Amber Pierce (Colavita-Bianchi) might just have been a celeste-coloured blur to many of the fans who watched the UCI Women's WorldTour visit California earlier this month for the Amgen Women's Race, but the 36-year-old American has for the better part of a decade been a loyal domestique, slogging it out in Europe and stateside, drawing from her love for the sport to keep going.
In many ways, Pierce, (a former Cyclingnews blogger) embodies the majority of the women's cycling world - the many passionate riders who are fighting and sacrificing outside the spotlight, helping their teammates win races and working to make the sport better for the athletes who are just discovering the sport.
Over the last decade, the former collegiate national champion has built a solid career as a domestique in the bigger races, taking a few small victories closer to home, all the while advocating for female athletes and bike-friendly communities.
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"You could sum up the longevity my career in one word, resilience," Piece said. "It has been a long span of years and has spanned a lot of different teams and languages. Bike racing is a hard sport and what I have found is, what has helped me stay in it for a long time is number one, it is a source of joy to me."
Pierce was born in Northern California and grew up in Reno, Nevada close to the race's start in South Lake Tahoe. As a swimmer, Pierce earned a scholarship to Stanford, but a shoulder injury interrupted her first athletic career. Pierce discovered cycling and quickly climbed the ranks from a Cat 4 to professional in less than two years.
Pierce caught the attention of the Webcor Women's team, which was based out Northern California, after winning two collegiate cycling titles in 2005. Pierce rode her first professional season in 2006 supporting riders like Olympian Christine Thorburn. It was at Webcor that Pierce began to evolve into a trusted domestique.
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