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SRAM senior race technician Anna Greetis talks about why she still hates walking into bike shops and what it would take to get more women into the tech side of cycling.
Suvi Loponen, GRL PCK
Anna Greetis always asks if riders stuck at the side of the road are all good. Then she asks again. Usually she has to ask a third time and add: “I’m a professional mechanic!”
In some way that is like telling someone who is hurt that you are a doctor. Convincing them that you have the expertise to help. But perhaps, in cycling, the reason Greetis has to repeat the offer is that she is not your stereotypical bike mechanic.
For women to start learning, you really have to want it, and you have to be willing to fight for it.
Greetis has now spent six years at SRAM, the US component maker, as a senior race tech – and she is the only woman in the race tech team. She has taught WorldTour mechanics about the tech they work with, and worked at the races herself, handing out spare wheels. Now, she is the main contact for the dozens of SRAM-supported athletes, mainly in the gravel sphere.
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I’ve followed Greetis’ work for years, and crossed paths with her at press camps. It was an evening in early August, and the night before L’Étape Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, when I finally got a chance to interview her. Greetis was driving me to Marseille to pick up my bike, which the airline had lost, and the drive gave us time to talk about what it’s like to be in her shoes.
Anna (left) at the start of TdFF 2026.
Before coming to the women’s gathering organised by SRAM, Greetis had just ridden the GRL PCK gravel rally to the start of the Tour de France Femmes – it was (surprisingly to me) her first time bikepacking. During that trip, and the L’Etape gathering, she continued to not only ride, but also support the other riders.
As I discovered, that support is more than just tightening bolts and fixing things. It’s also teaching, learning to communicate with different people, and being confident – especially when you work in a profession where, as a woman, you need to claim that space to begin with.
This interview has been lightly edited for flow and clarity.
Suvi Loponen: How did you get started? How did you end up becoming a bike mechanic?
Anna Greetis: I grew up around bikes. My dad works in the industry, so I’d been on rides, and usually if I had a flat, my dad or somebody else would take my bike and fix it for me. Which is fine – princess treatment is nice every once in a while. But I was curious. I wanted to be able to say, “No, no, I got this.” So I asked my dad to teach me, and he said the best way to learn, honestly, is to get a job in a bike shop.
I found a shop that was willing to invest in teaching me, and I was very specific: “I want to be a mechanic.” I think a lot of times women are put into sales roles. We have a lot of really good social skills, so it’s a natural place for people to assign us. But sales was never something that intrigued me. They took me on, and everything I learned was from the shop.
I worked there part-time while I was at university. After I graduated, I realised I basically needed a PhD if I wanted to do anything other than be someone else’s assistant. So I ended up back in the shop to make some money in the meantime, and realised I really enjoyed it. I was also working at a brewery, in two roles, so that was three jobs. Eventually I went full-time at the shop. After a few years, there wasn’t any service I didn’t know how to do, and I was kind of like, “OK, what next?”
Somebody pointed me to the role at SRAM. It was a lot of travel, which I really wanted. It still required the mechanical skills I’d worked very hard for, and I didn’t want to lose that. And it required working with people, which I enjoy. I thought, ” There’s no way I’m going to get this.” Then the pandemic hit, and I didn’t hear anything for six or seven months. When I finally heard back, I kept getting through to the next interview, and then I got the job. [Greetis gives an excited “whoo,” demonstrating her reaction to the news.] In about five days, it’ll be my six-year anniversary.
SL: I’m curious, what did you study at uni?
AG: I was a double major in chemistry and environmental science. I liked chemistry. I worked in a lab throughout university – one job was making all the demos for the classes, all the explosions and stuff, and then in my last year I worked in a research lab. That’s when I realised I really didn’t like being stuck inside a lab that many hours a day. Bad timing to learn that about myself.
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