Elite women’s road racers Team Boompods have their sights set high following their most successful year ever in 2022. As their bike store sponsor, Big Bear Bikes is proud to support their aspirations for even more team and individual success this season. In today’s blog, we look ahead to 2023.
How do you follow a season in which you’ve achieved more individual and team successes than ever before? The answer is with more of the same. With preparations for 2023 in full swing, the mood among the riders and management of Team Boompods is ambitious and excited.
A fantastic 2022, the most successful year to date, saw a first place for Ellen in the Tour Series in Barking and a team win in Manchester; a first for Mary in the Lancaster Grand Prix, part of the National Road Series campaign in which the team finished second overall; and a third in the team standings of Rás na mBan, Ireland’s premier women’s stage race.
Of course they want to better that performance this year and have expanded their rider pool from 10 to 12 to support that ambition. With only weeks to go before the Women’s CiCLE Classic, their season opener and round one of the National Road Series, they headed to Dalby Forest for a muddier, bumpier ride than they are used to.
Team Boompods launched their 2023 season with a group ride as guests of our sister store Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, on a route led by our British Cycling-qualified instructor Mark Grange, accompanied by Managing Director David Beeley, our Head of Bikes, Alex Lalande, and Senior Sales Advisor Olly Maud.
Despite many of the Boompods team being inexperienced on mountain bikes and taking it easy to avoid pre-season injuries, David, Mark, Alex and Olly needed to jump on e-bikes and dial up the power levels to keep up with this competitive and super-fit group.
The riders were then kitted out with Bontrager Circuit WaveCel helmets for training, Bontrager XXX WaveCel helmets for racing and Bontrager Velocis carbon fibre shoes.
Team Boompods Co-Manager Hannah Farran said: “We would like to thank Big Bear Bikes for hosting our team launch. The launch offers opportunities for our riders to bond, outline our goals and meet our sponsors.
“Day one focused on a team photoshoot at Big Bear Bikes, handing out equipment, a team meeting and a relaxing evening meal with the guys from the store.
“For day two we had a team ride with a twist…a guided mountain bike session round Dalby Forest. All of our riders thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, learning new skills and taking in the fantastic scenery.
“The whole team came away from the weekend feeling motivated for the season ahead with a number of big targets.”
Team Boompods are now training hard as they prioritise podiums and team success in the National Road Series, the National Criterium Series, the Tour Series and a number of European races.
Big Bear Bikes Managing Director David Beeley said: “We are really happy to support Team Boompods for another year.
“They have expanded, going up to 12 riders, so we are very excited to see what they can achieve In 2023, after such a strong 2022 season.”
Look out for more great stories from Team Boompods and Big Bear Bikes in 2023. Get all the updates first by following Team Boompods’ Instagram and Facebook and Big Bear Bikes’ Instagram and Facebook.
Image credits:
Instagram: @darran_moore_photography
Facebook: Darran Moore Photography
Instagram: @philmetcalfephotography
Facebook: Phil Metcalfe Photography
