USA CYCLING'S 2017 "Best New Club"
Formula Femme is a New York-based amateur track team and registered 501c(3) nonprofit focused on strengthening the women's field and women/trans/non binary presence at our local velodromes and inspiring more women to try racing.
Born out of a weekly women’s social bike ride, we started Formula Femme in 2015 to shake up the world of track racing in NYC. With three successful seasons down, we’re aiming to both continue building on our success in New York and expand our goals to make a splash at races across the country - and world!
We’re a tight-knit group with diverse backgrounds, from full-time couriers to daily commuters. We’re active throughout the cycling community: you can find us riding in alleycat street races, organizing bike camping trips and long rides upstate, touring across the country - or just across town for ice cream.
ABOUT
Formula Femme started after a simple conversation at one of our weekly women/trans/non binary-only social rides. One rider expressed an interest in trying track racing, and before we knew it, we had a dozen riders interested in starting a team.
We had no idea where to begin - most of us had never even competed in a sanctioned race before, and only a handful had even ridden a fixed gear bike. We may have been overly optimistic at first considering we we starting from the ground up, but with hard work, the help of our amazing local community, and women's cycling supporters across the country, we scraped together a team.
Our work on and off the track has inspired other teams of women, trans, and non binary people to take a renewed interest in track racing, given junior women racers a future field to look forward to, and inspired folx from an even wider range of backgrounds to try the track.
In 2016, the Women’s field at our local velodrome typically consisted of our team plus a couple of juniors. In 2017, three new FTW (femme/trans/women/non binary) teams started, providing the numbers that allowed for even competition and growth at all levels. By the end of the season, our weekly race series saw over twenty FTW folx racing each week from a mix of teams - four times the number of Women's field racers from past years. By 2018, we had enough racers for full Category 4/5 and Category 1/2/3 Women's fields.
mISSION
- Continue building FTW track racing in NYC by ensuring there’s a full field in each race and strong competition at all levels;
- Help our local cycling community through clinics, volunteering, and personal support to make racing and cycling more accessible to FTW folx;
- Act as inspiring and accessible role models for the sport, by challenging ourselves and providing an encouraging example of what anyone can achieve through dedication and hard work.
Over the past three years, we’ve competed in over 100 days of sanctioned racing - primarily at Kissena, our local velodrome in Queens, NY, and at The Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA, which draws the best riders from the Northeast. This year, we raced at fixed crits across the country — including Red Hook Crit in Brooklyn, Intelligentsia Cup in Chicago, Mission Crit in San Francisco, and Red Bull Last Stand in San Antonio — and raced at tracks in Portland, Cleveland, Chicago, San Jose, London and Minneapolis.
2018
Podiums
- 1st Place Overall, 6 Days of Kissena, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 2nd & 3rd Place, Kissena Spring Classic, Pro/1/2/3, Kissena Velodrome
- 2nd Place, Kissena Spring Classic, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 2nd & 3rd Place, Fuji Pro/Am Super Tuesdays Week 2, Trexlertown Velodrome
- 2nd & 3rd Place, 2018 NY State Endurance Championships, Pro/1/2/3
- 3rd Place, 54th Annual Kissena Labor Day Meet, Pro/1/2/3, Kissena Velodrome
- 3rd Place, Fyxation Open//Intelligentsia Cup (Chicago, IL)
Notable Results
- 4th, 5th and 7th Place, Lucarelli & Castaldi 6 Days of Kissena, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 6th Place, 54th Annual Kissena Labor Day Meet, Pro/1/2/3, Kissena Velodrome
- 4th & 8th Place, Kissena Spring Classic, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 6th Place, Kissena Omnium, Pro/1/2/3, Kissena Velodrome
- 4th Place, Kissena Omnium, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 5th, 7th & 8th Place, 2018 NY State Endurance Championships, Cat 4/5
- 4th Place, 54th Annual Kissena Labor Day Meet, Cat 4/5, Kissena Velodrome
- 24th, 25th, 34th Place, Mission Crit (San Francisco, CA)
- 11th & 20th Place, Redbull Last Stand (San Antonio, TX)
- 43rd & 51st Place, Red Hook Crit Brooklyn
- 4th Place, Fuji Pro/Am Super Tuesdays Week 4, Trexlertown Velodrome
- 7th and 9th Place, Bone Machine Crit (Portland, OR)
- 6th & 7th Place, Fyxation Open//Bay View Classic (Milwaukee, WI)
- 4th & 5th Place, Fyxation Open//Downer Classic (Chicago, IL)
- 4th & 7th Place, Fyxation Open//Intelligentsia Cup (Chicago, IL)
- 5th, 6th, 7th, & 9th Place, 2018 Fyxation Open//Overall
- 17th Place, Endurance Omnium at Fixed Gear Classic, (Minneapolis, MN)
- 10th Place, Sprint Omnium at Fixed Gear Classic, (Minneapolis, MN)
Other Accomplishments
Beyond podiums and placings, here’s what we’ve accomplished in building up and giving back to the community:
- Organized & hosted dedicated half-day FTW skills clinics at Kissena Velodrome;
- Served as Women’s Representative for the New York State Bicycle Racing Association, working to advance opportunities and causes for women's racing in New York;
- Officiated over 20 races in New York State as a Category C Official, filling a much-needed gap in the community;
- Assistant coached Star Track, a youth-oriented racing program;
- Volunteered at skills clinics and clean-up days at at Kissena Velodrome;
- Helped causes we're passionate about, including a women's health supply drive and fundraiser ride for the ASPCA.
GOALS FOR 2019
We've got big plans for this year to build on our success from last year. What’s on our list?
- Continue to travel to race at other velodromes and fixed gear crits around the country and world, including but not limited to the Fixed Gear Classic in Minneapolis, Mission Crit in San Francisco, SoCal Fixed Series in LA, and international races in the Red Hook Crit series;
- Continue hosting our popular series of skills-based clinics with top riders at Kissena;
- Host a fixed gear crit clinic to introduce more women to this fast-growing form of racing;
- Enlist a coach to help us take our racing to the next level.
Your support can help as achieve them!
wHAT WE'RE OFFERING
Visibility & exposure: We have over 40,000 followers all over the world across our main and personal social channels. We have tremendous reach among FTW folx who ride - a market that's rapidly growing. We're out nearly every week and weekend from March through August racing and practicing, and travel to races around the country and world. We're captured in professional and candid photos both on- and off-track, and we travel extensively on bike tours across the U.S. You'll be seen everywhere we go!
An authentic connection: Research shows that today, the best way to reach people isn't through traditional advertising means - they're looking for stories they can connect with and aspire to on a personal level. We'll be passionate advocates for your brand and help you showcase your story in a genuine way. With over 30,000 followers on social media across our accounts, you'll be seen by who you're trying to reach! Get in touch and we'll work on specific ideas tailored to your goals.
Custom content: We'll create exciting custom content to share on our channels and yours, ranging from rad photoshoots, videos, rides to your business, samples at our clinics or race days - and more! Reach out and we'll come up with ideas just for you. Our team captain has over four years of experience creating content and managing social media channels for one of the largest non-profits in the U.S.
support us!
Startup costs for a new racer - from bike parts to licensing fees - are around $1,700. Race fees and transportation cost $25-60 each race day per rider for local races, and much more to travel out of the region when factoring in transportation costs. We depend on sponsors to help make competitive cycling more accessible for us and other women.
Interested in being part of our growth? Here's a guide to different suggested sponsorship levels. We're always open to new suggestions and partnerships - let us know your ideas!
aNY QUESTIONS?
Reach out to us at formulafemmenyc@gmail.com!
INSTAGRAM: @formulafemme
FACEBOOK: Formula Femme
WEBSITE: https://www.formulafemme.com/
Photos by Kenji Edmonds, Miki Marcinkewicz, Robert Lai, Allie Smith & Kelly Neuner
Credits:
Kenji Edmonds & Miki Marcinkewicz