Women’s Pro field finishes at Whitnall Park Criterium, SRAM-equipped riders dominate

As the Tour de France churns towards Paris (with SRAM RED-equipped Alberto Contador in yellow) there is another group of riders rolling through the winding hills and windy flats of northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, the racers of Superweek.

Superweek, also known as the International Cycling Classic, has featured some of the Midwest’s best racing for over 41 years and always takes place during the Tour de France. Criteriums are the mainstay, but road races and circuit races dot the two week calendar.

For 2009 SRAM has proudly reached the tipping point and more than 50% of the Women’s field lined up SRAM Rival, Force or RED. In fact of the 36 Women who started the Whitnall Park Criterium, 19 are Rival, Force and/or RED equipped. A significant milestone foir the company that has been on the road for just four short years.

SRAM’s shift levers were actually designed by a woman, engineer Chris Raymo, and the benefits to all riders in terms of comfort and adjustability and control are notable. Women tend to have smaller hands and look for any advantage in terms of control on the bike. Women tend to be a bit more discriminating as well, looking for what truly works best for them on the bike. I have also have noted that women trust the opinions of other riders, listening to others that speak about the benefits of SRAM’s DoubleTap shift levers and crisp Exact Actuation shifting.

When asked some of the Pro Women’s field why they race SRAM I received the following answers:
“Reach adjust, love it.”
“Brake levers that just break, no accidental shifts”
“Smaller hands and I maintain perfect control.”
“Ergonomics are perfect, like it was made for my made for the hand.”