Mel Spath has ridden for www.cycleways.com in recent years but has now turned pro
By Caroline Martinez
Reigning Irish national champion on the road and off road, Melanie Spath has signed for professional outfit Team TIBCO in California.
The US-based squad counts Olympic and World Championship medallists on its roster and rides the biggest women’s races in the world, having already taken in the Tour of Qatar this year.
More recently it lined out in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Belgian classic at the weekend, placing two riders in he top ten; Shelley Olds who was 7th in the Olympic road race in London placed 5th on Saturday while Chantal Blaak was 7th.
Spath, who was born in Germany but has been living and studying in Ireland for many years, acquired Irish citizenship and last year became national elite road race champion. The 31-year-old showed her versatility by also lifting the MTB marathon national crown last year.
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She also took silver in the national time trial championships in 2012 and took silver in the national cyclocross championships in January.
She has been training in Gran Canaria in recent weeks with husband Ryan Sherlock, who topped the domestic road rankings last year and has just secured a contract with UCI Continental level team Polygon Sweet Nice.
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Having focussed on road racing for the first full season last year, Spath has recently completed her studies with a PhD in computer science-health informatics. She opted out of riding the World Championships last year to finish her academic work and now seems ready for a full-on assault on the season ahead.
“Now that I’m part of Team TIBCO I want to support my teammates in the NRC races and contribute to the team’s success,” she said. “I’m hoping to learn from my teammates and gain racing experience as part of this squad.”
Team TIBCO founder and director, Linda Jackson said she was delighted to have Spath on the team for 2013.
“Melanie is an extremely talented bike rider who is only starting to realize her potential on the road. She has a very big engine and excellent bike-handling skills from her mountain bike racing. She is still learning the strategic aspect of road racing, but we have a lot of experienced riders on the team who will help with that part of her education.”
“Melanie reminds me very much of one of our founding riders, Brooke Miller,” Jackson added.
“Both Brooke and Melanie were completing Ph.D.s as they got into cycling and exemplify the type of rider that we like to have representing Team TIBCO both on and off the bike. They are incredible role models for all of our young fans, and great ambassadors for the sport.”
Spath will be riding her first stage race as part of the team in San Dimas, California from March 22nd to 24th.
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