It’s been a long time coming, Adeline, Aoife (pronounced Ee-fah – it’s Irish), Petra and Clare to The 5th Floor London team. Headed up by good 5th friend Sophie Edmondson, the girls will be riding with us, competing in pretty much all disciplines and drinking plenty of coffee. 2016 is gonna be BIG!
Over to Soph for the introductions…
The last few weeks have been pretty hectic and exciting all at once. Gradually the team has come together and it feels damn good already.
The women’s team for 2016 includes five London-based riders. Right now everyone’s on the same page: getting in some winter miles ready for racing to kick up properly in the spring and also looking forward to some adventures when the summer sun finally rolls around.
After overlapping with the guys on the London racing circuit, eating pizzas and drinking beers together, joining forces with 5th was a natural move.
Adeline
Likes bikes. Can draw. Belgian. Nowhere is a bad place to stretch. 2016 goal: get a more aero haircut.
Grew up in the Ardennes and is a true beer loving hard-nut-Belgian that’s been getting stuck into her first proper season racing CX. She’s started as she means to go on – smashing the first three rounds of the Incredibly Cross series and has already entered into some big events next year.
Aoife
Loves a good road race: the more stages the better. Dabbles in CX and track. Irish drinking habits.
Digital designer originally from Ireland. Got hooked on racing after her first taste of the ‘Hoggenberg’ and is now a force to be reckoned with. The n+1 rule means we’ll see her across more disciplines in the New Year.
Sophie
Goes down hills fast, rides for the post-race refreshments. Partial to a spot of CX and bike-packing.
Rouleur. Raced the London crits and a few road races for Feather Cycles last season. Really enjoyed the tight, fast courses like the Nocturne. Looking forward to doing it all again this year with a solid team on and off the tarmac.
Petra
Czech climber. Doesn’t need carbon.
Intensely competitive Czech. Born at the top of a hill near Kozi Hory (a remote hamlet in rural Bohemia) which translates into English as ‘Goat Mountain’, she is our mountain goat, and one to be feared even when she’s on her commuter. Enjoys “double-porridge” on race days and “double-wine” on all other days.
Clare
Bowled away by cycling. Dry humour. Rides and rides and rides.
Clare’s just shifted from cricket to cycling. Like Ads, she’s hit the CX league head on but will looking to put some bigger road miles in soon, ready to join the Malawi leg of the great CWB cycle, from Cape Town to Kigali, in March.
Amongst some sanctioned and unsanctioned cross races, coffees and beers we’ve been putting together our aims for next season. We’ll be trying our luck on the track, on the mud and of course on the London circuit which is growing every year. We’ve also had entry confirmed for the biggest amateur league in the UK: The Women’s Team Series which will no doubt put the legs and lungs to test.
Weekdays you’ll find us riding Regent’s Park pre-dawn, killing some time before it’s acceptable to get coffee. Weekends are for pizza rides and CX. Give us a nod if you see us out, we’re a friendly bunch.
Huge thanks to the talented Giles Smith for the photos and as always to the wonderful Workshop Coffee for hosting.
[…] Christmas Eve, whilst Santa was prepping his sleigh, The 5th Floor announced some fantastic news. The addition of a women’s cycling team to their London based […]