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Women on Wheels WOW at the Masters
10 February 2012
Women on Wheels WOW at the Masters
Eight female cyclists from Dunedin are buzzing after their track performances at the Mosgiel Velodrome this week during the NZ Masters Games. The women belong to Cycling Otago’s Women on Wheels (WOW) group which was set up 13 months ago to grow the number of women competing in this exhilarating sport.
Founder and coach of WOW, Mark Falcous, says all the women demonstrated monumental improvement in their track cycling skills.
Mark says, “I was quietly confident for them all going into it but it was wonderful to see all the training and preparation come together on the day, all the women excelled themselves.”
Vivienne Allen Kelly was the only member of WOW who had competed at a Masters Games before. She says developing confidence and learning track cycling skills in the supportive environment of the WOW group has been an amazing journey.
“When I first started competing I was a shaking wreck on the start line. Now I have complete balance with my starting position and take off. I’ve been getting my fitness up which has given me the strength to cycle 2-3 gears higher. At the Masters in 2010 I did the 500m in 54secs and the 2000m in 3 min 29secs this year I did the 500m in 43secs and the 2000m in 3min 4secs.”
Mark Falcous, who, last year was awarded the Shona Smith Trophy by Bike NZ for contributions to advancing Women's Cycling, says the WOW initiative has been wildly successful.
“Two years ago there were very few women track cyclists in our region, now we have 16 active women riders in WOW and there’s a growing number of women who are showing and interest in joining. It’s a fast and furious sport that requires advanced skills in cycling. You are riding without brakes.”
Mark says the Masters has been excellent preparation for the National championships in two to three weeks time.
“The women are going to hit the Nationals at the top of their form, which is great for them and for Cycling Otago.”
NZ MASTERS GAMES 2012
Dunedin
February 4 – 12
www.nzmg.com
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