The Iceman Cometh Challenge is for everyone. We want to do more to increase the diversity of our field, and this year, we’re taking the first step to get more women racing.
Women have played a part of this race since its very beginning. For more than thirty years, the race day experienced has been enriched by female athletes at every level and in every age group. Behind the scenes, women are our most valuable volunteers, our smartest committee members, and the real reason we have a race that’s turned into one of the largest in the country.
Still, we need to more to get them involved not just in the Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge but into our sport as a whole. As of right now, 13% of our field are women, and we want to do better. We’re looking at long-term solution to meet a goal I set back in 2018; I want to have 100 women in the Pro field.
It’s not just about being fast. Women do a far better job in building community and connections that support and empower. By getting more women from this level of the sport in Traverse City and connected to our event year-round, we hope to foster those same connections, that same camaraderie, and that same inspiration riders like Katherine Nash, Chloe Woodruff, and others have offered in years past.
That’s why this year, women can race in our Pro event for free. There are some caveats; the offer is open only to those who would be making their first start in the Pro category; if you’ve raced with us before at that level, you know it’s a great experience and we hope we can get you back even if you need to pay. You also must have a valid annual Pro/Cat 1 USA Cycling license, which is a requirement for all our Pro athletes.
We hope this might encourage more women to make the trip to Traverse City and join us on November 6, 2021 for the first time. Additionally, we also hope this might lure some of our strong and consistent age group winners to step up to the Pro race, which will in turn open up new competition and podium spots for other women. That’s always encouraging!
Our hope is that the best and fastest from both the men’s and women’s fields will slowly make the move to the Pro races; it should be a point of pride to be one of the top hundred fastest riders and to storm into the finish at Timber Ridge Resort the shouts and applause of 10,000 spectators!
If you’re a Pro woman ready to take the start line with us, please contact icemaninfo@iceman.com or csovis@iceman.com.
This is SO FRIGGIN AWESOME!!
This is awesome. Just wish there were more races to qualify / move up to cat 1. From reading the requirements it’s about impossible for Michigan residents. Our races don’t have enough participants.
“Women who shred” want to do just that, shred. Rumors keep flying about the progression of this gnarly race into a glorified gravel event, which for a lot of us women who take pride in actually “shredding” aren’t really into. I forced myself out of my comfort zone to ride Pro in 2019, wanting to motivate all of the female West Michigan Coyotes I help coach into doing (with the goal of not-last, knowing I was not at the same caliber as those athletes) but if the singletrack gets reduced, I probably won’t do it again. Keep or add more singletrack. Not only is it more fun, it’s more challenging AND interesting, and it keeps us “shredders” knowing the playing field is leveled with those that want to show up on cross or gravel bikes and take all the glory on the two-tracks. Keep it gnarly.
The problem with the single track is that it really backs up in later waves. Personally I would love to see more single track but there is not a great way to pass and because of that there is a high level of frustration from us in later waves. The main problem I see is the wave assignment process that they use which really helps create back ups by not using recent time information from the riders. There really isn’t a good way to have them correct this either. I once rode the iceman in 2018 at 3:38 and that result was used to place me in a wave amongst others with that time even though I finished the race in under 2 hours in 2021.
I wish the leadership at iceman would help create a better seeding system for wave assignments. Especially for those who have recently and drastically increased their biking fitness.
Wow, way to really make a difference??Give women who are already licensed pros, free spots. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great start but it’s hardly worth bragging about. You’re talking about a very, very, very small subset of the population.
You really want to see more women show up and ride Iceman? Why don’t you help us local women secure spots? Provide some resources/gear for those women who want to do this but just can’t make ends meet. We are mothers, business owners, athletes but most of all we are the backbone of this community.
We get it, the pros are shiny and make good headlines. But the moms like to ride bikes too.
Rethink your post. It’s not as inclusive as you think it is.
Hi Heather, great ideas! We have started to work with women’s biking groups in the area to grow the interest in Mountain Biking and we will hope to expand to more women in the races over the years. Hopefully seeing more Women Pros on bikes racing will encourage all women start pedaling. In 2019, I was inspired by our 3rd Place pro woman, who crushed the course and was the same age as me. If you have any more ideas, please feel free to email us at icemaninfo@iceman.com. Which is normally answered by me, a mom in my 40s and an amateur mountain biker. Thank you!
You are so right!! #momsshredtoo!