The Webcor Builders Womens Professional Cycling team will compete June 6 in the Philadelphia International Championship Women's Liberty Classic. The team, fresh off of the Sacramento Grand Prix, will take on this demanding course, covering four 14.4 mile (57.6 miles) laps through Philadelphia.
This race is among the longest running, and most prestigious races for women in the United States. The course covers what is called a "grueling" climb up the Manayunk Wall. Taking a look at the course map will give you an idea of what "steep" and "grueling" mean and why it's called the Wall. The history of this race, and the international flavor of it, can be found here. It's a good read.
The Webcor women's team has the distinction of being North America's longest established women's pro team. Webcor Builders is a rather large concrete contracting company, 7th largest in the US, and is the largest general contractor in the state of California. Andy Ball, CEO of the company, says this about the company and the team: "As a company, the key to our approach is the quality of the people on our team, and this is exemplified by the Webcor cycling team as well."
Webcor is also committed to the green ethic, designing and building with sustainable methods and materials. It is not whimsy that the team kit is green.
In 1999 they sponsored the Webcor Club team. From that club the elite amateur men's team was formed, in 2002. In 2003, women's races were added to the team schedule, and in 2006, the company dropped the men and has been supporting the women's pro team exclusively.
Webcor's dedication to women's professional cycling is to be commended. Take the time to follow this California based team. This next weekend, go to the race website, and see how the lady's in green fared. If the Sacramento Grand Prix is any indication of what kind of racing will take place, it should be quite a fierce ride.
Karen Brems, the teams race director, said in a recent interview that her team was ready to ride. Race results will be found here, as we continue to cover the Webcor Womens Professional Cycling Team. Go Green!
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