How many races this year came down to Kristen Meshberg (Flatlandia) and Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles)? I count five: Meshberg was first to Haskell’s second at Grayslake,  Sheboygan and at both days of Winfield. The order was reversed at the Proctor Criterium, our state championship. At numerous other races they finished in the top 5 together. We learned about Haskell last December. For my latest interview with the stars of 2008, I caught up with Meshberg, 38, a stay-at-home mother of two who had a dynamite year, earning state championships for both road race and criterium in addition to excelling on the track. She also took her show on the road, hitting National Racing Calendar events in California and the prestigious Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota. For five years she’s been teaching Pedaling with a Purpose, a winter training class in Chicago and Westmont, and for two years she’s raced for Flatlandia. In 2009, however, a big change is in the works, one that could alter the complexion of women’s racing the Midwest — and it just happens to include her frequent nemesis Haskell.

You did some early-season racing in California this year. How is the scene there different from Chicago? The scene out in California is that everyone is pro!  `The best part of being on a club is that you don’t feel any pressure to get results.  You can do what’s right for you to develop as a rider rather than worry about team results.’There’s better weather, and some really good topography out there.  But we really do have a great cycling scene here in Chicago.  Chicago is the place to be if you’re a crit rider!

Do you plan to go back in 2009? I am planning to race the 2009 Tour of California Women’s crit.  It was supposed to be expanded to a three-day stage race, but we just got word that it’s back down to a one-day crit, which is a bummer.  But I’m planning on staying a week and turning it into a training week.  Going out there in February and coming off the trainers, it’s just good for training and fun to combine it with our NRC season opener.

What other goals do you have next year? I’m super excited about my new team for next year, “Team BH USA.” We’ve got some really great sponsors, including “The Bike Shop” in Glen Ellyn. 

New team? Devon Haskell, two other just as fabulous women from Wisconsin, Anne Meyer (Mercy-Specialized) and Madeleine Puissant (IS Corp), and myself have created a four-person women’s team for next year.

Wow! It’s like your own personal all-star team. You and Haskell should be particularly formidable together. What are your goals with the squad? We plan to do most of the bigger races that are within driving distance of Chicago, but we hope do a handful of bigger races that we will travel to.  Fitchburg in Massachusestts, Nature Valley in Minnesota and the Tour of California to name a few. “The Bike Shop” in Glen Ellyn is really supportive of women’s racing, as is BH Bikes and our other sponsors.  They are committed to helping women get started in bike racing.  This is also one of my personal missions. This year we needed to keep the team small since it’s our first year.  Long-term we’d like to keep having a kick-ass elite team, but ultimately we’ll expand to include a developmental women’s squad fostering a fun environment where women can be supported and become better bike racers.

You were a messenger for awhile. What was it like back then? I loved it. It was probably one of the best times of my life.  It was the first time I learned how independent and free the bicycle can make you.  `[Messengering] was the first time I learned how independent and free the bicycle can make you.’I also learned how to ride hard.  I did it for a year and a half so in messenger terms “one winter.”  It was pre-Sept. 11, 2001, so compared to now I imagine there was probably a lot less security.

Who got into racing first: you or your husband? Jason got into racing first, in 1999.  He kept trying to get me to race and I found out later it was mainly because he wanted me to come watch him.  It took me about a year, but when I finally did start I was hooked immediately. Now he’s sorry.

Does the fact that both of you race make it easier or harder to juggle family and racing? It’s definitely harder to juggle two people racing when you have kids.  But it helps that we both understand what it takes to bike race, and we try to help each other.  The way we work it out is that I get the focus for the road season and Jason gets the focus for cross season.

Are your kids itching to race yet, or do they roll their eyes when they get dragged to yet another criterium? They do pretend to race when they are riding their bikes at home.  On the way to the park from our house there’s a part where the sidewalk ends and you have to go on grass for a while.  They call it “doing cyclocross” when they have to pick up their bikes.  When she was 2, my daughter used to call her tricycle her “track bike.”  I was so proud! They love to help clean the bikes and they are both pretty good with learning the tools. Right now they love going to the races, especially the velodrome.  They love cheering, but mostly they love running around with the other kids on the infield. At the other races we do consider the environment as to whether or not we take the kids.  Cross races are the best for the kids.  As long as there’s a park they’re happy.  St. Charles got an A+ for taking kids with the course being right by the playground.  The industrial-park crit, not so ideal. I think as they get older their enthusiasm may wane, which is why I’m trying to pack it in now.

How did Flatlandia come about? The three founding fathers of Flatlandia — Jason Wagner, Rom Tamondong, and my husband — just wanted to start a fun team.  It’s a play off of the old Flandria team from Belgium.  They thought about Belgium: harsh weather, windy and kind of flat.  Yet somehow a lot of good, tough bike racers have come from there.  They thought it sounded a lot like Chicagoland, and we should celebrate our region and be proud of where we are from.

What are the tradeoffs of a being a “club” vs. being a “team”? The best part of being on a club is that you don’t feel any pressure to get results.  You can do what’s right for you to develop as a rider rather than worry about team results.  If you end up doing well, everyone’s just really happy for you.  It’s a really supportive environment.

One tradeoff in my mind is that although you can’t offer sponsors space on your jerseys, you get to enjoy very clean, sponsor-free kits. I’ve always`There are so many strong women out there that would be fantastic bike racers but are afraid or don’t know how to start.’ been a fan of the Flatlandia look. Who designed it? I think you can credit Jason Wagner for the design and coming up with the name.  We got a lot of compliments on it. But we did get some sponsors for last year: BH bikes and Hinsdale Orthopaedic Associates.  BH bikes have been around in Europe but are fairly new to the U.S.  They are awesome!  And Hinsdale Orthopaedic is an incredible group of doctors (two of whom are crit-racing teammates) that unfortunately we bike racers need to see every so often.

What’s your favorite motivation or distraction while you’re putting in the winter base miles? Music? Movies? CBR archives? CBR archives of course!  But I also watch race footage, listen to music, and honestly the people that come to Pedaling with a Purpose motivate me quite a bit.  I couldn’t get through all those hours on the trainer without them, and that’s why I run the program.

Are there any races — past or future — that you visualize when you get on the trainer? I visualize quite a bit on the trainer.  Rather than focus on individual races, I usually visualize specific situations that I’d like to have happen in races.  Any more specific and I’d be giving away all my secrets.

What skills or strengths to you emphasize in your classes? I emphasize the importance of base miles and working within your zones. The most common mistake people make is thinking that they have to kill themselves 100 percent of the time on the bike.  I also emphasize consistent training and positive thinking.

If a woman tells you she’s thinking about taking up bike racing, what’s your pitch? I say YES!!!  I try to be very encouraging because I love racing and we need more women out there.  It can be an intimidating sport to get into.  I never would have started if my husband hadn’t been so encouraging.  There are so many strong women out there that would be fantastic bike racers but are afraid or don’t know how to start. Also, people and women especially need to know that it usually takes a while to get good.  So don’t give up just because you aren’t awesome right away.