Kristin Armstrong
Olympic and World Champion cyclist Kristin Armstrong will return to the Nature Valley Grand Prix in 2009, participating in the annual five-day, six-stage race for the fourth consecutive year. This time, in addition to racing in the Nature Valley Grand Prix to defend her title as three-time championship, Armstrong returns as a member of the Cervelo-Lifeforce Professional Cycling Team.
Armstrong will be under serious pressure since she'll have no teammates to support her defense of her 2008 jersey. However, team tactics play little role in Armstrong's specialties, time trials and climbing, so she's still the favorite to repeat.
www.kristinarmstrongusa.com
Team Type 1
Currently ranked #1 in the country, the women’s Team Type 1 is brand new this year.
They join their men’s team on a mission to promote awareness of Type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects two of their eight riders. While many people talk about how diabetics can overcome their condition to live normal lifestyles, Team Type 1 lets their wheels do the talking. Both Team Type 1 squads will attend the Nature Valley Grand Prix this year.
Their leader is Allison Powers (an ironic name for an elite cyclists). Powers is currently ranked #1 on both the National Racing Calendar and the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series.
www.teamtype1.org
Webcor Builders
Webcor is committed to women’s cycling with a team that may be their strongest ever. That’s a bold statement, since four of their 2008 riders made it to the Olympics. Their 2009 team emphasizes youth, with three of their riders under age 26.
Led by former US National Champion Katheryn Curi Mattis, currently ranked second on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar and in the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. As a team, Webcor is also ranked second in the country and is gunning for #1. With just four points separating them from Team Type 1, that goal is within their grasp.
www.webcorcycling.com
Team TIBCO
Team TIBCO prides itself on supporting up-and-comers under the guidance of Canadian Olympian Linda Jackson. One of their discoveries, Brooke Miller, has clearly arrived.
Miller burst onto the national scene with her surprise win at the Cannon Falls Road Race at the 2006 Nature Valley Grand Prix. She repeated that feat in 2007 and won our critierum in Minneapolis in 2008. Her ability to dominate in both road races and criteriums led to her double national championship in 2008.
Look for her in the Stars and Stripes jersey.
www.teamtibco.com
ValueAct Capital
Last year’s new kids on the block, ValueAct Capital is ranked fourth in the country this year. They won the team competition at the Tour of the Gila and the opening stage at the Joe Martin Stage Race.
The ValueAct Capital roster at Nature Valley includes Kristin McGrath, a member of the inaugural Ryan Collegiate All Stars in 2007. Like many elite women cyclists, McGrath is a recruit from other sports. She was a Division 1 varsity soccer player and swimmer at University of Tennessee.
www.teamvalueactcapital.com
Colavita/Sutter Home
Colavita-Sutter Home’s women’s team finished the 2008 National Racing Calendar in third place. But, when the top two teams folded, they became the team to watch in 2009.
Their team leader is likely to be veteran sprinter Tina Pic, a five-time US National Criterium Champion who held the top spot on the 2008 NRC standings for the fifth time. She’s claimed three road race wins at the Nature Valley GP, the 2003 Iron Range Road Race, the 2005 Red Wing Road Race and the 2008 Cannon Falls Road Race.
Another Colavita rider to watch is newcomer Erica Allar, an alumni of our first Ryan Collegiate All Star Team. Erica is a threat for the APC Best Young Rider jersey.
www.teamcolavita.com
Jazz Apple
Bicycle racing is a popular high school sport in New Zealand, a country that treats pro bicycle racers with the reverence that US fans reserve for NFL and NBA players.
Jazz Apple is a New Zealand development team, helping the stars of the future reach their full potential in this demanding sport. Veteran racer Susy Pryde will coach these youngsters during the races.
Jazz Apple has become more international for 2009, adding riders from Australia, Canada and even America. Their top ranked rider is Ruth Cossett of Townsville, Australia, a mother of two who had a breakout season in 2008 and is developing into a strong all arounder, the type of rider favored at the Nature Valley Grand Prix.
www.jazzapple.com
Lip Smackers
Lip Smackers is the supercharged version of America’s Dairyland, a pro development team based in Wisconsin.
The “Cow Girls” have been coming to the Nature Valley Grand Prix since the early days, but have now grown into a pro team in their own right. This is a major Midwest success story and we’re proud to have grown right along with them. Coincidence? We think not.
LipSmacker’s team leader will likely be Anne Samplonius, a veteran with 16 years of experience. But the team also includes youngster Amanda Miller, another alumni of the Ryan Collegiate All Stars.
www.teamlipsmacker.com
Proman
This is the only team in the peloton (jargon for a pack of racers) to support both road and track squads.
Their squad includes Coryn Rivera who, at age 17, is likely to be the youngest racer at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, but also one of the fastest. She’s won 21 gold medals in road, track and cyclocross. And she finished the entire 2008 Nature Valley Grand Prix racing on junior gearing. (Juniors are restricted to easy gears by USA Cycling.) It’s an amazing sight to see her spinning like mad in the middle of a pack of some of the best women in the world.
www.promanracing.com
www.corynrivera.com
Team Kenda Tire
Based in Indiana, Team Kenda Tire is a grassroots program that currently lists many elite riders from across the country. This is a team whose mission is to build the sport of women’s cycling. Creative management has kept this team strong for years despite changes in sponsorship. This is the only team we know of that’s been funded, in part, by the sale of a team calendar.
www.teamkendatire.com
Ryan Collegiate All-Stars
Bike racing is an intercollegiate sport that’s growing by leaps and bounds across the country. The Ryan Collegiate All-Stars were selected at the USA Cycling Collegiate National Championships held in Fort Collins, Colorado, on May 8 – 10. The riders who are selected for this team will have the chance to be “discovered” when they race in front of all the top pro team managers at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. This will be the third year for this innovative program. Over the past two years, six of the twelve Ryan riders had pro team contracts the next year.
Sinead Miller, a freshman from Marian College, may prove to be the superstar of this year’s team. She won the Division I criterium and finished high up in the overall, earning her a trip to Minnesota.
www.RyanCollegiateAllStars.com
Nature Valley
What the Ryan Collegiate All Stars does for collegiate riders, the Nature Valley Pro Ride does for all amateurs: give them a chance to have the full pro experience. Rolled out in 2008 with three selector events across the country, this program has grown to six events in 2009.
Amateur riders across the country can win trips to the Nature Valley Grand Prix at regional events from Seattle to New York. They race as guests of the Nature Valley Cycling Team, an amateur club based in Minnesota.
www.NatureValleyProRide.com