InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems strives to walk the talk

Seeing a void in the development of well-rounded female athletes in Southern California, a pair of veteran cyclists, Dotsie Bausch and Pam Schuster, have formed the InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems cycling team. Although the elite eight-rider squad will primarily compete throughout California, the young riders will race in regional and National Racing Calendar (NRC) events while being mentored and groomed to compete on the national and international circuits as professionals and Olympians. While success on the bike is important to the team, InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems will define success differently because the mission of the unit emphasizes fostering a fun, positive, respectful and nurturing environment to support young females in goal-oriented pursuits in cycling and life beyond athletics.

Bausch, a six-time National Champion and a Pan American Championships gold medal winner who has been racing as a member of the U.S. National Team since 2002, had so much fun last season racing around the globe mentoring young Australian, New Zealand and Canadian riders on Team Jazz Apple that it inspired her to focus on the talent in her own backyard. “The women on InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems were specifically selected because of the enormous potential they have shown in winning races and as quality women who realize the importance of giving back,” said Bausch. “When I first came into the sport, I was blessed to receive generous mentorship from Jim & Katie Stafford, who demonstrated that they believed in me no matter what. They taught me cycling and the importance of team concepts, and they encouraged me never to give up on myself. That is the legacy Pam and I want to impart upon the young women coming up in our sport. We hope to build women’s cycling locally, regionally and, eventually, nationally by setting an example for our competitors, sponsors and fans that we are athletes who promote generosity, kindness and fairness in sport, and that we are only as great as the sum of our parts.”

Bausch and Schuster, who are serving as race directors, have a long-term vision for InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems. “Pam & I have great respect for what Jonathan Vaughters has done with Slipstream Sports over the years. He committed to mentoring and developing young riders, taking them from national and international junior and U23 (under age 23) competition onto professional and ProTour levels while being committed to ethical fair play in sports. That is exactly the type of ground-breaking program we would like InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems to become for women,” explained an impassioned Bausch.

As part of their commitment to mentorship, each InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems team member is required to provide support and serve as a mentor during at least three category 4 (beginners) women’s races this year. Bausch said, “Our whole motto is to walk the talk. It’s people who make a difference in each others’ lives. We stand behind our riders in the pursuit of their cycling goals and we want our girls to do the same for new female riders. It is the only way for women’s cycling to grow.”

The InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems team will focus on the SoCal Cup Series, state and national championship races. Having concluded a three-day training camp in Thousand Oaks earlier this week, the women are eagerly anticipating the start of the season February 6th at the challenging Boulevard Road Race outside of San Diego.

Riding for InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems in 2010 are youngsters Katie Donovan, Priscilla Calderon, Beatriz Rodriguez and Steph Roorda along with veterans Lee Adams, Bonnie Breeze and co-captains Bausch and Schuster. A former competitor as a professional triathlete, Donovan morphed into a full-time cyclist last season before going on to win the Ventura Stage Race and set the record for the fastest women’s times ever recorded on both days of the epic Everest Challenge. Heading into her forth season, Calderon won a State Criterium Championship in 2006. Also embarking on her forth season of racing, Rodriguez’s resume includes winning the 2008 U23 National Criterium Championship, the 2008 SoCal Cup Series, and a state cyclocross title. Roorda, who raced with Bausch last season at Team Jazz Apple, is entering her second season on the road. She won gold in the team pursuit riding for her native Canada at the World Cup track event last December in Cali, Colombia. Bausch, who is targeting the 2012 Olympic Games as a member of the team pursuit, will represent the U.S. in that discipline at the UCI World Track Championships in Denmark in late March. Still fast after 18 years of racing, Schuster won the SoCal Cup Series last season. Adams, who is the team’s manager, placed 3rd at the 2006 Master’s World Championship Road Race. Breeze has 20 years of racing under her belt, the highlights of which include winning back-to-back Master’s State Championships in 2007 and 2008.

InCycle/Time To Track presented by Empower Coaching Systems is sponsored by InCycle Bicycles, Time To Track, Empower Coaching Systems (a cycling coaching venture of which Bausch is a partner), Champion Systems, Amgen Cycling Club, EPIC Performance Hydration & Recovery Drinks, Selle Italia Bicycle Saddles, SpiderTech, Smith Sunglasses, Hibiscus Sunglasses, Sequoia Technology Group and Great Scott P.R.oductions.

Tags: champion systems, criterium, cyclocross, Denmark, Jonathan Vaughters, National Championship, national racing calendar, National Team, New Zealand, San Diego, scott, Slipstream, UCI, World Championship