Category — Bicycle Racing/Training

2011 was a breakout year for the Missing Link Coaching Systems/ Specialized Team.  The team secured its first NRC stage win on the final stage of Tour of the Gila, rode to a number of other podium finishes in NRC races, had numerous victories on local & regional stages, and finished 4th overall in the Women’s Prestige Series and 6th overall in the National Race Calendar series.  It was a fantastic year that highlighted the strength and cohesiveness of the team in many different races.

However, 2011 will be the final year for the Missing Link – Specialized team.  The team director Maggie Williams, and her husband Don, who have been invaluable supporters of the team, have decided to step away from team sponsorship and direction for the time being.  Maggie recently took an incredible opportunity to develop her career and has some exciting opportunities ahead of her as the Global Head of Talent Management for AIG.  She’s at the pinnacle of her career and has decided to take a break from running a cycling team to focus on these exciting developments.  Speaking on behalf of the riders on the team, we wish her and Don all the best in this exciting time, and we are very, very grateful for their support and the opportunities they have provided.  Thanks, Don & Maggie!

We are also very grateful to all our sponsors, who have been invaluable in the success of the team, as well.  A huge shout-out to Specialized, Missing Link Coaching & Training Systems, Nicollet South Bike Shop, Bike Shop Hub, Fluid Recovery, Athlete Octane, XOOD – Natural Healthy Endurance Drink, Honey Stinger, Genuine Innovations, and Zeal Optics!!!  We highly recommend you check out these great companies and products now and into the future!

Of course, this team and all its success would not have been possible without the great roster of riders on the team.  I am glad to call these women my friends and have been fortunate to have such great teammates.  Best of luck to you ladies in your bright cycling futures!

For me, it is definitely bittersweet to write this post.  I have been with the team for four years, and in addition to racing, I have worked as the Team Captain, Webmaster, and Product Sponsor Coordinator.  I have had tons of great opportunities to work with sponsors, teammates, and everyone involved in the team.  While it is hard to see the team coming to a close, I’m also very excited for new opportunities for myself and everyone else!

So in sum, it’s been a great run with Missing Link – Specialized (formerly Specialized D4W p/b Bicycle Haus)!  Best of luck to everyone moving forward.  Women’s Bike Talk will continue to be the team website for a few more months, but it will morph into something new in the future, so please keep us in your Google Reader, RSS Feeds, etc.

Happy Riding!
Melanie Meyers Colavito
September 19, 2011

August was a month filled with great racing. Four months of prior hard training paid off, and (knock on wood) I was able to remain relatively injury/crash free. Here’s a quick recap of my racing in the past month:

Crankwork: I placed 7th for Pro women. This race is part of the Epic Singletrack Moutain bike series. Fast and furious singletrack, complete with rocky climbs and a river crossing.

Xterra Indian Peaks: Pay Day! I squeaked into 3rd place for Pro women and managed to make some dough. Freezing swim, sweet bike course almost completely in the woods, and a run full of obstacles and hills.

Mountain Top Circuit: I placed 6th for Pro women. Another mountain bike race in the Epic Singletrack Series, this course starts and finishes at the top of Mary Jane which makes for thin air and lots of climbing.

Xterra Lory: Another 3rd place day on the podium! Although I felt pretty awful at this race and had no wetsuit in the swim and a precarious malfunctioning pedal on my bike, I managed to fight through the pain and give it my all to make up some time on the run and snag a top spot.

That’s it for now; up next,  Xterra U.S.A. Championship. As always, many thanks to you guys, my amazing sponsors & team, Missing Link Coaching Systems/Specialized.

Well, I broke my arm 4 days after wrapping up the Cascade Cycling Classic. Ironic how one can race all year without any major injuries and then yard sale it big time on an easy MTB ride back home.  Sure didn’t see that one coming…

Anyhoo, I was out for an easy cruise with Jake from Athlete Octane, he is also my coach and quite awesome.  On our way back to town after a few hours of fairly technical riding, I endoed on a smallish rock on a descent.  Nothing major.  I’ve endoed my MTB many, many times.  Unfortunately, I stuck out my right arm to catch myself (stupid…) and when it hit the ground, it was probably hyper-extended, as my limbs tend to do that.  Crack!  I hit the ground, and the first thing I noticed was my elbow.  It looked dislocated and was pointed the wrong way and a bone was in the wrong place.  Shock started to set in.  I screamed for Jake like bloody murder, but he was a little ways down the trail and didn’t hear me.  I sat down on my butt and looked at my arm.  Suddenly it popped back into place.  Phew, I thought, but crap!  It hurt!  [Read more →]

The Missing Link – Specialized ladies are currently at the Cascade Cycling Classic in beautiful Bend, Oregon.  We are super fortunate to have two incredible host families this year!  One of our host families – the Tapper’s – have been taking lots of photos of us, which we get to share with you here!  Many thanks to Jon Tapper for taking all these photos.  He’s a great photographer, and you can check out more of his work at Sallgood Sports.  It’s all good!  Get it? 

Check out the Missing Link – Specialized Photo Gallery.

Here’s a sample photo, as well!

Thanks again, Jon!

It has been one crazy busy summer, which pretty much explains my lack of blogging activity during the past two-ish months. June and July have been peppered with racing, training, moving, and crashing. Crashing you say? Yes, crashing. If you race a bike, it is not a matter of if you will crash, but when you will crash. It happens to the best of us and as Francis likes to say, “If you’re not crashing once and awhile, you’re not riding hard enough.” Let me give you a quick recap of June and July thus far:

Early June: Francis and I discover our landlord is selling our condo and we must move out by June 30th. Francis frantically searches for a suitable new home while I work away improving the mental health of kiddos and their struggling families.

June 19th: Francis and I race Xterra Lock 4 Blast in Tennessee while visiting my good friend Alicia and her husband Will. I pulled off my first pro win, despite the dark and stormy weather, which consisted of heavy downpours and massive thunder and lightning during the whole bike/run of the race. We also listen to live country music in Nashville and eat lots of pulled pork and “redneck tacos.” [Read more →]

SO, if life is like a pizza, then as an “elite amateur” cyclist, training and racing is only one small part of the pie, like maybe the tomato sauce and the pepperoni (or mushrooms if you’re like my vegan teammate). And while pizza may be less zippy without the tomato sauce, sometimes we need to stop and get our hands dirty, mixing the flour and yeast and water to make ourselves a tasty crust for the pizza (pizza recipe available on request). And that has been my life for the past month+, since a fabulous trip to race Gila and collegiate nationals. SO, I will take a post to show you a slice of the pizza that is this cyclist’s life.

Anna M in the crit at collegiate nationals

Step one: win fancy new jersey in the road race at collegiate nationals. Finish respectably in the criterium.

Step 2: Finish writing Ph.D. dissertation. Print copies for members of my committee. Note, this process involves several intense weeks of very long hours in lab and in front of a computer, following nearly 5 years of research. [Read more →]

This past week, the Missing Link Coaching Systems team found themselves in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area for the fast, furious, and fun Nature Valley Grand Prix.  The team sent a strong squad, which included Anna Barensfeld, Judy Jenkins, Rachel Warner, Leah Guloien, Cara Gillis, Jenna Rinehart, and Melanie Meyers Colavito (in order below from left to right).

The race consists of 6 stages over the course of 5 days, including some hard, hilly road races, fast, flat criteriums, and a short time trial.  The race takes riders from Cannon Falls, south of Minneapolis, to Uptown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul, and even Menomonie, Wisconsin.  To make things even more exciting, the current world champion, Giorgia Bronzini of Italy, was there racing with her Colavita squad, and the race was packed with former world and Olympic champions! [Read more →]

On Saturday, June 11th, I raced the season opener of the Epic Singletrack Series, the Hill Climb Kickoff. This race consists of a 5.3 mile hill climb, from the Winter Park base to the top of Mary Jane Mountain. The race is basically straight up, with roughly 2,00 feet of climbing. It tops out at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. Thus, this race is no easy feat, but I had a blast. Despite having tired legs, I dug deep and was able to push through the pain and lack of oxygen for a win in the Expert category. I guess this means I’ll have to buck up and race the Pro category next time! Thanks to all of our great team sponsors, especially  XOOD, Fluid, Zeal Optics, and Specialized, which I used specifically for nutrition and equipment this race.

Xterra Moab was technically my first Xterra as a pro. Let’s just say it was not the debut I imagined. The swim began in Ken’s lake, and the water temp was frigid (I’m talking less than 60 degrees!). After a very chilly swim, I set out on the bike trying to regain my equilibrium lost in the cold waters. The bike course on the infamous Steelbender trail was rocky, sandy, and technical with big drops and sharp ledges. I think I left my fear, intuition, and common sense back in Denver as I attempted to ride every feature on the trail, and not very gracefully at that. Several crashes and a few choice words later, I finally made it back to transition. Out on the run, I was merely trying to survive. In the midst of all my crashing on the bike, I had completely forgotten to hydrate and eat. I suffered through, making sure to put one foot in front of the other and trying not to pass out. After finishing the race and pounding a few cookies, I was able to muster the energy to pose for this picture. Notice my awesome new trisuit, thanks to my team Missing Link Coaching Systems/Specialized. All and all, I managed a 7th place finish (overall women) and learned quite a few valuable lessons.