This Was Supposed to be ME!

When I decided to take up bike racing, I fancied myself as the racer who would make everyone’s jaw drop to the floor with my mad skillz. I was gonna be so good they were going to call me the “Lance Armstrong of Women’s cycling.” Then I did my first race…and all my aspirations went poof as I swallowed a huge pill called reality on a planet I like to call Earth.

But, it doesn’t mean the scenario couldn’t happen. And, in fact, it IS happening. Evelyn Stevens is an investment banker who played tennis at Dartmouth (quick side note: have you ever noticed how the majority of the cycling world is well educated and holds powerful career positions? Hm…). She was a CAT-4 racer one year ago. And where is she this week? Winning Stage freakin’ 4 of La Route de France 28 minutes ahead of the peloton! That’s where.

Over the course of about 15 months, Evelyn has:

- Bought her first bike (Spring 2008).
- Entered her first race, a training clinic in Central Park (June 2008).
- Won the Green Mountain Stage Race (Vermont), after catching and passing the Pro Women’s field that started 5 minutes ahead of her own field.
- Won the RR and placed 2nd in the Crit at the Valley of the Sun (Arizona).
- Participated in some of the biggest races in the U.S. – Redlands, Nature Valley, Battenkill , and Cascade Classic to name a few.
- As an amateur, riding as a guest on the Lip Smacker Pro Team, won the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts, an NRC race, ahead of riders like Tina Pic and Jeannie Longo.
- Won her first major European race by taking Stage 4 in La Route de France.

Hold on. Let me pick up my jaw.