Emily Gove '03, a former member of the U.S. National Cycling Team, has decided to put competitive cycling and dreams of representing the United States at the 2000 Olympics on hold while she studies political science and Spanish at Bates.

Gove, who was invited to don a national team jersey after her junior year in high school in Camden, Maine, relished competition on the national circuit, but says there's more to life than races and 100-mile training rides.

"My teammates were terrific people, but they were also narrow-minded and sheltered from life outside cycling. I know I can get to the top, but not by sacrificing a great education and the chance to study abroad. I want to have something besides cycling in my life," said Gove, who plans on cycling competitively after graduation in hopes of making the Olympic team for the 2004 games in Athens, Greece.

Gove, also an accomplished Nordic skier, says she chose Bates for its "outdoorsy" feel and the right balance of academics and athletics. A visit with Rebecca Flynn Woods '89, head coach of Nordic skiing and two-time Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Coach of the Year, convinced her to turn down a full scholarship to ski at a Division I university.

"Becky gives constructive, positive feedback. As hard as I trained with the national [cycling] team, it was refreshing to meet a coach who cares about the emotional and physical well being of her athletes," Gove said.