Women in Bicycle Sports

At the 2012 Olympics in London this summer, Dotsie Bausch and her teammates flew around the velodrome. With an average speed of 34 miles per hour, the trio of Americans claimed the Silver medal in the Team Pursuit event.

Next week, the Olympian will share her story at the National Women’s Bicycling Summit. There’s only a few tickets left for this event — register today!

(Clockwise from top left) Milley, Bausch, Tetrick, Gass, Carlson

Women in Bicycle Sports

Female athletes — from track, road, mountain, cross, polo and triathlon — will address the complex role of women in sports and how competition and advocacy are connected and share parallel missions of getting more women and racing. Women in bicycle sports are driven by a passion and love for the bike and their respective sports, and have a unique opportunity to inspire and influence not only women on bikes, but also the bike industry and media as well. What impact has Title IX had on bike sports? What steps can be taken to ease fear and build confidence for women on bikes? Join in the discussion to define the role of women in bicycle sports and how we can help to progress gender equity in sports and cycling overall.

Moderators:

• Liz Carlson started out as a bike commuter and pannier-packing tourist, crossing the United States in 1989 with Bike-Aid, a fundraiser for the Overseas Development Network. She followed her love of two-wheeled travel to Rodale Press, where she began her career in magazine journalism promoting Bicycling, Mountain Bike and Runner’s World magazines. Carlson’s worked behind the scenes as a producer, publicist, technical artist, researcher and photography editor; as well as writer and photographer for such award-winning titles as Backpacker, Men’s Health, Prevention and Organic Gardeningmagazines. In 1994, Carlson entered her first mountain bike race on a dare and won. New to the sport of cycling and armed with a desire to learn, she raced it all– off-road single track, criteriums, circuits, stage races, dirt and traditional triathlon — before discovering her body was made for the track. Carlson left the editing desk in 2007 at age 37 to compete for the United States at the Los Angeles World Cup. She has since amassed eight Elite National Championship titles, four top-ten World Cup finishes, two Pan American podiums and was named to the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Long Teams. In 2011, at age 42, Carlson set two American records at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Carlson is a passionate believer in the life-changing power of cycling and advocate for women in sport. She’s currently an Ambassador for Liv/giant, a brand of Giant Bicycles dedicated to advancing the sport of cycling for women.

• Dorothy Wong is a multi-time cyclocross champion with titles in mountain bike and road racing, as well. She has 17 years experience in bicycle racing, and has been organizing cyclocross races in Southern California since 2005. Wong started cycling in 1995 while holding down a high-pressure career in television. Nine weeks after buying her bike, she entered her first mountain bike race and discovered her passion. In her mission to grow cycling, she created a cycling non-profit organization called The TEAM, an all-inclusive group that supports youth and women to build confidence in riding and life. Dorothy is also a founder of the Women’s Cycling Challenge — a grassroots competitive racing series for women that incorporates mentoring and clinics as well a member of the LUNA Chix LA cycling team encouraging women to get out and ride a bike.

Panelists:

• Dotsie Bausch won the Olympic silver medal in Team Pursuit at the 2012 London Games, with her teammates, Sarah Hammer and Lauren Tamayo. Last year, Bausch and her Olympic teammates set a world record in the team pursuit. She is a six-time U.S. National Champion and a two-time Pan Am Championships gold medal winner. In 2007, Bausch tried track cycling for the first time and rode on to win two national titles on the track that year. Bausch spent nine years as a member of the U.S. National Team and has competed in the biggest road races around the world for professional teams including Jazz Apple, Colavita-Sutter Home and T-Mobile. While Bausch has scored major victories on the bike, perhaps her greatest victory came from resurrecting her own life from the depths of severe eating disorders, which threatened to take her life over a decade ago. It was during her recovery that she discovered her passion for cycling. Bausch serves as a mentor for young women eyeing the professional ranks for the SC Velo presented by Empower Coaching Systems development team, which she co-founded.

• Krista Carlson began playing hardcourt bike polo in 2008, and fell fast in love with the urban bicycle sport. Carlson is co-founder of the Valley Bikery, the San Fernando Valley’s first bike co-op. While Carlson has competed in tournaments in North America and Canada and traveled throughout the U.S. to promote bike polo and support new clubs, she is deeply connected to community cycling advocacy in Los Angeles. She has competed in three of the four Ladies Army tournaments, the only series of tournaments which is a dedicated women’s competition. Hardcourt bike polo is unique in being a coed competitive sport, which is a subject of much debate as the sport evolves. As bike polo grows, she continues to work to grow bike polo for Los Angeles, for women, and as a sport overall.

• Jill Gass is a USAC Certified Expert level coach, founder of B4T9 Women’s Cycling Team and owner of Revolution Coaching, LLC. She has over 25 years experience racing and working with athletes ranging from professional to recreational. Her academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science Degree in Athletic Training, and a Master of Education Degree with emphasis in Coaching and Sports Medicine from Texas State University. She spent several years serving as Athletic Trainer for the University of Texas and the University of Houston. Jill’s four-woman team established a world record at the Race Across America in 2010, crossing the 3,000 mile race in just seven days and some change. She is also a National and State Champion, but enjoys spending time teaching and promoting the sport of cycling to beginner women. With a background as an All-American NAIA collegiate runner and volleyball player, Jill is now an elite level triathlete, focusing on non-draft long course racing, particularly half-Ironman distance.

• USAC Level 2 Coach, RaeLynn Milley coaches beginner to intermediate cyclists in southern California. RaeLynn is also the Women’s Editor for Road Bike Action magazine where she writes about professional women cyclists, product reviews, training and female specific bikes. She is the founder WomenCyclist.com and a member of B4T9 Women’s Cycling Team. RaeLynn lives in San Diego, Calif.

• Jennifer Tetrick’s journey in the sport of triathlon began with a bike. A ranch girl at heart, Jennifer rode horses long before ever riding a bike, but after buying her first road bike and winning her age group in her first triathlon in 2009, she was hooked. In 2010, Jennifer won the Triathlon at Treasure Island as an amateur, and moved into professional field of racing. Career highlights thus far include 2nd place at Ironman 70.3 Florida 2012, 3rd place at the Philadelphia Triathlon 2012, 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Muskoka 2011, 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains, in addition to being included on USA’s team for ITU long course worlds. Jennifer has participated at the elite level in cycling as well as triathlon and is an advocate for increasing opportunities in sport for people of all abilities and levels. Jennifer has worked as a communications director for a Member of Congress and later as a communications lead supporting the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Program. Currently, when not training or racing, Jennifer consults for a renewable energy company based in Santa Monica, CA, and volunteers for an organization dedicated to helping athletes with intellectual disability reach the highest level in sport, including the Paralympics.

Register for the Women’s Summit today!