Steel City Endurance Bike Racing Season Highlights
This past week Steel City Endurance Bicycle racing team and Sponsors gathered at ProBikes in the Squirrel Hill of Pittsburgh, PA to celebreate our 4th year of racing. While putting together a short list of season highlights I realized (once again), what an incredible group of dedicated and talented cyclists we have, along with sponsors who have been with us since Day #1.
The team’s accomplishments are many, but here are the highlights, starting with the incredible Women’s Racing Squad, now in their 4th year of racing, and comprised of Cat 3 & 4 road & cyclocross racers.
Women’s Team
Kate Bennet #1 Cat 4 ABRA Crit Series
Stacie Truskowski #1 ABRA Cyclocross Series
Rachel Weaver #1 Womens ACA Criteerium Series
Patty George #1 Overall Tour of the Valley
Anne Marie Alderson – First Place Fort Classic (#6ABRA Road), Dirty Dozen Overall Women’s Winner 2011
It goes without saying that these accomplishments of individuals are all team accomplishments as well. The ladies have truly learned how to function as a bike racing team in order to support individual goals. Special thanks also to Barb Grabowski, now retired from racing, a Cat 2 racer who podiumed in every event (road, time trial, criterium) in last year’s masters nationals. Barb has provided excellent mentorship & guidance to the womens team as well as orgnaizing our annual team training trip over the past several years.
Men’s Team
Mens Team Overall: B Series Winner, Allegheny Cycling Association
Doug Riegner B Series Winner ACA
Joe Lydic First Place Connelsville Criterium (abra #2)
Mike Quigley First Place Pro Bikes Criterium Championship (abra #5)
Again, I stress that these are all team accomplishements and season highlights. There were many, many more podium finishes and I’m certain I’ve missed some accomplishemnts of several of the team members.
Sponsor Highlights include the sponsors who have been with us every year since our inception, allowing us to supply the team with racing kits & supplement travel expense and race entery fees:
4 Year Sponsors:
Pittsburgh Pro Bikes
Tuscano Insurance (Rob, Terry & Ginny Tuscano)
Padgett Business Services (Jim merante)
Square Cafe (Sherree Goldstein)
Feldstein Grinberg Stein & McKee (Jeff Balicki & Partners)
Allegro Hearth Bakery (Omar Higley)
Finally, this year for the first time, we awarded a “Sponsor of the Year” award. This year the award went to Tuscano Agency, located in greesburg, PA for their ongoing support and the largest dollar amount given to the team so far. THey have had a promitned position on our kits, both top & bottom and everyone who has seen us race, is familiar with the name. We’ll be posting a feature story on Tuscano Agency so you can become familiar with the company as well.