How to find women's road race teams?

TheRealParisLove

I've been Googling for what feels like hours, and am coming up empty handed when it comes to finding women's amateur cycling race teams. I'm in my early 40's, so I have to assume that the teams are categorized by gender first and age second (like running). Perhaps I'm wrong and the women race in with men on the amateur teams due to a lack of female participation in the sport? I would love some links to at least meet some ladies who race or attend a race.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

KitTheRoadie

Have you tried asking at a local club, they might be able to point you in the right direction, if there are any? That's the best I've got I'm afraid!

Good luck in your search!

:happy:

Cyclink

Both men's and women's racing are categorized by ability. For women, you start in Category 4, which is the lowest category. Upgrades are based on results, which have a point system based on how well you placed and how many people competed that day.

There are age group races as well, but they are in 10-year groups for 35 and older and are rare for women. There just aren't enough women racing to justify the extra events. For men, the age group races are generally filled with Category 1 riders (the highest amateur category) who are 35 or older and just don't want to race against 19-year olds. Age-group races are run separately from categorized races (on the same day, just earlier or later).

Some elite women do choose to race with the men for stiffer competition.

USA Cycling, https://www.usacycling.org/ , is the organization behind it all. Their website has a list of every licensed racing club in the country. Some clubs are women-only, but most are both men and women. On that site you can sign up for a free account, which gets you a racing number that will track every race result you ever get in USA Cycling-sanctioned races (which most races are). If you buy a paid license, then you are included in local, state, and national rankings.

USA Cycling lists some events on their site too. BikeReg.com is probably the most popular race registration site (at least on the east coast).

I spent a few minutes and found this one: http://www.sorellaforte.com

One important distinction: in cycling, a team is a professional entity, like Team Sky or Team Radioshack, and are listed differently. The local groups you are looking for are called clubs.

KansasRider

Another great resource for funding teams in your area is Teamestrogen.com
All women's cycling forum. You can find out anything and everything there you've ever wanted about women's cycling.

scott091501

Can always ask at your lbs.