NICE BIKES
Words & Images by Dominique Powers
The Nice Bikes team is a nonprofit UCI cycling team, whose intention is to create opportunities for women and non-binary athletes and staff in professional cycling. Every voice on the team shares the sentiment that this is a momentous example of what a cycling team can look like. Rachel Rubino says of it, “I’ve always wanted to be a part of building a team that will outlive me and my racing career and it feels like this program can do that for future generations. To me it feels like a supportive and inclusive environment, not one that just says it is but one that really means it.”
A week spent with the newly rebranded Nice Bikes Cyclocross (CX) Team turned out to be the creative culmination of my year. Between personally painting the backdrops for team portraits, to running around Rhode Island sand dunes and through rugged gravel roads, I got to know the women filling out the roster and the effervescent Team Director Max Pratt, who all had lots to say about the upcoming season. It’s a team filled with intention and excellence, pizzaz and competitive edge.
The team is made up of six riders, Austin Trace, Rachel Rubino, Caitlin Bernstein, Taylor Kuyk-White, Sam Fox, and Dani Morshead. The staff is made up of Technical Director Max Pratt, Team Director Kaitlyn Cirielli, Technical Lead Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin, and Head Mechanic Lauren Wiscomb.
Pratt, who has been leading the cyclocross team for the last three years under the name Pratt Racing, tells me “I’m excited to be able to support more athletes that are pushing the boundaries of cyclocross and making the sport more popular in the US, and I’m excited to spend some time in Belgium racing in the mud! This team means everything to me. To me the team is something that this sport needs, and that me and the people who are working to create the team and support it have the resources to make it happen makes it feel like we just have to be doing it.”
This sentiment is reflected in what Austin tells me, who recently stood atop the podium at the Beverly, MA cyclocross race in early September. She has lofty goals this season with many more podiums in her sights. “This team is the thing that has changed my life, it’s the reason I’m a professional cyclist. The standard they’ve set for what athletes should get and expect is so high and it’s allowed me to treat cycling as a job and find my limit and potential.”
Follow along with the Nice Bikes Cyclocross team @nicebikes and support them all season long and beyond.
This story is one part of a series by Dominique Powers called Community. Dominique is a renowned photographer in the cycling industry who has a special ability to capture personalities in her stunning portraits. She is based in Los Angeles and connects to her community through the bike. We invited Dominque to introduce us to interesting people she meets during her rides in Los Angeles and travels to gravel events. Community captures people who are living the same ethos as Flashpoint MVMNT: staying positive and having fun while making the bike community more welcoming and inclusive to everybody. We look forward to meeting the people she introduces us to through Community.