Velo Bella-Kona Latest

Bellas do the Otter

Bellas do the Otter
Originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes

Let the racing, or whatever.....commence!

See us at Booth #509

Dear EVERY Velo Bella across the US,

In late September I was scrambling, pleading to find someone to support me in cyclocross, for a team to ride with. My procrastination was getting the best of me again. I began searching the results for team ideas from all the 2006 local races and from nationals, then Googling the names in attempt to find some sort of contact information. But then what? What to write when you know it is far too late in the year for a team director to welcome you aboard? What to write for yourself when you know it is your own fault for assuming things will work out? Things always work out, right?

Well, actually, yes…everything worked out splendidly. Alex Burgess, Velo Bella – Kona Team Director called me back the next day. Without the normal formality of a phone conversation, Alex got right down to business. "Ok, I remember you being a peanut, so will a 47cm frame work?" "That was a Selle San Marco saddle you were riding right? Was it the Aspide or the Blaze?" "Sidi shoes, right? Kids shoe or do you have to wear triple layers of socks to fit into an adult shoe?" "And your helmet…that Giro looked like a melon on you…we'll get you their smallest size."

Geez, I thought, creepy, who is this guy? This guy is one of the most selfless people in the cycling world. See him in his pink suit with his purple boa – his life seems to be centered on supporting women in this world of a man-dominated sport.

Well that was easy. But then he asked for my goals…something I have never been very good at communicating. I can't remember what I stumble-mumbled out, but after Alex said "…hmm…" I knew it wasn't what he was looking for. "How about you go out there and race your bike when you want to and have fun, and smile for goodness sake!" Wow, pretty laid back and relaxed; this will be a low key year.

From there things turned into a whirlwind of a year. I started riding faster, and with the 2006 U23 title, Alex wanted me at the USGP's. So I started traveling and not only was the support incredible, but I was meeting new Velo Bellas on my new team every weekend. After traveling to races alone last cyclocross season, I embraced this amazing new change, and was so excited to have fun, smart and smiling teammates. I never did meet every single one of my seventeen teammates, but my 2007 cyclocross season as a Velo Bella has left me forever a Bella.

To all the Velo Bellas who made my trip to Worlds possible, I cannot thank you enough; your generosity and support has been overwhelming. Truly, this trip would not have been possible without the plethora of outreach from the Velo Bella family. I am having the time of my life here in Italy and Belgium, racing my bike, enjoying eye-opening new experiences, sampling new and delicious foods, and loving every second. I am happy that I have been able to be a part of the Velo Bella story and look forward to the coming years.

Amy

Treviso, Italy

Winter Traning on the Kona

Photo Break, originally uploaded by sabinedukes.

Socks for Amy

Help send Amy Dombroski to Worlds in Italy, and donate to Breast Cancer research and look stylie as a bonus.

Thanks to the generous support of DeFeet, Velo Bella is pleased to offer these special wooly warm calf length socks.

Price is $12/pair and 25% of proceeds go to Breast Cancer research, while 75% will help send Amy to CX Worlds.

Contact Alex if interested, but hurry!!

More info HERE

Amy Dombroski wins Under 23 CX Nats

Congratulations to Amy on her second U23 National CX Championship!

Cyclingnews
Velonews

Shannon Gibson Wins 40-44 CX Nationals

Congrats to our latest National Champion

Mired in Cross

We are in knee deep in our favorite time of the year, cyclocross season. Check out the reports here and here

Velo Bella's Surf City a Psychosuccess!

Velo Bella has been promoting the Surf City Cyclocross Races for 4 years now. This year we dubbed our Halloween Race, Psychocross. And it lived up to its name. In addition to 350 racers and 40 kiddie kross participants, we had over 70 people in our now famous Costume Cross. I have no idea who keeps records of such things, but it sounds like a costume cross record to me.

Thank you to all the bellas and fellas who chipped in to make a spooktacular day. I've heard nothing but raves for the course and venue. We also raised $500 that we will be sending off to the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League.

Clickie on the pic below to see the start of the costume cross race

and Clickie here to see more video, pics, results and the fabulous sponsors that made it all happen.

Interbike 08

Its always good to go there and thank all of our wonderful product sponsors in person. It was even more fun this year to race a little cross while we were there.

Sabine to be Honored at Interbike

Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition Honors the Queen Bella!

Sabine Dukes - First Ascent Award

This award recognizes a woman new to the industry who demonstrates strong potential for leadership. This award furthers the vision of OIWC by increasing visibility of talented young women at lower levels in an organization, thereby facilitating and nurturing their leadership skills.

Sabine co-created Velo Bella, a women’s cycling club that now has more than 300 members. She says of her organization, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, “Our mission is to encourage women to take up the sport of cycling. We hope to encourage women by showing how much fun the sport can be. We have a great time, and we hope it shows. We do have a race-focused interest, but welcome any women interested to our team. We have no membership fees and the only requirement of the team is to purchase a jersey, participate in at least one race, and to have fun.”

In her nomination, Sabine is praised as being an inspiration to women everywhere. “In 2001 or 2002 she and a friend founded a cycling club with one mission in mind: Cute uniforms. The group has evolved into Velo Bella, a worldwide collection of pro and amateur racers and rec riders spreading the message that strong women can look good and have fun on a bike. The pros are always race-favorites among the 6-year-old girls at races because of their sassy uniforms. And they inspire women everywhere to be a part of their club and join the party.”

Sabine is also the Controller for Fox Racing Inc. A CPA and Dean's List scholar graduate of San Jose State with a BS in Business Administration, she is at home in the bicycle industry. “It’s a pleasure now coming to work and seeing other people clomping around the hallways in bike shoes!”

Sabine will receive a scholarship to a Strozzi Institute for Leadership workshop in Petaluma, CA. The popular four-day workshop, “Leadership in Action 1: Principles and Practices,” is valued at $2500.

Awards will be given at the OIWC Gathering, Thursday, Sept. 27 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Casanova rooms 503 and 504.

VELO BELLA – KONA ANNOUNCES 2007 WOMEN’S ELITE CYCLOCROSS TEAM

The Velo Bella - Kona women return for another year of dirty fun all across the United States and Europe. For the fourth year in a row, the world’s most successful all female cyclocross team will spread the Bella vibe around the Crank Brother’s US Grand Prix of Cyclocross, US Cyclocross Nationals and over 92 local races across the US. The Velo Bella – Kona team will also send a select squad of racers to Belgium this December to show the Europeans how female American cross racers get their groove on.

“Velo Bella is dedicated to providing a place for women to ride their bikes, race their bikes, and above all, have fun getting muddy and cold in a skinsuit,” said Team Co Founder, Sabine Dukes. “Our membership continues to grow with nearly 400 women in 28 states climbing up the category ranks in every major cycling discipline. Velo Bella - Kona professional teams exist to mentor and inspire our members wherever they are. Therefore, we are proud to announce the largest elite cyclocross team in the world with 19 athletes competing at the highest level in every corner of the country.”

West Coast

Barb Howe (Larkspur, CA) - 2004/05 US World Championship Team Member

Natasha Perry (Santa Cruz, CA)

Ann Fitzsimmons (Morgan Hill, CA)

Marian Jamison (Verdi, NV)

Northwest

Shannon Holden (Spokane, WA)

Kari Studley (Bothell, WA)

Mid-Atlantic

Melanie Swartz (Reston, VA)

Jennifer Bodine (Garret Park, MD) - 2007 US Collegiate Criterium National Champion - Div 2

New England

Anna Milkowski (New Haven, CT)

Stephanie White (Durham, NH) - 2007 US Junior XC National Champion

Melody Chase (Portsmouth, NH)

The Rockies

Kathy Sherwin (Heber City, UT)

Jennifer Tilley (Boulder, CO)

Amy Dombroski (Boulder, CO) - 2007 U23 Cyclocross National Champion

Monique Hein (Boulder, CO)

Natasha Cowie (Boulder, CO)

Shannon Gibson (Durango, CO)

Kristin Danielson (Durango, CO)

Minnesota

Maria Stewart (St Paul, MN)

The team will be riding in sweet style with custom painted cyclocross frames from Kona Bicycles, featuring Easton stems, seatposts, bars, forks and wheels, as well as SRAM Force drive trains, Avid brakes, Chris King headsets and Selle San Marco saddles. TeamEstrogen.com sells team clothing and sexy skinsuits provided by Louis Garneau, and Giro helmets and Zeal Optics protect our racers through the worst conditions possible. Patagonia and the Vanderkitten clothing line will help us relax post-race, and the lovely Good Vibrations will keep our racers “safe” at the post-race parties. Pedro’s and Ultimate Support rovide our mechanics with all they need to keep the team’s bikes rolling smoothly.

What Happens in Snowmass

stays in Snowmass

Alicia Styer Becomes Junior 8-10 XC National Champ

One of our younger Velo Bellas, Alicia Styer became the 2007 US National Junior 8-10 year old XC Champion last Sunday morning.

Full story and pics here

Stephanie White is the Junior 17-18 National Champion in XC

By Stephanie White

Congratulations Stephanie and best of luck at Worlds in Scotland!!

Read Stephanie's report here

The real race of truth

Velo Bella wins Naked Crit

A New York Kudo for our Ice Kate

Dear Bellas,

I just wanted to let you know that Velo Bella is very
well represented by New York State member Kate Stewart!

My kid Eleanor is a Junior Elite level speedskater who is attending an Olympic Training Center summer residency program in Marquette, MI. Eleanor was told that part of her training would involve cycling on a road bike. The kid had a bike but was not comfortable using it. We are talking high anxiety! She had a couple of spills last year trying to learn to use the bike and had let it go.

Eleanor and Kate are both members of the Syracuse Speedskating club, and Eleanor knows Kate is a great cyclist. To prepare for the OTC Eleanor asked Kate to help her get used to the bike, and Kate took her out on the bike before the Marquette program began. Kate was so great. It took a lot of patience on Kate’s part to get Eleanor comfortable and to instill a little confidence in her, there were clip-in pedal spills, uphill meltdowns and turning lessons, but with Kate’s help it all worked out.

I don’t think that Eleanor would have made it to Marquette with the bike without the generosity of Velo Bella Kate.

Very Sincerely,

Marcia

Bellas Take Win at Coyote Creek

Linda Tersegno Claims Double Bronze in Senior Games

Linda's report of the National Senior Games, Louisville, KY is here:
New York Regional Bellas Home Page

Final results for Linda:
Bronze in the 20K RR
Bronze in the 40K RR
8th in the 5K Time Trial
7th in the 10K Time Trial
Congrats, Linda!!

More Natasha in the News

WTF?

You're going to have to read the New York blog here to find out.

Doing hard time in Folsom

Stella Carey snags a third at Folsom Crit

Check out some pics from Folsom and Nevada City Classic

A good weekend for our Natashas!!

Natasha Cowie sprays onlookers with champagne after her win on the Dausett Trails in Jackson, GA. The race was the sixth in the SERC series and the latest in a series of successes for Natasha Cowie, Southeastern Pro Bella. For full results, visit goneriding.com.

~~~~

New NorCal Bella, Natasha Perry, landed on the podium at Memorial Day Criterium in Morgan Hill. It was a hard fought sprint against powerhouse teams like Tibco and Proman. A great showing for Natasha and the entire Velo Bella-Kona road team.

Ridin

15 Velo Bella-Kona riders participated in the Kern County Women's Stage Race, a fabulous event, just for us womenfolk.

And besides causing a little mischief in the streets of Bakersfield, we participated in 5 categories of racing.

6 Stage Wins!
3 Overall GC Wins!

And lots of good times with a great team.

Thank you to our wonderful support team of Miss Mary, Michael, Tyler and Jeff. The Disco boys don't even have it as good as we did.

Click here for pictures
Click here for results
Click here for Sabine's report
Click here for Erika's report
Click here for Marian's report

6 Hours of Bella

Natasha Cowie, pro southeastern Bella, took first in the 6 Hour Solo Women’s division at the 12 Hours of Tsali on May 19. She was also the only woman to complete 6 laps. See goneriding.com for full results. Photo courtesy goneriding.com.

2007 Jersey Now Available at Team Estrogen

Velo Bella wear is available for purchase at Team Estrogen.

And for those who like to swim and run in their chamois, check out the new Bella Tri Wear!

Gravity Girls in Cyclingnews

From the Barb Howe diary

Introducing the Kona Lisa Supreme RD

The official bike of the Velo Bella-Kona race team!

How lucky (and cute) are we?!

More info on the bike can be found by clicking here

Our team bikes are outfitted with:

SRAM Force drivetrain
SRAM Rival brakes
Easton Orion II Wheelset
Easton handlebar, stem, seatpost
Selle San Marco saddle
Crankbrothers Quattro pedals
Schwalbe Stelvio tires
Fuzzy flair

Those who opted for standard geometry will be riding the Zing Supreme

More details, links, photos and fun about this bike on our forums.

2007 Gravity Girls

Allie Burch - 2004 Pro Women's Super D NORBA National Mtn Bike Series Champion, pick up hockey player extraordinaire, and 2007 Sea Otter Hula Hoop champion.

Sara Johnson Washington, Idaho, Montana state champion 5 years running and too fast for the camera.

Kimber Gabryszak First year Pro, nationally ranked Skeleton, and all around cutie pie

Clickie here for more info about the team and their gear.