Connect with us

Cycling

PIPES AMONGST WORLD’S CYCLING BEST

Guam’s Lenora Pipes had an outstanding finish this past weekend in the UCI World Championship cycling race.

PRESS RELEASE – Lenore Pipes, 29, made history for Guam cycling as she battled it out with the world’s best women cyclists at this past weekend’s prestigious UCI World Championship race held in Richmond, Virginia.

Her final placing of 55th out of 135 racers does not reflect how close the finishers were to each other.

Pipes’ finish time of 3:24:48 was less than a minute off the winning time set by Elizabeth Armitstead of Great Britain (3:23:56). The 80.6 mile World Championship course, described as ‘technical’, with long stretches of cobbled inner-city roads, a brutal 200 meter climb up Libby Hill Park, and a final climb up to Governor Street, presented Pipes with some difficult pre-race equipment set up decisions.

“The one thing I would’ve done differently is that I definitely would’ve put more air in my tires.” says Pipes.

Higher-pressure tires offer less rolling resistance, which translates into increased speed. According to Pipes, the course started out in wet conditions prompting the decision to decrease tire pressure, but as the race progressed the course dried up.

“There is an extremely fine line between being able to get traction on a slippery course and crashing. I felt sluggish with my choice of tire pressure on the flats and up the Governor Street climb but I felt solid in the fast downhill turns and never crashed so I guess you could say it was a toss up.” Pipes added.

With the World Championship behind her, Pipes’ focus is now on the 2016 Olympic games to be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Competing with the world’s best provided a gauge for her buildup to the Olympics.

“I think it gives me a lot of confidence that I can race on the world’s level. Many of the same women will be racing in Rio.” she stated.

Cycling on Guam has seen a recent surge, especially for females. Pipes had these encouraging words to offer – “I think the biggest advice I can give is to ride consistently and learn from each race experience. Most of all it should be fun.”

Lenora Pipes representing her island in the big race in Virginia. (courtesy photo)

Lenora Pipes representing her island in the big race in Virginia. (photos by Ethan A. Glading)

Lenore had this to say in summarizing her experience at the World Championships – “I was so proud to represent my island home of Guam amongst the world’s best women cyclists. Maybe on a different day or even slightly different course I could’ve finished higher but still proud to finish less than a minute off of the winner’s time and come into Libby Hill for the last time with the lead group.” She added, “I want to thank the Guam Cycling Federation for supporting me and my staff to race in Richmond. I wouldn’t have been able to compete without them.”

Lenore Pipes is a 2004 graduate of St. John’s School. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Honors Biology and Anthropology, has an M.S. in BioInformatics from Johns Hopkins University, and is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow pursuing her PhD in Computational Biology at Cornell University.

Ad

GPS Sports Calendar

June

July 2025

August
SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
Events for June

1st

Events for July

2nd

Events for July

3rd

Events for July

4th

Events for July

5th

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Events for July

6th

Events for July

7th

Events for July

8th

Events for July

9th

Events for July

10th

Events for July

11th

Events for July

11th

No Events
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Events for July

12th

No Events
Events for July

13th

No Events
Events for July

14th

No Events
Events for July

15th

No Events
Events for July

16th

No Events
Events for July

17th

No Events
Events for July

18th

No Events
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Events for July

19th

No Events
Events for July

20th

No Events
Events for July

21st

No Events
Events for July

22nd

No Events
Events for July

23rd

No Events
Events for July

24th

No Events
Events for July

25th

No Events
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
Events for July

26th

No Events
Events for July

27th

No Events
Events for July

28th

No Events
Events for July

29th

No Events
Events for July

30th

No Events

COMING SOON …

FD Alumni Basketball Tournament June 27-July 18

Pacific Mini Games June 29-July 9

 

QUICK HITS

Guam’s Jeremiah Camacho shot a perfect game at the 48th Hong Kong Open. The 22-year-old Guam National Team Member shot his 18th career perfect game on lanes 1 and 2 at Top Bowl Lanes in Hong Kong.
————————————————–
Guam’s athletes performed well in the Spartan Race in Capas Tarlac, Philippines, picking up two division wins and two 2nd place finishes.
Belen Sidell 43 yrs (1st)
Phil Law 58 yrs (1st)
Tess Esma 48 yrs (2nd)
James Sardea 55 yrs (2nd)
Charles Esma 18 yrs (12th)

More in Cycling