Stefanie Sydlik, 37, of Squirrel Hill, used to be a rower, but she had to give up the sport because of overuse injuries. But Sydlik, a chemistry professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has had a successful second athletic career as a road racing cyclist, which she credits to the Cycling Performance Program at UPMC Sports Medicine.
She discovered the program several years ago after moving from Boston, and said she has been injury-free since the program head and lead bike fitter, Matt Tinkey, began working on her bike.
“He gave me a second life,” as an athlete, she said.
Sydlik, a four-time national champion, represented the United States on the National Team for Esport Worlds this year and also competed for the USA in the UCI Gravel World Championships.
“Getting a proper bike fit is critical for performance and injury prevention,” she said in an email. “Since starting to work with Matt, I haven’t had to take a single day off of training because of an overuse injury. I can absolutely say that Matt is a critical reason for that!”
