‘I was just hooked.’ Carmel resident trades soccer pitch for bike pedals.

The emcee at the Mass Ave Crit brings the microphone up to his face as he prepares to introduce some of the world’s best women cyclists. Cheers louden as the hometown favorite, Andrea Cyr, pedals to the starting line.

Alongside her Olympian-experienced teammates, the Carmel resident is part of a top domestic professional team in the United States, Goldman Sachs ETFs Racing. Their jerseys are covered in sponsorship deals, which Cyr has dreamed of since starting her cycling career nearly 15 years ago.

In her third year with the team, Cyr, 36, originally from Madawaska, Maine, began cycling to get in better shape for soccer.

“I was just hooked,” Cyr said.” I think I did a 50-mile ride out the gate. And I loved it.”

After the recent Indy Crit races in July, Cyr and her teammates immediately set their sights on a nearly two-week race in Chicago just one week later.

Cyr lives in a wooded neighborhood with large windy roads about 40 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. Ahead of Chicago's race, she opened up her home to the team for a couple of days of training and relaxation. Together they watched the Tour de France, laughed and bonded.

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“I love being a part of a team,” Cyr said. “I think it's important to have teammates that you can learn from and teach."

As the team packed their van to the brim with bikes and extra tires for Chicago, Cyr worked to finish her responsibilities as a medical director at Indianapolis Rehabilitation Hospital. She'd meet up with the team in the Windy City a few days later.

Aside from her medical career, Cyr says she moved to Indianapolis three years ago to be part of the large community of cyclists who call Central Indiana home.

“It makes for a great environment," she said, "to do this as a sport and a hobby.”

Contact IndyStar photojournalist Grace Smith at grace.smith@indystar.com. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter /X .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘I was just hooked.’ Carmel resident trades soccer pitch for bike pedals.