Off-road diva
GoActive: Last year you had a fantastic season – you were the first British woman to win a mountain biking World Cup title. How did that feel?
Tracy: It always feels good to get a 1st place! It was great for media coverage and for my sponsors [Kona Les Gets]. On a personal level, it had been quite a long time that I was coming in with top-five places – in 2005 I got 2nd, just getting closer. It was good to finish it, finally wrap it up, aged 26.
GoActive: What’s it like to be careering down a downhill track at 50 miles an hour?
Tracy: You get so used to it. In practice you have to learn every corner, every rock, everything else. So in the race you don’t feel out of control.
GoActive: What’s your attitude to fear?
Tracy: Even with people competing at a high level, they get scared – just at much more extreme courses than your average mountain biker (laughs)! You’ve got to push past your feeling of fear. You’ve got to think you’ve got the skills – there’s a strong mental factor in this.
GoActive: What skills do you need to be a successful downhill mountain biker?
Tracy: You need a good endurance base. Races only last 2-6 minutes, so you need strength and power, balance and good bike skills. Most important is mental strength. You have a weekend to practise at events, but only one run that’s timed. So if you make ride really well all weekend but make a mess of the final run... it’s not good! You’ve got to be able to perform on demand.
GoActive: Is being a female difficult in the mountain biking world?
Tracy: It’s a highly male-dominated industry. Most girls don’t use bikes in the same way as boys when they’re growing up, the boys really challenge themselves, so in a way girls miss out on that. I was lucky because I grew up with two brothers who got me into mountain biking on our farm in Malvern, in Worcestershire. However, there are good opportunities for women at the moment – sponsorship, at long last, is easier to come by. Women are starting to get noticed in this sport.
GoActive: What can be done to encourage women to participate more in the sport?
Tracy: Well, the recreational mountain biking side of things is really taking off. In Wales and Scotland there are trail centres, leading the way with different levels of track, different gradings, cafés, bike hire, bike washes and all the facilities that you might need. I see more women out there all the time, which is encouraging. Often, their boyfriends go mountain biking and so they tag along, that’s on the increase, and the sport is appealing to a much wider group of people.
GoActive: You get to do a lot of travelling on tour for the World Cup and other events. What’s your favourite place to ride?
Tracy: I’m spoilt, going to amazing locations all the time, and being in the mountains anywhere is pretty amazing. New Zealand is a place I’ll always go back to again. They have a love of outdoors. It’s a small but thriving community of riders. In the UK there’s the Lake District, Scotland, and Wales all on your doorstep.
GoActive: What’s your plan for next season?
Tracy: To retain the World Cup title, for a start. My main goal is to win the World Championship, a one-day race being held this year in Fort William. It will be an amazing event and it’s the first time it is being held in Great Britain. To win the World Championship on home turf would be the icing on the cake of my career.
GoActive: Which up-and-coming mountain bikers should we keep an eye on?
Tracy: Rachel Atherton. She’s only 19 but came third in the World Championships and third in the World Cup. She’s almost at the top of her sport but still so young – she’ll be dominating for the next ten years.
To keep track of Tracy’s progress, see
www.tracymoseley.com
For info on the 2007 Nissan Mountain Bike World Cup, see
www.uci.ch
For info on the 2007 Fort William World Championships, see
www.fortwilliamworlchamps.co.uk
For more info on cycle routes and trails, see
www.sustrans.org.uk
www.forestry.gov.uk
For cycle-friendly accommodation see
www.visitbritain.co.uk
For info on some of the best and most beginner-friendly trails in the UK see
www.mtbwales.com
www.7stanes.gov.uk
Tracy: It always feels good to get a 1st place! It was great for media coverage and for my sponsors [Kona Les Gets]. On a personal level, it had been quite a long time that I was coming in with top-five places – in 2005 I got 2nd, just getting closer. It was good to finish it, finally wrap it up, aged 26.
GoActive: What’s it like to be careering down a downhill track at 50 miles an hour?
Tracy: You get so used to it. In practice you have to learn every corner, every rock, everything else. So in the race you don’t feel out of control.
GoActive: What’s your attitude to fear?
Tracy: Even with people competing at a high level, they get scared – just at much more extreme courses than your average mountain biker (laughs)! You’ve got to push past your feeling of fear. You’ve got to think you’ve got the skills – there’s a strong mental factor in this.
GoActive: What skills do you need to be a successful downhill mountain biker?
Tracy: You need a good endurance base. Races only last 2-6 minutes, so you need strength and power, balance and good bike skills. Most important is mental strength. You have a weekend to practise at events, but only one run that’s timed. So if you make ride really well all weekend but make a mess of the final run... it’s not good! You’ve got to be able to perform on demand.
GoActive: Is being a female difficult in the mountain biking world?
Tracy: It’s a highly male-dominated industry. Most girls don’t use bikes in the same way as boys when they’re growing up, the boys really challenge themselves, so in a way girls miss out on that. I was lucky because I grew up with two brothers who got me into mountain biking on our farm in Malvern, in Worcestershire. However, there are good opportunities for women at the moment – sponsorship, at long last, is easier to come by. Women are starting to get noticed in this sport.
GoActive: What can be done to encourage women to participate more in the sport?
Tracy: Well, the recreational mountain biking side of things is really taking off. In Wales and Scotland there are trail centres, leading the way with different levels of track, different gradings, cafés, bike hire, bike washes and all the facilities that you might need. I see more women out there all the time, which is encouraging. Often, their boyfriends go mountain biking and so they tag along, that’s on the increase, and the sport is appealing to a much wider group of people.
GoActive: You get to do a lot of travelling on tour for the World Cup and other events. What’s your favourite place to ride?
Tracy: I’m spoilt, going to amazing locations all the time, and being in the mountains anywhere is pretty amazing. New Zealand is a place I’ll always go back to again. They have a love of outdoors. It’s a small but thriving community of riders. In the UK there’s the Lake District, Scotland, and Wales all on your doorstep.
GoActive: What’s your plan for next season?
Tracy: To retain the World Cup title, for a start. My main goal is to win the World Championship, a one-day race being held this year in Fort William. It will be an amazing event and it’s the first time it is being held in Great Britain. To win the World Championship on home turf would be the icing on the cake of my career.
GoActive: Which up-and-coming mountain bikers should we keep an eye on?
Tracy: Rachel Atherton. She’s only 19 but came third in the World Championships and third in the World Cup. She’s almost at the top of her sport but still so young – she’ll be dominating for the next ten years.
To keep track of Tracy’s progress, see
www.tracymoseley.com
For info on the 2007 Nissan Mountain Bike World Cup, see
www.uci.ch
For info on the 2007 Fort William World Championships, see
www.fortwilliamworlchamps.co.uk
For more info on cycle routes and trails, see
www.sustrans.org.uk
www.forestry.gov.uk
For cycle-friendly accommodation see
www.visitbritain.co.uk
For info on some of the best and most beginner-friendly trails in the UK see
www.mtbwales.com
www.7stanes.gov.uk
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