Melissa Sanborn

About Melissa....
A native Oregonian, Melissa started competitive sports at age 12. She began playing tennis and taking lessons at the local Salem Swim and Tennis Club, and went on to play #1 varsity all 4 years in High School at Sprague High. After she graduated high school she went to The University of Oregon as a walk-on freshman and played tennis with an injured shoulder for most of her first season. Among other sports, she played competitive soccer through out high school and college. It became her first love before cycling.

At the age of 28 Melissa discovered cycling in the summer of ’99 when she became good friends with a bike shop manager at Hutch’s in Eugene, OR, her residence for almost 15  years. He encouraged her to purchase a racing bicycle, a Bianchi Giro. And as they say, the rest is history.

Most important to her cycling career was the advice she was given to hire a coach, which she did in July of 2000. Melissa has been working with Wenzel Coaching as an athlete and coach ever since, building a strong foundation and working to achieve the goals she has set forth.

Perseverance is the stronghold of her career. As when most things get tough only the strongest survive. From local racing in the fall of ’99 to her first NRC events in ’00 and then racing in Europe at the end of the ’04 season, Melissa has come up through the ranks scrambling for teams from year to year. Such is the way of the women’s peloton where there is not a ton of resources and support.

Now, she is focusing on building a strong base and looking forward to a successful season in ’08 with her new team Vanderkitten. Her focus will be racing many of the NRC events with her new team and getting to know the team. Racing in Europe again and making the US world's team is still among her goals. She is also excited to be an associate coaching member of the Wenzel Coaching staff and can be contacted about your coaching needs. Visit: www.wenzelcoaching.com for details!

A few more details . . .

Nicknames:  Melly-Mel, Mel, M, Melisseee, Sillymelisss, Mels

Hometown:  Salem, OR

Residence:  Portland, OR

Pets: Indie the Black Lab, McKenzie the orange tabby cat, and Miso the black & grey tabby cat.

Birthday:  April 12, 1972

Education:  B.S. in Psychology, Portland State University

Sports Before Cycling: Tennis, soccer, backcountry skiing, gymnastics

Other Pastimes/Off-Season Hobbies:  Coaching, traveling, cooking, skiing, snowshoeing, hanging out with Kendra, Katrine & Indie, crosswords, reading and researching, working on my computer, listening to music

Music Most Recently Played:  Salif Keita, Brandi Carlile, KT Tunstall, Cheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Dixie Chicks, David Gray, Maroon 5, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Rusted Root

Favorite Food and Drink: Sushi, carnitas soft tacos, red wine, chocolate, IPAs

Favorite Movies:  Motorcycle Diaries, Life Is Beautiful

Goals Long Term & Short Term
To win and come back strong in '08 with her Vanderkitten Teammates!

2008 Racing Schedule
Feb 18 – Santa Rosa, CA – TOC Criterium
Apr 30-6 – Redlands, CA - Redlands
Apr 19 – Monterey, CA - Sea Otter Classic
Apr 26 - May 4 – Athens, GA – SE Crit Series
*May 13-18 - Hood River, OR - Mt Hood Cycling Classic
*May 26 - Somerville, NJ - Tour of Somerville
May 30 - June 1 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Tough Ride & Race
 Jun 3, 5, 8 – Philadelphia, PA – Triple Crown/Liberty Classic
June 21 - Austin, TX - Austin Criterium
Jun 29 – Manhattan Beach, CA – Manhattan Beach Grand Prix
July 16-17 - Vancouver, BC - BC Superweek Gastown & Giro d'Burnaby
Aug 2 – Charlotte, NC – Presbyterian Hospital Criterium
*Aug 3 - Hanes Park Classic
Aug 16-17 – Downers Grove, IL - USA Cycling Crit Championships
Sept 8 - Tour of Missouri Women's Criterium, Kansas City, MO
Sept 13 - San Francisco Twilight Criterium, San Fran, CA
Sep 25 – Las Vegas, NV – USA Cycling Vegas Crit
 
* not a team race

Career Highlights
2nd Stage 5 Tour of Montreal, 2005
#1 USCF Women's Cat 1 Criterium Rankings
American Criterium Series Champion 2004
1st Tour of Somerville, 2004
1st Boise Twilight Criterium, 2004, 2003
2nd Wendy’s International Cycling Classic, 2004
2nd Ice Mountain USCF International Women's Open 2004
1st US Bicycling Hall of Fame Criterium, 2003
1st Sprinter’s Jersey Competition Solano Bicycle Classic, 2003
Oregon Criterium Champion 2002, 2001
Oregon Cup Champion 2002, 2001
Oregon State Road Race Champion 2000

Other Athletic Accomplishments
Collegiate Tennis & Soccer, Expert backcountry & telemark skier