10 Mins with: Manon Carpenter

STORY BY Emmanuelle 29th June 2017

Manon Rose Carpenter 24 is a pro Downhill Mountain Bike rider, racing for Radon Factory Racing.  British Champion, Junior World Champion, double World Champion at Elite level.  Great Britain is dominating success at World Cup level in this sport and Manon is one of those riders making it happen.

 

What is your goal for 2017?

I’ve been working hard this winter to recover from an injury and enjoying time on the bike so I just want to be in the best position I can be to go as fast as I can. I have a really good team behind me, I want to do them justice and make the hard work worthwhile. With everything being new this year I’m using past experience to help me, but I also have a clean slate to work from so I want to achieve something worth writing home about!

 

Who are your role models?

When I was younger I would always hear about Anne Caro, a female MTBer who dominated across many bike disciplines – 4x, Dual Slalom, Downhill and BMX. It caught my attention that she was successful in any discipline she tried, and more recently she has had success at the Enduro MTB World Series. She’s still a really fast and stylish rider despite some serious illnesses in recent years, an all round legend! Now I follow many female athletes across different extreme sports – snow, surf, bike and motocross. I like to hear their stories and be inspired by what they can do.

 

How would you like to use your influence in the future?

I love getting a group of girls together and riding for fun, encouraging others to try something new. I’ve been involved in a couple of days like this and have really enjoyed it so coaching is definitely something I’d like to get involved in, along with organising women’s events.  I would push sport in schools as much as I could, and offer a variety of sports as the typical ones don’t always suit everyone. I think clubs are really important to give young people a way to get involved and participate in sport with others of a similar age.

 

Favourite World Cup venue?

Vallnord, in Andorra. It’s deep in the mountains and the track itself is mostly natural with a really steep lower section, which is exactly what I like. When it’s dry you can literally get dust in your shoes it’s that powdery! The crowds are great and I always just take good memories away from there.

 

Whats the atmosphere like at a World Cup event?

Just pure excitement and enthusiasm. Everyone who is there loves MTB and follows all the characters within the race circuit so they really care about the racing. Fans come with all sorts of outfits, banners and horns and have a great time!

Radon DH Team San Remo 2017

 

What’s your idea about the ultimate road trip?

If money is no obstacle then I would go everywhere! I often travel with a lot of items (big kit bag, 1-3 bike bags) so I would love to do some back packing and wild camping with my boyfriend, just travelling light at some point. But if money is no obstacle then I would have someone bring bikes to me at different locations so I could check out the local riding spots. I’ve never been to Asia or South America so exploring somewhere more exotic is definitely on my to do list.

For more info follow:  RADON BIKES

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