photo: John Segesta

Meet Tina Pic of the
Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team

Despite five national championship titles and a Wikipedia bio that would be the envy of most professional athletes, Tina Pic says she still gets nervous before a race.  Not for herself but because Tina says she knows her teammates put everything they have in to helping her sprint across the finish line first and she doesn’t want to disappoint them.  And after the race, Tina is always the last to leave, smiling for one more photo with a fan, exchanging greetings with friends, and signing autographs for children who hope to ride like her someday.

Now in her third season with the Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team, Tina Pic remains an indomitable force in women’s cycling.  Earlier this year, Tina won the US Speed Week Criterium Series with five back-to-back victories in as many days.  (Criteriums are fast, multi-lap races held on closed courses, usually about a mile in diameter with right- and left-hand corners that require quick acceleration and exceptional bike-handling skills.) Last month, Tina extended her winning streak by capturing her third win since 2000 at the Tour of Somerville, known as the “Kentucky Derby” of US cycling for its prestige and longevity.

A graduate of the University of Virginia with degrees in Finance and Marketing, Tina switched from triathlons and duathlons to cycling while at the University of Georgia where she’d enrolled in pre-med classes to pursue a career in orthopedic surgery. Enjoying the strategy, changes in speed, and teamwork that are the hallmarks of road racing, Tina found herself hooked.  She won the 1995 Collegiate National Championship for the University of Georgia, earned an invitation to the International Women’s Challenge in Idaho, and began racing full-time in 1996.  Tina is married to her “#1 training partner”, former pro cyclist Chris Pic, and makes time for windsurfing, waterskiing, scuba diving, and gardening when her schedule allows.

To make use out of all the fresh basil growing in her garden, Tina loves to prepare one of her favorite dishes:

Shrimp Scampi with Walnut Pesto alla Colavita Olive Oil and Pasta

 

Click here to learn more about the dynamic women of
Team Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light.
And be sure to visit the racing calendar to catch the
women in action at race near you.