Sportsister talks to Tracy Moseley, Britain’s number one female downhill mountain bike racer on her success in the 2009 World Cup Series, and what her aims and goals are for next year.
Well done in this year’s World Cup series. You came 2nd over all, are you happy with that?
Having won the series in 2006 I guess if you finish anything below first it is always disappointing. I had a pretty good start, I won two of the races but I had quite a few crashes in the middle of the season so by the end I was pleased that I still managed to come second over all.
Is there any World Cup round you look forward to especially?
Definitely, it’s always going to be our home race, Fort William in Scotland, purely because it’s the race I’ve won on many occasions. It is one of the biggest races as well in terms of spectators and followers so it is a fantastic atmosphere and there’s nothing better than getting a win on your home race.
If you haven’t performed to a standard you’re happy with in the National Championships do you think this affects your mentality and confidence in the World Cup?
You have to take each race as it comes. You can have crashes and make mistakes from one weekend to the next and you can’t afford to dwell on that otherwise your whole season’s ruined. You’ve got to be able to take the positives from whatever happens even if it was a mistake and you learn from that. Apply it to the following week so you don’t make the same mistake again.
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Read related features on Sportsister:
Moseley takes gold at MTB World Cup, Fort William
The best women’s mountain biking courses
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During the season do you have a strict diet?
It’s not so much a strict diet as much as generally all year round you need to be eating healthily. During the season it’s definitely hard to get the healthy food because you are travelling so much so you have to be quite careful with what you do eat. It’s always best to be able to plan ahead.
Who do you see as a main competitor?
Rachel Atherton is a another girl from the UK who is pretty young and come up through the ropes really quickly. Also Sabrina Jonnier is someone I have raced against since I was in juniors so I’ve had about 10 – 15 years of racing her.
Is there a good camaraderie between you and your fellow competitors?
Definitely, it is quite a small sport and we do travel with each other and race against the same people week after week so we all know each other really well.
It’s an event where you race against the clock not each other so it comes down to what you do not someone else coming and knocking you off.
You’re using aTrixter Xdream bike for your indoor training. Tell us why you chose this bike and what the benefits are?
During the winter when we are based back in the UK it is our off season so it’s the time when we can do a lot of fitness training without the interruptions of travel and racing. The weather is never great so one of the advantages of riding indoors on the Xdream bike is you can use it whenever and you are always guaranteed a good work out.
In 2002 you were the first British woman to win a World Cup downhill race. How did you feel at the time you found out you had won?
It was pretty amazing, I felt honoured that I was the first to be able to do that and it was the first downhill race we ever held in Britain. I’ve never really managed to beat that feeling yet because it was such a perfect place to do it, it is a great memory to take with me that’s for sure!
What are your aims and goals for the next season and there after?
The world championships are a one day event where you get to wear the rainbow jersey which is quite a well known jersey in all of cycling and that is still the one event I haven’t won. So that’s my big goal for next year to try and win that and also to regain the world cup series I won in 2006.
Any advice for readers who are thinking of taking up downhill racing?
The thing with downhill is it is just a matter of going and finding the places and the people to ride with. As soon as you go you will get the bug and then you’ll be addicted to downhill forever.
When you eventually give up racing, what do you think you will do?
I would really love to get involved with trying to coach more girls. There is a lot more money being invested into coaching and into cycling particularly in this country after our Olympic success. I would love to be able to put something back into the sport and help it progress.
Erin Healey, Sportsister
The Women´s Sport Magazine
