Elite Team Roster

Victoria Bastide

Victoria returns to Team TIBCO, after a successful 2007 season with the team, Victoria's first year racing full NRC calendar. Victoria Bastide was discovered by Linda Jackson late in 2005, when she won the Mt. Tam Hill Climb Women's Open category, beating many established pro racers in the process. Linda tracked her down and found that this little powerhouse had never raced a bike before, but was quite eager to start. The past 2 years Victoria grown as a rider under Linda Jackson's direction. This "Swedish Snowflake" is a phenomenal climber, but can also hang in on flat, fast races where many other small riders suffer. When not racing, Victoria works at VMware, Inc. in Palo Alto, a virtualization software company in the Silicon Valley. She loves her job as much as her bike, so she is determined to keep them both. Her husband, Jesse Bastide, is very supportive and is also known as Snowflake's training secret.

Rushlee Buchanan

New to the team for 2008 is Rushlee Buchanan, formerly of Jazz Apple. Rushlee adds youth and vitality to Team TIBCO, having already earned numerous cycling accolades in her teenage years. Rushlee has travelled the world racing since age ten. Her talent for cycling became obvious in 2005 when she won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Vienna, Austria. By 2006, she had honed her skills during a three month scholarship at the World Cycling Center in Switzerland and was again successful at the Junior Worlds. While Rushlee has earned nine national titles and 25 regional titles in her home country of New Zealand, her breakout year began in 2007 racing North American NRC races and earning several top finishes in Canada and the United States. At Nature Valley this year, she earned the Most Aggressive Rider jersey on Stage 5 with an eye-catching attack and solo breakaway.

Sarah Caravella

New to the team in 2008 is Sarah Caravella, formerly of Aaron's Pro Cycling. Sarah has been racing professionally for the last two years, and in the last five years as a cyclist, she has accumulated 38 career wins and over 75 podium appearances including 7 NRC podium results in 2007. Prior to top national successes in cycling, Sarah graduated high school as one of the top ten fastest 100-meter hurdlers in the country and later earned Pac-10 honors running Division I Track and Field for the University of Washington. When injury forced a halt to Sarah's hurdling career, she turned to triathlon, and after a year of competition, Sarah chose to focus her efforts on cycling, a decision that would see her become a consistent finishing threat in the domestic peloton.

Lauren Franges

New to the team for 2008 is Lauren Franges, formerly of TEAm Lipton. Lauren brings to the team world-class racing experience and speed, a dangerous combination evidenced by consistent top NRC finishes and international success. Lauren has raced worldwide for the U.S. National team, having earned top ten finishes at both the Tour de L'Aude and the Giro d'Italia Femminile. Her talent and commitment to cycling have earned her a place in many Olympic Talent ID camps at the US Olympic Training center over the years, as this young cycling star got her start earlier than most. Growing up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, known as "track's cycling mecca", Lauren began racing competitively at age twelve. Her parents took her to races across the country and she quickly became recognized on a national level, becoming a five-time Junior and U23 National Champion and two-time Junior Pan American Champion. Off the bike, Lauren currently attends the Art Institute Online for a multimedia and web design degree. In her spare time, she enjoys running in the off season and working on her home, with her husband, Mike. Her favorite foods are lasagna and chocolate.

Rachel Heal

New to the team for the 2008 season is Rachel Heal, formerly of Webcor Cycling. Rachel brings phenomenal strength and international experience to Team TIBCO. Rachel has been a member of the British National Team since 2001 and raced in the 2004 Olympics as well as five World Championships. She boasts 13 different National Championship medals and has also won a bronze medal in the road race for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. In 2007, she has picked up 2 NRC wins at major races and has placed on the podium 4 other times. A consummate teammate, Rachel has worked hard to help bring her teammates onto the top tier of the podium, assisting in over 15 team wins. Prior to becoming a professional cyclist, Rachel studied Chemical Engineering and worked as a Project Engineer for Cadbury Ltd.

Helen Kelly

New to the team for the 2008 season is Helen Kelly, formerly of Webcor Cycling. Like Rachel, Helen brings extensive strength and international racing background to Team TIBCO. Helen has been a member of the Australian National Team for two Road World Championships and was the 2006 winner of the GP Cham-Hagendorn in Switzerland. Helen is one of the strongest domestiques in the womenÕs pro peloton and she has been one of the key contributors to 15 team wins in 2007. In addition to working as a support rider, Helen has also finished second at Tour of the Gila Stage 4 and has two other top ten finishes. When not racing, Helen is a certified CPA who has worked for KPMG since 1994.

Jo Kiesanowski

New to Team TIBCO in 2008, two-time Olympian Joanne Kiesanowski began her competitive career in 1999 on the track. She signed with her first USA team in 2001, racing in the United States until 2004. Jo then traveled to Europe with New Zealand’s National Team and competed in the 2004 Olympics, where she placed 17th. Joanne has also competed in five World Road Championships and three World Track Championships for New Zealand, with her best placing, 6th place, in the points race in 2005. Her extensive international experience includes stage wins at the Tour de L'Aude in France and the Ronde von Drenthe in Holland. Jo once competed in this year's Olympic Games this year in Beijing, once again representing her home country of New Zealand.

Brooke Miller

Brooke returns to Team TIBCO after a phenomenal season of international success in 2007. With guts rarely seen in a rider so new to international racing, Brooke earned ten top ten international finishes in her first European races, stunning the field with a win at the Tour of Ardeche in France, and becoming the first U.S. woman to win a sprint jersey in Europe at the Novilon Internationale Damesronde van Drenthe in Holland. In addition to her successes abroad, Brooke earned seven wins racing on home soil in the U.S. Her cycling career launched in earnest in 2005 when she won Collegiate Cycling Road National Championships and decided to take cycling more seriously. In 2006, she began racing for PABW powered by TIBCO, directed by Linda Jackson, and excelled under Jackson's guidance with four NRC wins, including Stage 2 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Off the bike, Brooke earned her PhD in evolutionary biology and now works as an independent software developer in her spare time. She currently resides in Cleveland, OH with her husband, cat and two tortoises.

Amber Rais

New to the team for the 2008 season is Amber Rais, formerly of Webcor Cycling. Amber has been one of the sport's brightest new stars over the last few seasons. In 2007, only her second year as a professional, Amber notched 5 NRC wins, including a dominating performance at the prestigious Tri-Peaks Challenge Stage Race, winning three out of the five stages and taking the overall title. Amber has been on the NRC podium 10 times, with 11 other top ten finishes in this last season alone. Amber raced for the first time in Europe with the US National Team this year in August, contributing to a remarkable team performance and win at the Route de France Feminine. She has been the subject of a feature story in VeloNews Magazine and is a frequent contributor to CyclingNews.com's rider diaries. Prior to cycling, Amber was one of the top Collegiate swimmers in the US, competing on scholarship for Stanford University. After she finished swimming, she started cycling for the Stanford Cycling team where, in 2005, she won the Collegiate Cycling National Championship Crit and Omnium titles. She has recently completed her Masters degree in Oceanography and Environmental Policy at Stanford.