The inaugural Southeastern Women's (SEW) Cycling series is off to a great start and quickly approaching the halfway point.  The 4^th race in the series saw over 20 Category 3 and 4 women line up for 35 minutes plus 3 laps of racing action at the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL.  The pace was fast from the gun due to a prime on the second lap. Heather Ladd of BooKoo won the green cruiser bike donated by Regions Bank.  Thanks, Regions and congratulations, Heather! Attacks continued in the tactical race, but the action was interrupted by a few crashes.  Fortunately, all riders finished and everyone was OK.  The road rash should be healed just in time for summer weddings and trips to the beach. The race ended with a gallop to the finish with Lauren Edwards (ProBike) winning the bunch sprint and Christine Roettger (Team Revolution) and Jennie May (Reality Bikes/Camp Highland) finishing 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.  Lissy Cowdery (Team MedPlan) and Terri Jones (Team MedPlan) held onto their respective leads in the Category 3 and Category 4 point series.

Over 100 women have competed in the series so far.  With 5 race weekends remaining, the points competitions are far from over.  More points and prizes will be available at the next race in the SEW series this Sunday, May 18^th at the Findlay Roofing Criterium in John's Creek, GA.  Thanks to our fabulous sponsors, racers will be competing for prizes from Specialized, Deuter, The Sweet Project and more!  Also, onlineshoes.com is giving away coupons to all women racers at registration.  A fast and fun course, great prizes and a discount on shoes—what more could you want from a criterium?

The Southeast Women's Cycing 2008 Race Series is currently in development. We are creating our series calendar and looking for race promotors with whom to partner who share our goals:

• Growing Women's Cycling — The past few years have seen a decline in growth for women's racing in the southeast. By providing a series of races, we aim to give women a goal of racing multiple events and earning points and prizes. A cohesive and consistent series of races will open up new opportunities for women to compete and grow in the sport.
• Reducing Barriers of Entry to Beginner Women — By providing a separate Category 3/4 race, beginner women can enter the world of racing with less fear and anxiety, because they will be competing against other women of their general level. They will have the opportunity to learn race tactics and bike handling in a more comfortable environment
• Providing Quality Racing for Advanced Women — A separate Category 1/2/3 race will allow more advanced women to race in a competitive environment of other racers who understand tactics and handling and are prepared to compete at a higher level.
• Creating a Sustainable Series Where Women's Racing Is Profitable — Our goal is to establish a series that can run for years to come, guaranteeing the presence of women's racing with fields large enough to be profitable for race promoters and sponsors.