” T
Mara Abbott wins at 2007 Collegiate Road Nationalsime on the trainer or riding through the Green Mountains refreshed her so she could achieve academic goals.
One clear bonus from racing bikes while pursuing a degree is an education that provides life-long benefits. In a professional sport that offers little job stability, a higher education diploma becomes an essential asset for women who, in the current environment, almost always need to support racing activities with other employment.
“I would say there are very, very few women in the world who are going to be able to make a living racing a bike,” Abbott notes, “and even fewer who are going to be able to make a living off of cycling after they’re done racing a bike. So I’d say having a college degree is a good thing to have, just like it is for anyone else.”
Guarnier concurs. “It gives you a plan for the future. Being a professional cyclist is a great goal to have, but we cannot be professional cyclists forever and you need to find a passion beyond racing for when you do reach a point in your career when you are ready to take a step back.”
Palmer, Guarnier, and Abbott all mention another powerful characteristic unique to collegiate cycling: the low pressure, fun, team-oriented atmosphere that encourages learning and friendships. Teammates train and travel together, spending up to eight consecutive weekends as a group during the road season.
“You’d have to be an extreme introvert not to make friends,” Palmer says. Before taking her current position, Palmer raced her bike at Indiana and Lindenwood Universities.
A student athlete becomes part of a community much broader than her individual school. Because races occur across the conference level, riders visit places they might not otherwise get to know and interact with students from many different schools.
The camaraderie continues past graduation. Some of Palmer’s best current friendships originated from racing with athletes from different schools and conferences, including riders she met at collegiate national championships. Now when she recognizes former competitors at races, “We’re automatically friends even if they were in a completely different conference,” Palmer says, “just because we’ve had that shared experience.”
Those stable friendships prove invaluable down the road. They provide the motivation for an amateur to face the challenges of juggling racing with raising a family and working. They help professional riders keep it together while persevering through years of striving for a big result and coping with an ever-changing list of teams.
As of 2013, nearly 4,700 riders hold collegiate racing licenses. Twenty percent are women, which exceeds the 13 percent of total USA Cycling licensees. Ask any alumnus about her student athlete days and her story would likely resemble one Palmer has heard again and again.
“I would not have had the college experience I had, had it not been for collegiate cycling. I would not have the friends I have. I’m healthier now than I used to be. I’m doing better in school now because I have something that I’m working towards or that I care about.
“The friends they made in college through collegiate cycling are the friends they’re keeping today, and they’re still racing and still healthy because they started in college.”
Find collegiate races to watch by using the advanced search option on the USA Cycling events search page.
Mara Abbott won the 2013 Giro Rosa and was fourth in the 2014 edition.
Historically many of the elite women who succeed in the most prominent events on the women’s international cycling calendar have emerged from collegiate cycling. Two-time Olympian and world mountain bike champion Alison Dunlap competed for Colorado College. Coryn Rivera, best young rider at the inaugural La Course by Le Tour de France and prolific winner as a professional rider with UnitedHealthcare, currently races for Marian University. The talent list runs long with among others Kristin McGrath, Erica Zaveta, Katerina Nash, Amber Neben, Kaitie Antonneau, and Sinead Miller.
“In terms of development and wanting to race professionally,” says Emily Palmer, “for women collegiate cycling is the avenue.” Palmer is the interscholastic and club development coordinator at USA Cycling.
She points to opportunities that arise from collegiate national championships where only collegiate license holders participate. Over 75% of USA Cycling’s July women’s talent ID road camp members came from the collegiate ranks, selected based on performances at nationals. Women from talent ID camps can move on to race with the USA Cycling's national team program in Europe where they represent their country, gain valuable experience, and showcase their abilities to trade team managers.
The advantages range beyond finding a path to the sport’s highest level. Palmer cites learning how to race as part of a full-fledged team in addition to competing with peers. “In many of our conferences, collegiate racing offers more competition and development opportunities for women than their local amateur season,” she says.
Everyone fits in
Currently 285 schools of higher learning offer collegiate club or varsity programs, of which 17 are varsity. They operate within eleven regional conferences. Races in road, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and track are scheduled and organized by the conferences during the school year; work is underway to add regional BMX competitions. In 2012 BMX became the fifth discipline of collegiate national championships.
In addition to staging national co
Megan Guarnier nears the summit of the Via Salviati during the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Casey B. Gibson)
Guarnier joined Middlebury College when Ted King, a nine-year professional rider now on the Cannondale Pro Cycling team, acted as club president. Other teammates at the time included mountain bikers Spencer Paxson and Lea and Sabra Davison. Men and women race under the same collegiate team and every rider counts because each generates points that determine coveted team classifications.
Inclusivity ranks high among collegiate cycling’s attractions. Experienced junior cyclists as well as beginners find a welcoming place to develop skills in one of the five categories of competition. “I think it’s a good choice for anyone who is just starting to race,” says 2008 Whitman College graduate Abbott.
“Collegiate Cycling is a perfect entry to a sport that can be very daunting to try to participate competitively in,” Guarnier states. “There is always a sense of development and more senior members of the teams are constantly providing assistance in whatever way possible.” Guidance arrives in the form of learning about training and race nutrition, proper clothing, and technical items like how to draft and open up a sprint.
Many conferences offer beginner road clinics, a learning series that USA Cycling would like to expand to all regions. Conferences also run starter track clinics; several are looking into introductory mountain bike programs. Any school, including two-year degree establishments, can apply to start a club program and compete in conference events in its division regardless of the club’s size. USA Cycling waives a club’s first year annual dues.
“We really try to emphasize that you don’t have go to a varsity program to be involved with collegiate cycling and you don’t have to be the best athlete to make an impact on your team,” Palmer says. “We often find that our best leaders are sometimes not the best athletes.”
Fellow student riders produce huge impacts by acting as race directors or simply speaking up.
“I think one of the biggest things I took away from collegiate cycling is the crazy amount of cheering from the sidelines,” Guarnier says. “Each member of the team would be present to cheer for their teammates and there was really a ‘team’ feel to the sport.” Even now seven years after graduating, she still hears US race spectators cheer for her using the nickname “Midd Meg.”
Eligibility rules promote inclusiveness as well. An undergraduate or post-graduate student can race as long as she likes while demonstrating full-time academic status. Student athletes can begin professional careers while competing collegiately. Palmer says many teams will work with athletes and their professional or amateur squads to balance schedules.
Asked about any downsides for women pursuing a professional cycling career by following the educational path, Abbott says, “You’re not giving anything up by doing collegiate. It’s just an addition.”
Benefits for women
For Guarnier, “Collegiate racing was my introduction and launch pad to women’s racing.
“I will never forget my first bike race. It was a collegiate race (ECCC) and I had no idea what I was doing!” She won the contest around Vermont’s Mount Philo that ended with a climb to the summit. The Boels-Dolmans rider recalls how she “was notorious for 13 hour library sessions.” T
Mara Abbott wins at 2007 Collegiate Road Nationals
One clear bonus from racing bikes while pursuing a degree is an education that provides life-long benefits. In a professional sport that offers little job stability, a higher education diploma becomes an essential asset for women who, in the current environment, almost always need to support racing activities with other employment.
“I would say there are very, very few women in the world who are going to be able to make a living racing a bike,” Abbott notes, “and even fewer who are going to be able to make a living off of cycling after they’re done racing a bike. So I’d say having a college degree is a good thing to have, just like it is for anyone else.”
Guarnier concurs. “It gives you a plan for the future. Being a professional cyclist is a great goal to have, but we cannot be professional cyclists forever and you need to find a passion beyond racing for when you do reach a point in your career when you are ready to take a step back.”
Palmer, Guarnier, and Abbott all mention another powerful characteristic unique to collegiate cycling: the low pressure, fun, team-oriented atmosphere that encourages learning and friendships. Teammates train and travel together, spending up to eight consecutive weekends as a group during the road season.
“You’d have to be an extreme introvert not to make friends,” Palmer says. Before taking her current position, Palmer raced her bike at Indiana and Lindenwood Universities.
A student athlete becomes part of a community much broader than her individual school. Because races occur across the conference level, riders visit places they might not otherwise get to know and interact with students from many different schools.
The camaraderie continues past graduation. Some of Palmer’s best current friendships originated from racing with athletes from different schools and conferences, including riders she met at collegiate national championships. Now when she recognizes former competitors at races, “We’re automatically friends even if they were in a completely different conference,” Palmer says, “just because we’ve had that shared experience.”
Those stable friendships prove invaluable down the road. They provide the motivation for an amateur to face the challenges of juggling racing with raising a family and working. They help professional riders keep it together while persevering through years of striving for a big result and coping with an ever-changing list of teams.
As of 2013, nearly 4,700 riders hold collegiate racing licenses. Twenty percent are women, which exceeds the 13 percent of total USA Cycling licensees. Ask any alumnus about her student athlete days and her story would likely resemble one Palmer has heard again and again.
“I would not have had the college experience I had, had it not been for collegiate cycling. I would not have the friends I have. I’m healthier now than I used to be. I’m doing better in school now because I have something that I’m working towards or that I care about.
“The friends they made in college through collegiate cycling are the friends they’re keeping today, and they’re still racing and still healthy because they started in college.”
Find collegiate races to watch by using the advanced search option on the USA Cycling events search page.
This Article Updated September 18, 2014 @ 03:31 PM For more information contact:
