Our story:
There's an oft-repeated line about women's bike racing. “There's just not enough interest,” you might hear, or “we would put on a race if there were time in the schedule, but women just don't show up.” Tired of hearing this line — or of being one of a small handful of women showing up to races where all riders are grouped into one category or thrown in with a men's field — cyclists Eli
sabeth Reinkordt (Team Laser Cats) and Michelle Lee (Arrow Racing) partnered to develop Women Bike PHL Racing (). In 2015, Lee and Reinkordt piloted a six-week road skills development program with seven women in the so-called Women Bike PHL Devo Squad. After weekly practices, the racers made their debut at the Philly Phlyer. They continued to race through the spring and summer, attending events like the Navy Yard Criterium and Lu Lacka Wyco Hundo. A few tried cyclocross in the fall. One spent the summer riding the Continental Divide. Lee and Reinkordt opened up the 2016 application to women in Philadelphia in January of that year. They asked about bike experience, but they asked women to define their reasons for applying, too. They asked for a commitment to an intensive practice schedule, and, more importantly, a commitment to enter three weekends of road, criterium, and team time trial racing that spring. Seventy-two women in Philadelphia submitted their applications. Due to the overwhelming response, Lee and Reinkordt reformatted the program, choosing to accept sixteen women the second cohort. The 2017 application cycle was no different in terms of interest, but this time, applicants were also invited to apply to a mountain bike devo cohort, led by Nathalie Anderson (Arrow Racing). With the help of alums from the 2015 and 2016 cohorts, led by Carolyn Auwaerter, the program preserves the one-on-one coaching and mentorship elements. In addition to the Devo cohort, Lee and Reinkordt established WBPHL Racing as a USAC-registered team, open to any women in Philadelphia interested in racing. “Getting into the world of racing can be daunting, and Philadelphia didn't really have any teams with an open-door policy for women,” Lee said.
