19 years, 18 Olympic gold medals and 17 world titles: meet the visionary behind the longest running women's professional cycling team in the world
Nicola Cranmer believes in the supreme power of serendipity. She believes in success beyond bike racing, and that what most people need is, simply, an opportunity – even if that sometimes means creating that opportunity from scratch.
Cranmer is the general manager of United by Sport LLC, the management company behind the currently named Virginia's Blue Ridge Team Twenty24 women’s team.
Cranmer, herself a former professional mountain biker, started the team back in 2004 and is now officially the longest running women’s cycling team ever. Nineteen years later, it’s also one of the winningest teams ever, having developed and fostered the likes of Jennifer Valente, Chloe Dygert and Coryn Rivera. All in all, her riders have earned 18 Olympic and Paralympic gold medals and 17 world championship titles.
We spoke with Cranmer while she was home in the team’s new headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia, to learn what’s behind Twenty24’s longevity and success. Spoiler alert: we think it may just be Cranmer herself, even if she’s quick to dismiss that notion.
“My feeling is I’m not a special person; I work hard, I’m able to see opportunities, and there are just people who need only opportunity. You present it to them and they can thrive,” she says. “But a lot of girls and women just don’t even get an opportunity.”
