Let start by saying that besides it being a cool place to hang as a cyclist, the Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington MA really did it up for us last night. They took care of the food and drinks and setup the large screen TV with some Giro and TDF footage. We spent the night mingling among Cervelo’s, Seven’s and some of the best cycling clothing and accessories in the industry.
It was great to see a good number of the team together after being scattered through most of the season due to different race schedules and life commitments.
This was our first year as a team and getting a late start at that. Kristen Gohr and I met during the cold month of January and after some coffee at a local Starbucks decided that she would be the team director and I would serve as coach and director sportif. Great! Now all we needed were teammates, clothing, sponsors, a website….
In a couple of months 25 people joined to form our team, we pulled together sponsors, designed and ordered clothing and put together a team schedule of clinics and events. So considering our jackrabbit start, everyone was absolutely floored to see the results in just 8 months:
- 9 Wins including 5 Pro Women Wins!
- 3 Records Set (Mt. Washington Tandem, Okemo and Mt. Washington Women 35-39)
- New England Women’s Road Race Champion
- Current BUMPS Series Leader
- 15 Podium Appearances
- 21 Top 10 Finishes
And there are still more races and opportunities to come in 2010.
In addition to racing, we did some great events and supported the community:
- Stage5 Members volunteered at this year’s Fitchburg Longjo Classic. It was impressive to see the willingness of the team supporting a national race and fellow riders for 4 days in some of the hottest weather we’ve experienced this year.
- We held 3 cycling clinics. One focused on performance testing, another on cycling fit and biomechanics and the third a day dedicated to climbing tactics and technique.
- This coming weekend, Stage5 Cycling team members will support the first Boston Soldier Ride to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
Next year we are planning much of the same. Our team clothing will be upgraded as we look for more sponsors. In addition to our clinics we are planning 2 training camps: one local Boston-area camp mid February and a spring training camp in Virginia around March/April. We are also planning a monthly indoor cycling training ride once per month at the Reading YMCA during the fall and winter months.
Many members were thanked for the numerous ways they helped and supported each other and everything we did. The team presented Kristen Gohr with flowers and a gift card so she could take her husband Greg out to dinner as a thank you for all the support he has been to her. Kristen whole-heartedly gave her time and great effort to build the team while managing her family and delivering on a full race schedule.
It was a great night and everyone was in agreement – “we need to do this more often”. It is at the top of the list for 2011.
