Leigh Hopkins
After a head start in the mid-90s as a mountain bike racer, Leigh moved over to road racing in 2000. Leigh joined Vanderkitten Racing in late 2007 as a guest rider in Las Vegas after racing with Target Training. Her experience and guidance led her to being selected as the team captain for 2008. Leigh's powerful riding and strong finishing have given her excellent results in the NRC and USA Crits Series.

Melissa Sanborn
One of the most experienced and strongest women in any field, Melissa uses her confidence to ride at the front of the peloton. A feared sprinter and excellent tactician, Melissa has many wins domestically and abroad and is looking to add several more this season. She'll be spending a few weeks abroad representing Vanderkitten in Spain and beyond!

Jennifer Wilson
Jen joined Vanderkitten in the spring of 2008 and quickly found her way on to the podium at the Athens Twilight. Serving the role as protected sprinter, Jen led the USA Crits individual points for most of the season over prestigious competition like Cheerwine and Aaron's.

Jennifer Reither - "JennX"
Jennifer Reither is a multi-time California State Champion, reknown Pursuit rider on the track, and lead-out partner for Jennifer Wilson in the Sprint. Her ability to make impossible moves and make them stick caught the eye of Vanderkitten. A former top collegiate golfer, Jennifer traded the clubs for the speed and excitement of pro cycling.

Liz Williams
Liz is a Kiwi Track sprinter who has competed in the Commonwealth Games and World Cup track racing. She has turned her focus onto crits where her ability to come out on top in a bunch sprint is greatly rewarded. Liz will be representing VK in New Zealand this season.

Melodie Metzger
Melodie Metzger began her cycling career in college as a mountain biker, quickly moving to the pro ranks and transitioning to cyclocross and road. She excels in her ability to find the proper wheel in the pack, making the break and closing the gaps with her punchy sprint.

Melodie is a full time PhD student at Cal and balances her training with her education. Melodie still finds time to support the Nor Cal High School mountain bike league and getting juniors involved in cycling.

Virginia Perkins
A former runner, Virginia took up bike racing in 2006. Virginia manages to be one of Northern California's strongest racers while practicing Law at the same time. A balance in life, like her racing, helps her achieve top results in both professions. Virginias rapid rise through the amateur ranks can be attributed to her incredible power delivery and ability to bridge to break away's with the best riders, solo. At 5'11", Virginia is lean and mean on the bike and soft spoken and warm off the bike.

Laura Bowles
Laura is a veteran of powerhouse teams like Victory Brewing and Advil Chapstick and excels at crit racing. On her "off days" racing she still manages some serious results with the best of the best. Laura is new the Vanderkitten squad this season and bring team co-management experience from Advil and a long list of outstanding results!

Mary Maroon
Mary is one of the most cycling dedicated people on this planet. Always finding a way to get form point A to B without a car lead her to a stint as a bike messenger where she won the 2006 World Messenger Sprint Championships. Transferring that success to the track, Mary has become one of the top local track racers in Nor Cal, and now a new focus on Road has already rewarded her with trips to the podium in NCNCA racing as a Vanderkitten in 2008.

Mary will be leading our Vanderkitten Regional Team of Cat 1 and 2 riders while participating in NRC races like the Tour of California in Santa Rosa, CA with the Elite squad.

Jennifer Greenberg
After 4 years cutting her teeth as a messenger on the mean streets of the windy city, Jen decided to give track racing a go. Eventually, she tried criterium racing spending much of 2008 on the road going to USA Crits and NRC events. She has also found a love for Stage and Omniums, too! This classifies Jen as an all-around rider with excellent bike handling skills.

Fitting in training with 2 jobs and growing Massage Therapy practice can but tough, but Jen manages to get in the miles, rain or shine.

Haley Beann
After several years as a Triathlete and Xterra racer, Haley decided to bring her versatility, bike handling and fitness to Road cycling. She excels in crits where bike handling is a must, and also loves cyclocross, where she will be competing locally in 2009. She is a law student and has found training to be the ultimate relief from the high stress of Juris Doctorate studies.

Charlotte Hart
When not shaping the young minds of tomorrow as a High School Teacher, Charlotte hits the hills for backcountry skiing. She has been bike racing for 4 years and is coming back from back to back injuries last season while riding for Tibco. Looking to refine her skill set and break into the top of her game, Charlotte is looking to fully represent for Vanderkitten Racing in 2009!

Team Management

Jeff "Hoppy" Hopkins- Race Manager
Jeff is no stranger to most people who have followed domestic men's cycling in the USA, or International Track cycling. A former Jr. World Champion on the track and member of Jittery Joe's and Inferno racing domestically, Jeff brings real world racing experience to the Vanderkitten program and will be leading the team at races around the country this season, extracting the ultimate potential out of the kittens.

Mark Zefeldt- Managing Director- Owner
Mark has been instrumental in the growth and development of Vanderkitten Racing and the changing face of women's cycling in the USA. He handles sponsor agreements, logistics and operations for the team, as well as on the ground support on the road, plus much, much more...

David Verrecchia- Marketing Director- Owner
The creator of Vanderkitten and co-creator of Vanderkitten Racing, David provides marketing and creative services to the team and will be responsible for the digital media production being incorporated into the team's website this season. He oversees the image and branding of Vanderkitten and the Vanderkitten Racing program.