Kern Wheelmen statement on death of Bakersfield cyclist Suzanne Rivera

 The following statement is from the Kern Wheelman website regarding the death Sunday of local cyclist Suzanne Rivera. (photo by Chris Rigby)

 "It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write to you this sad news. Today, we lost a teammate, training partner, and friend. Suzanne Rivera passed away as a result of a crash at the Mariposa Women’s Stage Race. Suzanne was an amazing athlete, who could run marathons in under three hours, after a running injury she decided to take up cycling, naturally she picked the sport up quickly and excelled at it. She loved riding and trained hard here in Bakersfield with many of us. She belonged to my team B4T9, which is based out of Santa Barbara but has a 3 person Bakersfield contingent as well. Apart from being an amazing athlete, she was a loving mother and wife, and was a fun, kind-hearted and spirited woman. She was so nice, always so happy and so encouraging to everyone she was around.

The Mariposa stage race, is a four stage race, where the first race was a 10 mile time trial, the second was a 6 mile hill climb with 2100’ of climbing followed in the afternoon by a 40 mile circuit race with a lot of hills, and Sunday was a 48 mile road race with long descents and more hill climbing. However, Suzanne is an amazing hill climber and she went into the final race in second position. She was so happy this weekend working with the team and enjoyed the competitive aspect of racing.

...I’m sending this note out as a courtesy to those that know her and have had the great opportunity to ride with her. We as a community, team, and as individuals are heartbroken, devastated and sad beyond words that could be written at the loss of Suzanne. Our thoughts and prayers are with Suzanne, her family and friends on this most anguishing day and for the difficult days they face ahead.

I, personally, and all of the team, want to express our gratitude to the nurses, racers and friends who gave their all on site to administer every life saving measure possible. Everyone was courageous in their effort.
Thank you for your support, prayers and thoughts for the family and friends of Suzanne at this difficult time. Details of services will be posted at a later date.

With great sadness,
Lori O’Lin, B4T9 Team, sponsors and supporters.