The Hour Record Doesn’t Matter. Evie Does.
On Saturday I tuned in to a livestream to watch Evie Stevens set a new women’s UCI Hour Record. If you’d have asked me 10 years ago whether this was something I’d ever be doing I probably would have looked at you very confused. I grew up playing competitive sports but had no idea women’s bike racing existed. It was not something I ever saw — not on TV, not in magazines, not online.
Like many girls, my first adult bike (a full-suspension Diamondback), was gifted to me by a boyfriend. Despite using it to tool around on local trails, I didn’t develop any real cycling skills or knowledge until 2010. That’s when I began training for a Half Ironman, which I signed up for, in large part, to pull myself out of the depression I sank into when that same boyfriend proposed and I declined.
I had no idea how to train for a Half Ironman, so I joined the Asphalt Green Triathlon Club, which is based in New York City, where I promptly moved after we split — fulfilling a lifelong dream. Part way through the year one of the male coaches noticed that a group of us newbie girls were strong but, as he put it, “had no idea how to ride our bikes.” He volunteered to mentor us, meeting with us every Friday morning in Central Park to work on things like shifting and pacelining. It was my first taste of riding in a group at speed and I loved it.
