ENVE Adds Women’s Team With DNA Pro Cycling
Photos by: Catherine Fegan-Kim
When the DNA Pro Cycling team lines up at the USA Crit Series, Dirty Kanza, SBT GRVL, or any other event on their 2020 schedule, they will be riding ENVE. As a Utah-based team, and one that focuses on a much broader schedule than just road racing, the partnership is a perfect fit for a company such as ENVE that delivers a clear equipment advantage for every cycling discipline. Even with a delayed start to the season due to the Coronavirus, DNA Pro Cycling’s versatile approach to bike racing means that once the calendar resumes there will be no shortage of events well suited to their strengths.
In their eight-year history, DNA Pro Cycling has become one of the most well-rounded programs in not only the US road racing scene but also on the mountain bike and in gravel events. “Working with a single team that can showcase everything from our SES 3.4 road wheel, to the G23 gravel wheel, to the cross country oriented M525 is such a great fit for us. Add in the fact that the team is based in Utah, just as we are, and has multiple athletes that have been national and world champions and we couldn’t imagine a better partnership”, said ENVE’s Neil Shirley.
The USA Crit Series, which features events in urban areas across the country, is one of the team’s major focuses for 2020. An overall championship would go a long way in a year that has seen the canceling of the early season, in addition to the Women’s Amgen Tour of California. Yet, even with the hole that the Tour of California left, the media coverage has shifted focus as of late, and that’s something the DNA women will continue to chase.
“Our team has always been multidisciplinary, we like to joke that we had been doing it long before pro men’s teams started moving off pavement”, says team manager and co-founder Cathy Fegan Kim. “Some of our favorite events are on gravel such as Crusher in the Tushar, Dirty Kanza, SBT GRVL, and Rebecca’s Private Idaho. We like to target challenging races with a heavy media presence helping us to raise the visibility of our sponsors. This year we are excited that Hanna Muegge will be taking on the Leadboat Challenge (Leadville + SBT GRVL in one weekend). We’ll make our presence known on the MTB side also with veteran Sarah Kaufmann competing in epic MTB stage races, such as the Quebec Single Track Challenge, and the ‘young-veteran’, multidisciplinary cyclist, Katie Clouse who will try to add to her 31 national championship titles with racing on the dirt.”
Although there haven’t been many racing miles yet this season, the team got their first taste of the new equipment during their Northern California training camp this past month. After team camp, Cathy shared some of the early feedback, “We always seek the best equipment for our riders and have viewed ENVE as the standard for premium carbon aero wheels. Our riders love the SES 3.4 disc road wheels. They’ve only had the chance to use them in training – but the comments always come back the same – they are noticeably faster than other carbon aero wheels we have used. They are faster (at the same watts) than deeper section aero wheels from other brands. Riders also commented that they feel confident descending at speed, coming hot into corners, and crosswinds.”
Since ENVE will be at a number of the same events as the DNA Pro Cycling Team, such as the Boise and Salt Lake City rounds of USA Crits, Dirty Kanza, Crusher in the Tushar, and Rebecca’s Private Idaho, we’ll be sharing in their success first hand. Follow the team throughout the year on Instagram at @dnak4.
