If you looked at the start list for the 2018 Qiansen Trophy, the team name Bitchn Grit may have caught your attention. Bitchn Grit is the unofficial name of the new women’s cyclocross and gravel racing team launched by Colorado’s Dani Arman and Kristen Legan.
Officially, the team name is Tenspeed Hero p/b BitchStix, but as a shorthand, Bitchn Grit is a badass way to express the team’s ’cross and gravel focus.
Kristen Legan (L) and Dani Arman (R) have launched their own Tenspeed Hero p/b BitchStix program. photo: Bitchn Grit
This year, the Bitchn Grit team launches with Arman and Legan as its two Elite cyclocross racers and team managers. “We both work full time and we wanted to have control of the races we signed up for and the attitude and expectations of the team,” said Legan about the new program. “We decided to be our own bosses and start our own team.”
Arman has had a close working relationship with Chicago-based Tenspeed Hero for a number of years, so the company was a natural title sponsor. “Dani has been working with Tenspeed Hero for several years now and they’re a great company that has long supported cyclocross and women’s cycling in general,” Legan said. “As Dani and I discussed building our own team this year, Tenspeed was the first company we talked with to make this happen.”
Dani Arman has worked with Tenspeed Hero for a number of years now. 2014 Chicago Cross Cup. © Eric Goodwin
The team’s presenting sponsor is BitchStix, which is a face and body care company that donates some of its proceeds to charities that support victims of domestic abuse and help empower women around the world.
“The name is about taking back the word ‘Bitch’ and using it as something positive rather than a negative slam,” Legan said. “That’s why Bitchn Grit is made to sound like Bitchin—as in we’re having a bitchin time with this team and helping spread the word about an amazing company doing good in the world.”
Whether it be cyclocross or gravel (or creek crossings), Legan always has a good time riding her bike. 2018 Almanzo 100 Gravel Race. © Eric Wynn
Other team sponsors include Firefly Bicycles, Shimano, Sound Probiotics and Bobo’s Oat Bars.
Arman and Legan plan on racing a full UCI cyclocross schedule this season, starting with the Qiansen Trophy that just wrapped up in China. Although the team is just two right now, Legan said they are hoping to grow the program in the future.
“We’re motivated to grow the team into something beyond ourselves,” Legan said. “It would be great to bring on a young or developing rider next year and offer some sort of support to travel and experience racing from an early age.”
