American Rider Birch Swapping Velodrome for Outer Space

American Rider Birch Swapping Velodrome for Outer Space
Cycling - XVIII Pan American Games - Lima 2019 - Cycling Track Women's Team Pursuit Final - Velodromo, Villa Deportiva Nacional, Lima, Peru – Aug. 2, 2019. Sergio Moraes/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

Eleven-time American national champion Christina Birch is swapping the cycling velodrome to start a journey she hopes will take her all the way to the moon.

Birch’s drastic change of direction comes after being selected for the NASA Astronaut Class of 2021, which will see her embark on a two-year training course for the Artemis missions in Houston, Texas.