Coryn Rivera: On the Road to Rio | God's World News

Coryn Rivera: On the Road to Rio

05/02/2016
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    Coryn Rivera wins a National Championship race in High Point, North Carolina. (AP)
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    Coryn Rivera
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The sprightly little girl aboard the hand-me-down bike started to cry. During a long bike ride, her father had ridden ahead. She wasn't happy about trailing the group. But these days, Coryn Rivera is the one everyone is trying to catch.

Wally Rivera, Coryn’s father, recalls the scene. "She was crying and crying because I didn't wait for her."

Now the dynamic sprinter has become perhaps the most decorated cyclist in American history. She’s won an astounding 71 national championships. Her closets overflow with awards from triumphs stretching back more than a decade.

But she’s just getting started. Rivera is just 22 years old. Her current goal is to qualify for the Rio Olympics—and bring home a medal. "To be an Olympic champion is one of the pinnacles of women's cycling," she says.

Cycling in the Olympics is an oddball event. Courses favor either sprinters or climbers but not both. The one-day road race means a rider having a good day—or bad day—can shake things up.

Rivera began riding when her father, a motocross racer-turned-scientist, put her on a tandem bike. She was eight or nine years old. She quickly graduated to her own bike and began tagging along when Wally and his buddies hit the road.

Young Coryn had a competitive streak. Soon she was blitzing everyone on those informal group rides.

Eventually, Wally took her to the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the longest-running stage race in America. There was an open race, and "she just crushed everybody," he recalls.

"She had to race with older kids—16-year-olds sometimes—and she was still just nine or ten, and she kept winning," Wally Rivera says.

Her rise in the sport was about as rapid as her finishing sprint. Rivera quickly won national titles in her age group and gained the attention of USA Cycling. Currently, she rides professionally with UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.

"The trick with a rider like Coryn is to make sure you're always feeding the beast," says Mike Tamayo. He is the team's general manager and sporting director. "She needs success. Success breeds success. She keeps hitting those goals. It only makes her want more."

Hopefully, missing goals drives her just as much. Rivera had an upsetting finish at the world championships last fall. But she’s ready to put that behind her.

The Bible commends perseverance: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Does Rio lie ahead for Coryn Rivera?