RACHEL Atherton is a multiple world, European and national downhill mountain bike champion, flying the flag for Great Britain on an international stage alongside brothers Dan and Gee.
She will be in Scotland this weekend (September 26 and 27) for the 2015 Red Bull Foxhunt in the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh, bringing together 150 women to race bikes.
How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?
About five or six I think, maybe younger. It wasn’t so much that I liked cycling, more that I didn’t like being left behind when Dan and Gee looked like they were off having fun.
What are your earliest memories of cycling?
Cycling down with the boys to watch them ride dirt jumps with my pet rabbit in my carrying basket. Until Gee told me he saw a snake …
What was your first bike?
Some weird type of mountain-bike handed down from the boys. I pretended it was a BMX even though the kids in the village kept telling me it wasn’t.
What kind of bike do you own now?
Two GT Furys: one is my race bike, the other for training. Two GT Forces, one we keep on the race truck for warm-ups and one I keep at home for cross-country rides and having fun. And a GT Grade for road rides as part of my winter training.
How would you describe your cycling style?
Powerful, I guess. I’m pretty strong and I like to think precise.
Who is your favourite cyclist?
My big brother Dan – he has led the way for both me and Gee, through our whole careers from the time he persuaded Gee to buy his first bike for £10 or built me my first mountain bike for Christmas.
What is your motto on the bike?
Don’t stop (it works uphill or downhill).
What is your all-time ultimate cycling moment?
The day in Andorra in 2008 when all three of us won our World Cup raced and got to stand on the top step of the podium together.
What is your favourite route?
Probably a track that Dan built for me to train on near his house in Dyfi, Wales, that features in the film EscapeCreate. It’s wild. Though, there is so much amazing scenery and cycling within a few miles of there that it’s difficult to choose just one.
What is top of your cycling bucket list?
To take my bike and a sea-kayak around the Lofoten Islands in Norway.
Describe your next big adventure?
I don’t know yet. Hopefully Foxhunt will be cool. My mum and Gill from the Athy Racing team and physio Laura are all coming up to Scotland as well so the trip will be a laugh, then once we arrive there’s going to be more than 150 other girls to join in the fun.
How has owning a bike changed your life?
Totally. I’ve never had a job that wasn’t being a professional rider. I’m not sure what I would have been otherwise – maybe an English teacher, or a sprinter… I was pretty fast at track.
What is your top cycling tip?
Just try it – that’s the first thing. Nearly all the trail centres have hire bikes now so it’s really accessible. And don’t worry if you aren’t World Cup standard. I think girls and women tend to “feel the eyes” a bit too much – just have a go and let more experienced riders go round you if they have to.
How does your riding style differ from your brothers Dan and Gee?
I think I’m probably a bit more careful and in control. That’s a conscious thing because I don’t want to put my body through so many crashes any more. As I write this Dan has just had a shoulder op after crashing when he was testing the course he built for Red Bull Hardline and Gee has had about three concussions this season …
What are you most looking forward to about Foxhunt?
Yoga lessons, chilling in the Red Bull Teepee, getting further on the uplifts now we’re partnering with Jeep and more than 150 women riding together. Woohoo!
The 2015 Red Bull Foxhunt with Jeep and Rachel Atherton takes place in the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh, on September 26 and 27. For more information, visit redbull.com
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