Three years of competition, practices and crashes, have helped 16-year-old Page Bisenieks-Robertson to become a nationally ranked bike racer. 

 

“I finished dead last in my first race,” Page said. “It was a big event and I wanted to try it for a long time. My bike broke a little. It was bad, but I continued.” 

 

Page has indeed come a long way since her first race. Not only has she been “upgraded” a race category (to a Category 3 rider on a scale of 5, with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest), but she also placed 10th in the nation in the individual time trial race at the USA Cycling 2011 Junior, U23 Elite Road Nationals, held in Augusta, Ga., in June. 

 

“My most challenging race was the U.S. National Championships in Georgia,” Page said. “It was 100 degrees and there were a lot of hills. I had to push through all of that. It was hard.” 

 

Page’s other accomplishments include being one of six girls invited to compete for the number one women’s professional cycling team in North America (Team TIBCO); becoming a member of Team TIBCO’s junior women’s professional team; and reaching first place in her age group (15-16) in long distance race, laps in a circle and individual time trial races in California and Nevada for the second year in a row. 

 

“It’s been really fun,” Page said. “I am really close with the pro team. We had a two-week training camp and I learned a lot about cycling. It’s been great.” 

 

Born in Walnut Creek, Page moved around a lot at an early age. She spent time in Lafayette and Lake Tahoe before moving to Oakland, at the age 9. 

 

It wasn’t until she turned 13 that Page started racing. Her stepfather Daniel, a firefighter for the Oakland Fire Department, first encouraged her to start and has really helped her mature. 

 

According to her mother Cheri, Page’s talent and love for cycling started at home. 

 

“We are a really close family,” Cheri Robertson said. “It’s really nice from a parent standpoint to know that her mind and heart is in the right place. She is persistent, focused and disciplined. This is important especially for a teenager.” 

 

Cheri Robertson said she loves watching her daughter race, but admits being nervous at the same time. 

 

“It’s exciting, but I’m very nervous if there is a fall or crash,” she said. “When she crashes during a race, it is very nerve-racking. However, crashes happen.” 

 

As a junior at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, Page runs with her school’s varsity cross country team during the off season. 

 

Although her cycling career is just taking off, Page’s parents are already pleased with her effort and decision making. 

 

“She’s already exceeded our expectations,” Cheri Robertson said. “The sky’s the limit for her. I see her going to college and going pro.” 

 

In 2009 and 2010, Page raced for Tieni Duro – a Lafayette-based Junior Cycling Development Team that was founded in 2002 with the goal of getting as many kids on bikes as possible and teaching them how to become competitive athletes and high-performing young men and women. 

 

According to USA Cycling, Page finished in first place as a member of Tieni Duro’s Junior Cycling Team three times. She also took the top spot in the Davis Fourth of July Criterium, in the Panoche Valley Road Race and in the Cyclesport Crit & Junior State Championship.  

 

As impressive as this is, it is Page’s training and determination that are the reasons why she has achieved so much success. 

 

“Cycling is 70 percent mental,” Page said. “You have to train your brain and tell yourself that your body is not hurting. You have to visualize yourself crossing the finishing line.” 

 

In addition to training her mind, Page said she completes anywhere from 25-30 races a year. Some of her training consists of riding her bike for a long period of time, listening to music and drinking plenty of water so that she doesn’t suffer from muscle cramps during a race. 

 

“Sometimes I go training and biking in the Oakland/Berkeley hills and places like Tunnel, Pinehurst and Redwood roads along with Skyline Blvd. because they are open and flat,” she said. “I also go down by the water at Jack London Square.” 

 

In the future, Page said she would like to go to college and go pro. She hopes to attend Fort Lewis College in Colorado because it has a great cycling program. 

 

“I want to go pro, but there is not a lot of money in women’s professional cycling,” she said. “That’s why I want to go to college and be able to have something to fall back on.” 

 

The one thing that Page said drives her the most during a race is her competitiveness. Her favorite thing about cycling is reaching the end of a race. To her, knowing that she both did well and helped her team do well, is the most satisfying feeling a professional competitive cyclist can have; especially considering how hard of a sport it is. 

 

“She’s with the right people,” Cheri Robertson said. “She’s doing the right things and I hope it stays that way.”