CRANKTASTIC

Shaw’s path from triathlete to contender for London started at age 35 when she made the decision to quit her job of 12 years as a technical advisor to the CEO of Microsoft and take up racing her bike full time this season - a decision that came after eight years of racing Ironman triathlons to the point that the sport no longer was enticing.

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She found her new inspiration while watching an old recording of the time trial world championships, and decided it was time to focus on something different. But if she thought she would just spend a year off from work, racing her bike in preparation for a return to triathlon in 2012, Shaw was seduced by the prospect of mastering new skills and negotiating different circles and went all in.

It can be daunting to launch into a national and international racing calendar as a relatively new road racer, but Shaw used the burgeoning racing scene in Seattle, where she raced with the elite men, and support from her boyfriend and fellow racer Lang Reynolds and her coach to quickly find success in the US.

Shaw funded her own domestic season, hitting Redlands, Sea Otter, where she placed second in the time trial to Armstrong, and the Tour of the Gila, where she took second to compatriot Clara Hughes in the time trial, all the while picking up new skills and getting a feel for the road racing scene.