Women Deliver Exciting Race

Top three finishers: Armstrong, Neben, Becker

Thirteen women cyclists competed in the first international women’s time trial in Solvang Friday. Their competition preceded the men’s individual time trial at the Tour of California. The female competitors were invited to race for the $10,000 prize, won by Kristin Armstrong. She is probably the most famous woman cyclist today, and the race marked her return to competition after having her first baby nine months ago. Team HTC-Highroad demonstrated the strength of its women’s team with five participants, including the second, third, and fourth place finishers—Amber Neben, Charlotte Becker, and Evelyn Stevens.

The local evening news led with the story of the women’s time trial, and fans lined the course and cheered the riders on. However, it is surprising that the names of the competitors could not be found on the Tour of California web site in advance of the race, and now even the results are missing or impossible to find there. Luckily, other news sources have published the information, including cyclingnews.

I spoke with competitor Jessica Phillips following the race. She shared the difficulties in obtaining support and promotion for women’s cycling competitions. Jessica is working on the upcoming Aspen/Snowmass Women's Pro Stage Race in Colorado from August 22 to 24. While the race is markedly less expensive to put on each day than the Tour of California, for example, the finances and sponsorship is challenging. Learn more about the Aspen race online. Organizers are hosting a fundraising dinner with HTC-Highroad’s Tejay Van Gardaren on June 2 that also benefits the USA Pro Cycling Challenge Aspen Queen Stage 2, as well as a clinic with Tejay on June 3.

Before Solvang, I had never watched a women’s race and wondered how their times compare to the men’s. Kristin Armstrong’s time for the 15 mile course was 34 minutes, 29.59 seconds. Of the 131 men, 37 had times slower than hers. David Zabriskie of Garmin-Cervelo had the fastest time of the day at 30 minutes, 35.92 seconds.

The women's time trial action was just as exciting as any cycling race I have attended, and I will be keeping my eye out for more women’s races.