Style & Performance, all wrapped into one person
Here at Stickman, we love travelling and telling you all about the best places to visit and to ride. We love the exotic, and there’s no more fascinating place than Turkey – where East meets West. It’s also home to one of our Stickman cycling ambassadors, Evgeniya Stefanenko, a serious athlete and globally renowned model – a great combination for Stickman performance and style! Time then to find out more about this fascinating lady and what drives her passion for sports and cycling, and where her favourite cycling routes are.
Evgeniya has always loved sports, and it was a key part of her schooling, where she participated in Karate Shotokan for 5 years, and was proficient enough to compete in the state championships. Her main love though is Yoga, which she took up aged 17 and which she now teaches to others in Turkey, as a certified expert. It helps with the core strength and overall fitness that cycling requires if you’re to make the most of it.
In the beginning & travels on 2-wheels
Evgeniya remembers her first bike – a very basic Mountain bike that she bought from a supermarket in 2017. Since then, though, it’s been the roads that have held her attention, and in 2019 she bought her current Pinerello frame, initially for gravel rides, and has since converted the frame to road. This determined lady knows exactly what she wants and doesn’t still – she makes it happen. Since those early days on 2-wheels, Evgeniya has travelled far and wide on cycling trips, including to Italy, where she rode in the stunningly beautiful Brembana Valley, which she describes as follows:
“I cycled through the San Pelegrino Terme and have never seen a more beautiful path for riding. It was an insane concentration of nature's beauty, in just a 40 km cycling ride!”
It’s a place that this determined and athletic adventure seeker wants to return to, as Evgeniya also dreams of cycling the majestic and legendary Stelvio Pass – wearing Stickman clothing maybe 😉. Back home in Turkey, her favourite local ride is between Bodrum and Akyaka, using the old road in front of the sea, with part of the route taking in a Cedar Forest and mountains and Turkish villages. The route has 1500m of climbing, and as a lady that loves a challenge, climbing is Evgeniya’s favourite form of cycling – with that added challenge and part with cedar forest and mountain's view, some Turkish villages. about 1500m climbing.
One of her goals for the future is Gran Fondo events, and as she says herself:
“I want to start with Granfondo races. I hope this next year that I’ll be confident enough, because I'm a perfectionist and the athlete in me always takes competition seriously’”
Listening to this super focused and athletic young lady, we can’t imagine that she’d perform anything less than exceptional at anything she set her mind to – she's a determined woman and has a fire inside her for life – which is why she fits perfectly as a Stickman Cycling Ambassador!
Favourite Stickman Cycling Kit
As a trained architect, art has always been a love of Evgeniya’s and she loves the colours and vibe of the Stickman cycling brand. In terms of art, her favourite artists those where she sees a deepness and a message for her, in the work. In particular artists like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele inspire her.
Stickman is of course, all about art and cycling, and there’s even a design with Evgeniya portrayed on it – our Yakamoz Cycling Jersey, meaning Sea Sparkle, which was inspired by Evgeniya. It embodies a relaxed and chilled out cycling lifestyle, with the cycling women on the jersey mirroring the iconic Stickman pose. It has an art deco feel to the design, and the limited colour palette ensures a chic and stylish look as you ride on into your own next adventure – Stickman style! Evgeniya says that her friends find it super-cool to be depicted in art in this stylish and modern way – and kind of cool too 😉:
“What I like most about this kit, is that it looks so similar to me in the artistic interpretation. It really looks similar, even the picture is stylised, and all of my friends immediately understood it was me! 💜💜 - it’s wonderful and unique, like Stickman! “
Here at Stickman, we love the cool vibe of an adventure, and we love people who are looking for a challenge in life, and who want to express their uniqueness. After all, that’s what Stickman cycling is all about, and that’s why Evgeniya is such an awesome ambassador for us and our ladies cycling clothing.
If you happen to be on your own Stickman cycling adventure and in Turkey, or in Italy in the future, who knows... you may just see Evgeniya looking stunningly fabulous in our latest ladies' cycle clothing jersey and bibs and drinking a mid-ride coffee at Alanya. As she says herself: ‘I always drink coffee before I turn back. The café in Alanya knows me and it’s super friendly – and cycling is all about coffee, cool vibes and chilling out of course!”
The Important Stuff - Ride Information
If you’d like to take a ride in the Italian mountains where Evgeniya witnessed such beauty, then here’s some useful information for you, based on being in the right area to cycle in the mountains. San Pellegrino Terme is a commune in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. Located in the Val Brembana, it is also the location of the beverage company San Pellegrino.
Hotels Nearby
Located in the centre of San Pellegrino Terme, amongst the green mountains of the Brembana Valley, the Bes Hotel Papa San Pellegrino Terme offers spacious and comfortable rooms. San Pellegrino Terme is a major centre of cultural and sports activities as well as a famous spa town. You’re in the heart of the mountains here, with riding direct from the hotel.
QC Terme Spas and Resorts also have a number of accommodation and spa options in the area.
Milan-Bergamo Airport is a short distance away, with regular flights from around the world.
Places of Interest
Being in the Italian Lakes and Mountains, and so close to Milan and Verona, there’s so much to see and to visit in this magical part of Italy. Evgeniya describes it as the most beautiful place she’s ridden in, and we know that you will too.