Melissa Sanborn

About Melissa....
A native Oregonian, Melissa started competitive sports at age 12. She began playing tennis and taking lessons at the local Salem Swim and Tennis Club, and went on to play #1 varsity all 4 years in High School at Sprague High. After she graduated high school she went to The University of Oregon as a walk-on freshman and played tennis with an injured shoulder for most of her first season. Among other sports, she played competitive soccer through out high school and college. It became her first love before cycling.

At the age of 28 Melissa discovered cycling in the summer of ’99 when she became good friends with a bike shop manager at Hutch’s in Eugene, OR, her residence for almost 15  years. He encouraged her to purchase a racing bicycle, a Bianchi Giro. And as they say, the rest is history.

Most important to her cycling career was the advice she was given to hire a coach, which she did in July of 2000. Melissa has been working with Wenzel Coaching as an athlete and coach ever since, building a strong foundation and working to achieve the goals she has set forth.

Perseverance is the stronghold of her career. As when most things get tough only the strongest survive. From local racing in the fall of ’99 to her first NRC events in ’00 and then racing in Europe at the end of the ’04 season, Melissa has come up through the ranks scrambling for teams from year to year. Such is the way of the women’s peloton where there is not a ton of resources and support.

In 2010 her focus will be racing many of the NRC events and racing abroad again. She is also excited to be an associate coaching member of the Wenzel Coaching staff and can be contacted about your coaching needs. Visit: www.wenzelcoaching.com for details!

A few more details . . .

Nicknames:  Melly-Mel, Mel, M, Melisseee, Sillymelisss, Mels

Hometown:  Salem, OR

Residence:  Portland, OR

Pets: Indie (Black Lab) & McKenzie (Orange Tabby)

Birthday:  April 12, 1972

Education:  B.S. in Psychology, Portland State University

Sports Before Cycling: Tennis, soccer, backcountry skiing, gymnastics

Other Pastimes/Off-Season Hobbies:  Traveling, cooking, skiing, snowshoeing, hanging out with Kendra, Katrine & Indie, crosswords, reading and researching, computer'ing, listening to music

Music Most Recently Played:  Salif Keita, Brandi Carlile, KT Tunstall, Cheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Dixie Chicks, David Gray, Maroon 5, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Rusted Root

Favorite Food and Drink: Sushi, burritos, red wine, dark chocolate, IPAs

Favorite Movies:  Motorcycle Diaries, Life Is Beautiful, Slumdog Millionaire

Goals Long Term & Short Term
Race for a trade team and be a strong teammate.
I've always wanted to compete in more World Cups and win Crit Nationals or help a teammate win.


2010 Racing Schedule
Mar 19-21 San Dimas Stage Race - San Dimas, CA
Mar 25-28 Redlands - Redlands, CA
Apr 15-17 Sea Otter Classic - Monterey, CA
Apr 23-25 Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic - The Dalles, OR
May 31 Tour of Somerville - Somerville, NJ
June 4-6 Tulsa Tough - Tulsa, OK
or Liberty Classic - Philadelphia, PA
June 12 Clarendon Cup - Arlington, VA
June 16-20 Nature Valley GP - Minneapolis, MN
or June 17-20 Tour de Nez - Reno, NV
June 25 Elite Crit Nationals - Bend, OR
June 27 Elite Road Nationals - Bend, OR
July 17 - Boise Twilight Criterium - Boise, ID
July 20-25 Cascade Cycling Classic - Bend, OR
Aug 7 Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Crit - Charlotte, NC
Sept 3-6 Gateway Cup/Tour of Missouri Crit - St Louis, MO
Sep 26th - Boston, MA - TD Bank Mayor's Cup Crit


Career Highlights
2nd Stage 5 Mont St-Hilaire Tour of Montreal, 2005
#1 USCF Women's Cat 1 Criterium Rankings 2004
American Criterium Series Champion 2004
1st Tour of Somerville, 2004
1st Boise Twilight Criterium, 2004, 2003
2nd Wendy’s International Cycling Classic, 2004
2nd Ice Mountain USCF International Women's Open 2004
1st US Bicycling Hall of Fame Criterium, 2003
1st Sprinter’s Jersey Competition Solano Bicycle Classic, 2003
Oregon Criterium Champion 2002, 2001
Oregon Cup Champion 2002, 2001
Oregon State Road Race Champion 2000

Other Athletic Accomplishments
Collegiate Tennis & Soccer, Expert backcountry & telemark skier