CYCLETO INTERVIEW

SHELLEY OLDS INTERVIEW

SHELLEY OLDS - NATIONAL TITLE REPORT

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.....

As I sit and reflect back on the happenings of one week ago, I still can't believe it all. After waking up on the morning of my 28th birthday and finding that my brand new racing bike was stolen from my car just two days before the National Championships, I felt totally lost and violated. Last Tuesday was a day that I hope never repeats itself.

As an elite athlete, you put everything you've got into your preparation for big events. The Track National Championships was my goal race this year and a race that I had my eyes set on since the season began. All of my training and racing up to this point was geared towards making me the strongest and smartest racer I could be come October 1st. And I was feeling good. I finally felt like I had done everything right up until this point. I hadn't peaked yet, I hadn't over-trained, and I was confident that I had done my homework.

All of that changed in a matter of minutes when I discovered the morning before Nationals that my race bike and gear had been stolen from my car. I was devastated, lost, and extremely angry. I went through the day, which seemed like a week, trying to keep my head above water. I had people from all over the map calling me, wishing me luck, offering to let me use their equipment, and even offering to go to the local flea markets in search of my bike. The response was amazing. People were so generous and helpful, sacrificing their time and their equipment, so that I could still chase my dream and win a National Championship.

Late that same evening, we got a call from the police. They had recovered my bike, but not my bag. I was overwhelmed and ecstatic. The next morning we were off to L.A.with my BMC Track Machine on the roof rack of my car. The emotional roller-coaster of that one day, was more than I could imagine, but I was finally able to let go of it all and focus on my races. I had my bike back.

Everyone at the track, fellow riders, coaches, and spectators, had heard about the incident with my bike. They offered their condolences about the robbery, but all said how glad they were to see my bike was recovered. My first race was later that evening, the Team Pursuit. This is an event with three riders from the same team who race against the clock together for a distance of 3 kilometers. The team with the fastest time is declared the winner. My team finished 2nd, just 1.4 seconds off the winning time. We just missed the National Championship. This was just the motivation I needed to compete in my next race, the Scratch Race.

The Scratch Race is a 40-lap race (10 km) and the winner at the end is the person who crosses the line first. It is similar to a criterium in road racing, but it is much shorter in distance. After two qualifying heats, the field was limited to 16 riders. After racing aggressively in my heat, I decided to take a different approach to my race tactics in the final. I chose to play a more conservative role in the first 20 laps of the race and sort of feel out the rest of the riders. I watched many of my competitors fight it out on the front of the race, covering attacks, initiating attacks, and closing gaps. All the while, I sat on the back and waited for my moment. I felt great in the race, only doing work when I needed to and conserving energy wherever possible. I also had my teammate, Megan, at the front of the pack who was controlling any dangerous moves for me.

With about 10 laps to go, I started making my way up to the front of the race and holding position within the top 6 riders. With 5 to go a strong pursuit rider attacked and got a gap just off the front end of the pack. One rider was in front of me and began the chase to bring her back. But she moved up right away and I was left to close the gap. I did not hesitate. I closed the gap as quickly as possible to ensure that others behind me had to work. When I caught the rider's wheel in front of me she pulled for 1/2 lap more and then swung up track. Now I am on the front with 2.5 laps to go in the race and the field behind me is strung out. I did not hesitate. I hit the pedals full gas. It was now or never. When I went through the start/finish with 1 to go, I had only one rider on my wheel but she was glued on there and I thought for sure she would be able to come around me in the last turn. I didn't care, I had to go for it anyways. I buried myself for the line and even though my legs were burning and my form was diminishing, I pulled and grabbed and fought with everything I had to make my final bid for the line. As she tried to come over the top between turn 3 and 4, I gave a little tiny hook and threw her off just enough to disrupt her progress. As the drag race began in the straight away, I could hear the voice inside my head saying, "You will NOT lose this race." And I knew I was NOT going to lose. I threw my bike across the line and pulled off the biggest victory of my cycling career. I was a National Champion!

I would soak in the glory of that victory for the next 30 minutes. The smiles on my face were uncontrollable, the happy dance was in full-effect, and I was calling everyone I knew. I wanted to share this moment with as many people as possible.

It went from the worst of times, to the absolute best of times in a matter of three days. I will never forget this experience. What I learned from this experience is that there are some pretty amazing, generous, and caring people out there. I couldn't have made it through that day and stayed focused on my goals without their support. I share this championship with so many people that have become like family to me over the last few years. I realize how fortunate I am to be surrounded by this community and my heart goes out to everyone who reached out to me last week. I can't thank you all enough.

Thanks for reading ~ Shelley

The Stone Clinic Weekend

Having worked with elite and professional athletes over the past twelve years, I can say that in my experience there is something refreshing and different about working with women. Having grown up with an active single mom and two very athletic sisters, I’ve had no choice but to take female athletes very seriously since my youth. Unfortunately, aside from the world of triathlon and precious few other sports, women rarely get the attention men do, or the credit they deserve.


That’s why I’m here, happy to help the PROMAN Women’s Professional Cycling Team get their message out. I’ve had the chance to work with them as a sponsor, cheer them on at races, and my girlfriend recently upgraded and now has the opportunity to race against them from time to time. It’s a great program in which hard-working athletes selflessly ride for one another for the best squad result by executing sound team strategy. They are easy to respect and appreciate when you watch them joyfully celebrate successes, and graciously field questions and compliments after podium finishes.

One of the reasons PROMAN has come so far in such a short time is their level of professionalism and cohesion as a squad; both are due to mutual respect and emphasis on the team serving as an unconditional support structure. Naturally, it revolves around a love of the sport and fondness for one another, which explains how they can work so hard, sacrifice so much, yet enjoy what they’re doing and strive for success with such determination.

Shelley and Nicola recently attended a two-day conference focusing on how to be successful as a woman given the inherent challenges in the world of sport and beyond. Shelley sent me some of her notes afterward, and subsequently we decided together that it would be nice to share them with you. As always, it’s nice to have the other gender validating your words or actions, and even serving to keep you in check. In fact, the "StoneFit" Pro Women Athlete's Career Conference that Shelley and Nicola attended was organized by Kevin R. Stone, MD.
In my experience with successful women in all fields, including athletics, they ring true. We hope they are a source of encouragement or inspiration for all readers and friends of PROMAN.


Notes from the weekend:

Women are often more inclusive, welcoming, non-hating, supportive, and determined to have fun when they enter the world of sports.
I learned so much in this two-day conference, my head has been spinning with ideas and I could hardly sleep last night. What an incredible opportunity this was for Niki and me to absorb such a wealth of information. This will only help us grow and reach our goals for this team to be the best that it can be and have a profound impact on the lives of so many female athletes.
Here are a couple of concluding thoughts, things that really hit home for me after attending this conference.

1. Live your life as a body of work.
2. Be inspired everyday to be creative and cultivate opportunities in your life.
3. No one thing or moment can define you as an athlete, what makes you who you are is your ability to live your life passionately.
4. Work hard at your own marketability. Have charisma, passion, and determination and don't be afraid to let it show.
5. Understand the value of impressions. Present yourself in the most compelling way possible. Separate yourself from the pack.
6. Tell your story: what else do you do besides ride/race/podium? People want to relate to you. Engage them.
7. Do your research, dig for it and figure out what you are worth.
8. Put your heart and soul into everything you do and understand how fortunate you are to be doing what you love for a living.
9. Don't take "No" for an answer. Put yourself out there constantly, because you never know...
10. Own your own brand: Be authentic and sustainable, competitive, confident, and be consistent with your brand.
11. What do sponsors look for? Personality, Reliability, Values, Reputation, Flexibility, Passion and Enthusiasm.
12. Be Humble and Confident. Share random acts of kindness. Be professional, courteous, fun, and easy to be around.
13. Exceed the expectations of others: lend a hand, offer to help, engage clients and customers.
and finally...
14. Wake up every day knowing that you have NOT yet arrived. There is always more for you to give, more for you to achieve, more for you to create.


We were so fortunate to spend these two days in the presence of real heroes and champions of their respective sports, all of whom were women. Each person who spoke shared a little piece of their lives with us, and I have no doubt that their generosity will lead us to achieve great things in our lives. I look forward to taking the tools from this conference with me and passing them on to the many people in my life who inspire me everyday to be the best that I can possibly be.
- Thanks for reading, Shelley & Nicola

Mark Deterline - 2thefront