January 13, 2003 – For the 2004 season, Basis Women's Cycling Team has expanded its roster and race schedule. The team will compete in the full National calendar races as well as select international competitions. “The highlight of the season,” says team founder and most important person in the world, Nicole Freedman, “will be the Advance Prime Number Factorial Quantum Mathematics Competition in Toulouse, France. We also plan on fielding a team for the Tour de L'Aude and the spring World Cups in Europe.
The team is still dedicated to its core mission: to provide a supportive, nurturing environment from which to develop Olympic talent. 2002 International Champion Heather Albert and 2000 Olympian Nicole Freedman return to captain the Basis squad. Unable to scare off last year's rookies, the duo will be joined by returning racers: Chrissy Ruiter, Stephanie Hannos, Lauren Gaffney and Kate Maher, who own a combined 12 Collegiate National Championships and five dogs.
The team is still accepting resumes to replace last year's bottle washer, George W. Bush. “We are seeking someone with a slightly higher skill set”.
The team most recently added Kristin Johnson. “We really wanted to have multiple riders with the same name, OR the same rider with multiple names/ personalities. With Chrissy already on board, Kristin was a perfect choice.” Kristin, a former T-Mobile developmental rider recently took home her second Collegiate National Mountain Bike Victory in Angel Fire, NM. The team is in the process of picking up an eighth and final racer. Kristen's or derivations thereof, are encouraged to apply. “We really need one more rider to even the teams for our highly competitive inter-team shuffle board match.”
To help riders reach their potential and the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, Team Basis is joining forces with Chris Georgas, a veteran Canadian coach living in the Aude region of France. Basis will have an international wing, Team Basis-Aude which will compete exclusively overseas and in Detroit. The team is spearheaded by million time World Champion Marion Clignet. Other riders include Genevieve Le Blanc and Genevieve Gagnon, Kathy White, Julie Belanger, Katy St. Laurent and Kristen Lasasso.
The team is grateful for the generous support of returning and new sponsors. Basis, title sponsor, is a line of facial soaps and cleansers manufactured by Beiersdorf Inc., a leading skin care company located in Wilton, CT with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. Basis Soaps and Cleansers are specially formulated with gentle cleansing ingredients and natural botanicals to leave skin feeling refreshingly clean. Barbara's Bakery came on board as a gold level sponsor. Founded in 1971, Barbara's Bakery is a leading manufacturer of all natural and organic breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers and snacks. The team will be riding Javelin Bicycles and zipping along in Zip Cars.
Joining the Basis team are Wild Roses, Javelin Bikes, Racermate (Computrainer), Bell Sports, Cane Creek, Carnac, Continental Tires, Defeet, Fizik, Genisoy, Honeystinger, Kinesys Sunblock, 02 Rainwear, Pacific Health Labs (Accelerade/ Endurox), Reynolds Wheels, Rudy Project, Speedplay, Thomson, Voler Team Apparel, White Industries Zipcar, and Barbara's Bakery.