Céline Oberholzer
About Céline
Hi there! Thanks for checking out my site.
Let me tell you a little about myself:
I graduated from Indiana University Bloomington May of 2019. It was there that I discovered my passion for bike racing. Fall of 2016, I met Hayley Kwasniewski. She was on a Little 500 women's racing team, Independent Council. She invited me to accompany her team on a ride over the weekend. I went, joined their team that same day, and proceeded to race in the 2017 Women's Little 500. I was hooked. I raced my first few crits that following summer, in addition to participating in Bike & Build's "Drift West". After Bike & Build, I was sold on the idea that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. To test that notion, my buddies Thomas Torbik, Jake Richards, Josh Richards, and I completed an "Everest" Challenge (I was the first woman in the state of Indiana to do so!).
The more I rode, the more deeply and irreversibly I fell in love with riding and racing my bike.
I eventually left Independent Council to focus on races outside of the Little 500 and joined IU Cycling Club to start competing in collegiate races. However, after a year away from Little 500, I found myself unable to resist and joined RideOn's Little 500 women's racing team. After joining RideOn, Hayley and I worked together to start a movement to create more equality in the Little 500 scene (check out the VeloNews article about our efforts).
[Just a lil curveball: I was attending IU with the help of the Herman B Wells Scholarship pursuing a degree in Contemporary Dance. My entire life, I thought I wanted to dance in a company as a profession. But the more I rode my bike, the less I wanted to be in the studio. Even early on, I could tell the cycling world is where I truly belong...]
So here we are. I am a 24-year old retired dancer who moved to San Marcos, TX in May of 2019 to pursue a career in cycling. I am passionate about empowering women, creating gender equality in a male-dominated sport, and finding and surpassing my mental and physical limits. In the process, I like to advocate for organizations like Bike & Build and Rescue Project. Combining my passion for bike racing with affiliated philanthropic efforts on the professional level is the dream!
Up next: I am incredibly excited to be living and training at the HomeStretch Foundation in Tucson, AZ and tearing up the local and national gravel scene with State Bicycle Co. for the 2022 season.
