WAYBACK WEDNESDAY: WOMEN OF THE REEBOK ELIMININATOR

Mar 11, 2024

Lisa Sher and Marla Streb were two of the fastest downhill mountain bikers in America in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They both won national championships. Marla Streb beat Lisa Sher to win the 2000 Reebok Eliminator, but in 2002, Lisa won the U.S. National Downhill title. Marla, who had a degree in molecular biology, gave up a career as a laboratory scientist to become a full-time professional mountain biker and win the U.S. National Downhill title in 2003 and 2004. Streb also won an Elite Women’s World Cup downhill race in Kaprun, Austria in 2005. In a testimony to her fitness and pedaling abilities, Marla also won the Singlespeed (XC) World Championship in 1999 and 2006. Today Marla is the founder and owner of Baltimore, Maryland’s first bicycle cafe, the HandleBar Cafe. She is also involved in mountain bike touring in Costa Rica.

After Lisa Sher retired from pro racing, she became the senior graphic designer for Rocky Mountain Bicycles. Today, Lisa is the head of her own design firm, sherdesign.com. She is also on the board of directors of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) helping high schoolers experience the joys, self-discipline, fitness, and long-lasting friendships that can be found in riding and racing mountain bikes.