VELO BELLA – KONA ANNOUNCES 2006 ALL FEMALE PRO MTB TEAM

The women of team Velo Bella – Kona stand poised to spread glitter and flair across the US and Canadian professional MTB seasons with a brand new professional women’s team made up of international talent from both inside and outside the Velo Bella organization. Although new to the party, as usual, we expect to turn a few heads.

Known in the MTB world for years as a widespread wacky women’s cycling club with a few professional MTB racers here and there, Velo Bella has partnered with Kona Bicycles USA to provide one of the most fun, compelling and competitive professional women’s MTB teams in the country focusing on Cross Country events at the NORBA series, the US and Canadian National Championships, and perhaps even supporting an athlete or two at the World MTB Championships in New Zealand later this year.

Canadian sensation Wendy Simms will captain the 4 member team and after years of racing on her own, Wendy chose to join the pink conga line because of the Velo Bella’s focus on fun, their relationship with Kona Bicycles and the ability to race in a supportive family and female-oriented environment. Kristin Danielson makes her return to the US MTB scene with Velo Bella – Kona and looks forward to showing what Durango and a little road racing can do for one’s off-road form.

In between giving birth to a gorgeous little Velo Fella and preparing for the upcoming racing season, Shannon Holden ran a marathon in Seattle to celebrate her son’s three month birthday… Yeah, we’ll just say she is hyper organized and leave it at that. Noel Weddle completes the team, adding her climbing talents and electrifying enthusiasm to the group. Living at altitude, Noel lives with a continuous case of oxygen deprivation explaining her eagerly looking forward to the more vertical races in the NORBA series…

The Velo Bella – Kona core will be augmented at certain races by professional Velo Bella – Kona riders from around the country including Sami Fournier (Washington, DC), Allie Rau (Detroit, MI), Jennifer Tilley (Lawrence, KS) and Erin Duggan (Apton, CT).

The entire team is brand new to one another and will meet for the first time at their camp in and around Auburn, CA from March 1st to 5th. In addition to the pro athletes, Team Management has asked key Velo Bella development riders to attend the camp as well.

The team will race on custom designed blue, pink and black Kona Kula Lisa and Queen Kikapu bikes featuring the always reliable Chris King headsets; Easton stems, seat posts, handle bars, and wheels; Fox forks and shocks; SRAM drive train; Selle San Marco Glamour saddles; Crank Brothers pedals; Truvativ cranks; Avid brakes and Schwalbe tires taking care of the girls as they roll down the trail.

Patagonia and Hincapie Sportswear will wrap our girls in racing kit and casual athletic wear, with Zeal Optics providing protection for their eyes and SIDI shoes covering their painted toes. Team apparel can be purchased at Team Estrogen.

Velo Bella’s contagious spirit and unique approach to women’s competitive cycling have created a following across the United States and around the world. The Bellas encourage women to cycle, no matter what their level. The distinctive Velo Bella kit can be found on recreational riders, elite level racers, and all those in between.

In addition to national and international racing, the Pro MTB Team will be joined by hundreds of amateur racers who will compete in local MTB races throughout California, Minnesota, Michigan, the Mid Atlantic, North Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Georgia and other events across the United States.

The Velo Bella Pro Mountain Bike Team members are:

Wendy Simms (Nanaimo, British Columbia)
Kristin Danielson (Durango, CO)
Shannon Holden (Spokane, WA)
Noel Weddle (Grand Junction, CO)

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This fabulous post was written by one of our awesome bella volunteers ~ Sabine is the cofounder of Velo Bella and if you like this report, you can thank her with brownies and beer.

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