Big plans for 2022 for Saint Piran Women's Race Team
There are some exciting changes at Saint Piran Women’s Race Team as we head into the 2022 season.
First, we are expanding our WRT management team and are delighted to introduce Megan Chard in the role of DS/Assistant Team Manager. Meg will undertake much of the logistical work, will take the lead at races across the UK and Europe and generally help to develop the entire women’s team set up.
Meg approached us a while ago, and our first ‘brief’ introductory phone call ended a couple of hours later with both Team Manager Jenny and Meg excited for the upcoming season and enthused about plans. We haven’t looked back since!
Jenny says:
“Meg’s attitude, work ethic, knowledge and experience is a perfect fit for our set up. I am so excited to have her working with us and I know together we can all learn, develop and keep driving the women’s team onwards and upwards.”
Talking about her background, role and future plans, Meg says:
“I’m 23 years old and raced professionally in Belgium for almost four years before taking a break to focus on developing a career. I began studying sport coaching and psychology, leading to me starting up my own coaching company (Cobbled Coaching) and completing my coaching qualifications with British Cycling.
Moving back to the England I took a Sports Director role in the newly established UK UCI team ‘Awol O’Shea’. It gave me a great insight into the management side of cycling and I loved it. I learned so much that I was never aware of as a rider and continue to do so at every race.
I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to work with Jenny and grow the team into something amazing. I feel like we are capable of great things. We have big goals for the team, and I look forward to ticking them off one by one. Ricci and Jenny are amazing - supportive and really encouraging both staff and riders to be the best version of themselves. I love that. I am so excited to be part of their set-up and although I have only been working with the team for a short while, it feels like I have been accepted into an amazing family.
We aim to create the best environment for our riders, enabling them to excel both on and off the bike. We will have structured team training throughout the year, in addition to races, and Bringing the girls together to maximise team cohesion is the number one priority. We believe that If they have ‘happy heads’, ‘happy legs’ will follow.
Our 2022 calendar will be an expansion of what the WRT did this year, with the National Series and Women’s Cup being key goals. We will make regular trips to Belgium, the Netherlands and France to compete in kermesses and UCI races. We have been working hard to finalise a productive race calendar, enabling the riders to gain both experience and results. In the immediate future, the 2022 WRT calendar starts with our first training weekend in Cornwall from the 5th-7th November.”
Meg has also been offered a place on the UCI Sports Directors Course in Switzerland, a massive step for such a young, talented individual and something we are extremely proud and excited about.
‘On the 8th-12th November, I will head to the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland to complete the UCI Sports Directors Course and become a UCI accredited DS. This has been a big goal of mine, so I am extremely happy to be granted the Women’s Scholarship. I can’t wait to bring all the knowledge back to the team and really help run a professional and hardworking set-up’.
2022 is shaping up to be a great year for the Saint Piran WRT. We have built a fantastic team and we can’t wait to share our line up with you. More news on that to follow shortly.