Nicole Reinhart
Encyclopedia
Nicole Louise Reinhart (June 3, 1976–September 17, 2000) was an American professional track
and road racing cyclist
who twice won gold medals in cycling at the Pan American Games
.
in the Lehigh Valley
region of the state. She was a nine-time USA Cycling
Junior (18 and under) national champion. As a student at Pennsylvania's Emmaus High School
in Emmaus, Pennsylvania
, she won three U.S. fitness championships and excelled on Emmaus's cross-country
and track
teams in the highly competitive East Penn Conference (forerunner to the Lehigh Valley Conference
).
. Her left pedal and foot hit a concrete curb and she was thrown from her bicycle and struck a tree. (The accident that killed Wouter Weylandt
in May, 2011 happened in almost precisely the same manner.) This event was the last of four races comprising the 2000 BMC Software Cycling Grand Prix. She had won the previous three. The organizers offered $250,000 to any rider who won all four. The prize was donated to her family, who established the Nicole Reinhart Foundation in Macungie, Pennsylvania, in her honor.
In 2004, Reinhart was inducted posthumously into the Lehigh Valley Velodrome Hall of Fame in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania.
1999 – Saturn Women's Professional Cycling Team
1998
1997
1994
1993
1992
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
and road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
who twice won gold medals in cycling at the Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
.
Early life
Reinhart grew up in Macungie, PennsylvaniaMacungie, Pennsylvania
Macungie is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the second oldest borough in the county and a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.-History:...
in the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
region of the state. She was a nine-time USA Cycling
USA Cycling
USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX and collegiate racing...
Junior (18 and under) national champion. As a student at Pennsylvania's Emmaus High School
Emmaus High School
Emmaus High School is a public high school located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12 in Pennsylvania's East Penn School District in the Lehigh Valley region of the state....
in Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...
, she won three U.S. fitness championships and excelled on Emmaus's cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
teams in the highly competitive East Penn Conference (forerunner to the Lehigh Valley Conference
Lehigh Valley Conference
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
).
Pan American Games and other championships
After graduating from Emmaus High School in 1994, Reinhart focused on cycling and won two national élite track championships and two gold medals at the Pan American Games. In 1999, she signed for Saturn Women's Professional Cycling Team and won nine races that year, followed by another 13 in 2000.Death
On September 17, 2000, Reinhart died during a 42-mile circuit race held on a 3.5-mile course in Arlington, MassachusettsArlington, Massachusetts
Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. Her left pedal and foot hit a concrete curb and she was thrown from her bicycle and struck a tree. (The accident that killed Wouter Weylandt
Wouter Weylandt
Wouter Weylandt was a Belgian professional cyclist for UCI ProTeam and later for . His first major win was the 17th stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España. He also won the 3rd stage of the 2010 Giro d'Italia...
in May, 2011 happened in almost precisely the same manner.) This event was the last of four races comprising the 2000 BMC Software Cycling Grand Prix. She had won the previous three. The organizers offered $250,000 to any rider who won all four. The prize was donated to her family, who established the Nicole Reinhart Foundation in Macungie, Pennsylvania, in her honor.
In 2004, Reinhart was inducted posthumously into the Lehigh Valley Velodrome Hall of Fame in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania.
Major cycling achievements
2000 – Saturn Women's Professional Cycling Team- 1st – BMC Software Tour of San Jose (San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
) - 1st – BMC Software Tour of Houston (Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
) - 1st – BMC Software Downtown Criterium (Austin, TexasAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
) - 1st, Prologue – Redlands Bicycle Classic
- 3rd – Women's 25 km points race, U.S. Olympic Track Trials
1999 – Saturn Women's Professional Cycling Team
- 1st, Stage 3 (25-mile criterium) – Redlands Bicycle Classic
- 3rd, Prologue – Redlands Bicycle Classic
- 10th – Sea Otter Classic - Final General Classification
- 10th – Sea Otter Classic (Robert Talbott Pro/Elite Circuit Race)
- 20th – Sea Otter Classic (Robert Talbott Pro/Elite Time Trial)
- 38th – Sea Otter Classic (Robert Talbott Pro/Elite Road Stage Race)
1998
- 1st, Prologue – Redlands Bicycle Classic
- 1st, Women's 3 km Scratch Race – EDS Spring Classic
- 1st, Women's Miss and Out – EDS Spring Classic
- 3rd, Women's 500 m Sprint – UCI World Track Cup
1997
- 1st, Women's 500 m Sprint – EDS Track Cup
- 1st, Women's Points Race – EDS Track Cup
- Quarterfinals, Women's Match Sprint – UCI World Track Cup
1994
- 17-18 2000m TT – Junior Women Track Champion
- 17-18 Criterium – Junior Women Road Champion
1993
- 17-18 Points Race – Junior Women Track Champion
- 17-18 Sprints – Junior Women Track Champion
- 17-18 Criterium – Junior Women Road Champion
1992
- 15-16 Omnium – Junior Women Track Champion
- 15-16 Criterium – Junior Women Road Champion
- 15-16 Road – Junior Women Road Champion
U.S. national records
- 11.666 seconds – Junior Women Track Time Trial Flying Start (200 m), Quito, Ecuador, July 26, 1994 (since broken).