So without any further formalities, here\u2019s my 10 Questions with Emily Batty! \u2013 Enjoy!<\/p>\n
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So, can you tell me a bit about where you grew-up and how you first got into MTB?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cYeah, so I grew up in Ontario, Canada. Just a little less than an hour outside of Toronto. I grew up on a farm and have two older brothers and a younger sister. It was my oldest brother Eric, who introduced my family to Mountain Biking. And then me as a younger sister, always looking up to him and chasing him and his friends in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKind-of as a family MTB was our thing, where it became just this massive adventure. We\u2019d take like the family Van, and little RV, and tow everybody across the country for 6 weeks in the middle of the summer. Travel across the US and to certain MTB series\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we just had an incredibly supportive family. I started traveling to the races when I was 9\/10, and then started racing in them when I was 12. I\u2019d kind-of do races after school and eventually these races turned into Ontario Cups, Canada Cups, and then I followed into some of the Euro Cups. Especially the Swiss Cups. Where I moved to for a few weeks when I was 16. Just to experience different racing styles. People would often say, I was so young to be doing that. And not having a lot of women in the sport at the time, it was quite a big thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Can you elaborate a bit on your relationship with Trek Bikes as a brand? As well as Red Bull?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cYeah, so Trek I\u2019ve worked with now for a full 10 years. It started with our Trek Toronto store, who kind-of lead the Canadian Trek Industry. It was one man, from this store, who saw potential in me from a young age, and took me off the current company I was working with and brought me to Trek. So he helped me from his shop. Him and his family as well. He sent me to Europe a couple of times and supported me financially. Barry Near is his name, and I think he is the reason I am with Trek nowadays. He at the time just knew that I had some talent and he wanted to see that develop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually it evolved into a Trek Factory racing team. And they\u2019ve been good. I feel that now that I\u2019ve been racing elite for some time, like there is always that pressure to compete. So yeah, I think it\u2019s a very delicate balance for our Factory Teams to not add pressure, since there are other pressures as well. But Trek has been amazing in letting me develop as an athlete.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cRed Bull has also been an incredible relationship. I\u2019ve been with them for now 3 years, and they\u2019re so amazing. They\u2019re just sending emails keeping the relationship really healthy all the time. From there side, a lot of their staff are former athletes, so they get the mental aspect of what it takes to be at the top of your game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s your strategy going into, now obviously, the World Cup season?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cSo this year is quite unusual for us. It\u2019s a very early race. I did want to do Cyclocross last year, because I would\u2019ve had an early start to racing this year. But due to organising bikes early enough, it just didn\u2019t work out. So I actually started my training a lot earlier this year. Took less of a break, to try to carry more fitness into this season, for the first week of March.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot the athletes, had race fitness on the 10th<\/sup> of March. And being a six-month racing season, it was important for me to be consistent with my fitness. So yeah, I think despite it being so early, and the fact that the Stellenbosch World Cup wasn\u2019t my strongest race. My coach and I do analyse things a little different, much more in-depth, and I think that\u2019s the important part. To look at the percentage, and the power files, and how I was feeling in general. And as it goes to show, compared to other world cups, I\u2019ve actually opened the world cup season a lot quicker than normal. But my result was 14th<\/sup>, so it just shows you the level of competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Now for a question that\u2019s burning on my mind; how was your race on Saturday at the Stellenbosch UCI World Cup?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cI feel that there were a lot of positive take-aways. I myself was expecting a higher result. But I did change a lot of things in my training program this year, working with a few new people, some different training styles. So far though, I\u2019m happy with where I\u2019m at. And analysing the details from the race are more important. Especially for the sponsors to support that, and not put the pressure on the athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Can you give us a bit of insight as to how you\u2019ll be preparing to compete at the Australian Common Wealth-games this year, as well as what you\u2019re hoping to achieve?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u00a0\u201c<\/strong>So the Common Wealth Games are a big deal from a media stand-point. Even outside of the sport for that matter. And people from Canada obviously want to see Canada do well. So it\u2019s an exciting event for us, and it\u2019s a game, so it\u2019s the same atmosphere as an Olympics. You can learn a lot just from the environment itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we like to take these opportunities, such as the Australian Common Wealth Games to become familiar with the Olympic style of racing. We only get the Olympic opportunity once every 4 years, so it\u2019s nice to use these experiences to become comfortable with the stress level. So that when we get to Tokyo Olympics it\u2019s almost like second nature.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cDefinitely I want to come away with a Gold medal. I was Silver in Glasgow 4 years ago, and I was Gold in Pan Am Championships 3 years ago. But we\u2019re definitely going to have some competition and it won\u2019t be easy<\/p>\n
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You finished 2nd<\/sup> at a World Cup Race here in SA in 2012, if I\u2019m correct? How does it feel racing here now, compared to then, in light of the Stellenbosch World Cup on Saturday?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s MTB racing is full force, front and centre. I think it\u2019s absolutely action-packed. And I think the people have long realised that. I mean supporting the whole women\u2019s industry is huge in MTB right now. Its grown immensely since 2012. The women\u2019s MTB industry, is now being supported hugely by sponsors. And just the level of professionalism has sky rocketed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the level of placing in this week\u2019s race, is not going to be the same as next week. So women\u2019s racing is a lot more unpredictable which makes it exciting. In 2012 it was a sprint for second, the race itself was a huge career highlight for me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Okay, so looking ahead, what\u2019s your vision as an athlete, as to where you want to be at, by the end of 2018?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cWell, 2018 is another year closer to Tokyo Olympics. I as the athlete and my coach look at the seasons leading up to preparing for an Olympic year. So this year is another build into the Olympic year. We have all the goals within the season that we want to accomplish, and we\u2019ll hopefully make those marks. But at the end of the year I want to make sure, I nailed all of the goals that I had in this season. Make sure I peak when I need to peak, train when I need to train, and rest when I need to rest. And just fine tuning those details before the Olympic year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen obviously getting the best results at the World Championships. A medal is not always out of our reach.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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What do you love about riding a bike?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cFor me, I think just pursuing and trying to improve. In MTB things are changing and evolving so fast, and then even for racing World Cups, and high performance athletes. It\u2019s just trying to always be ahead of that curve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean my husband is also a high-performance athlete, but he\u2019s one of the guys that gets on his bike, and does a 3-min wheelie down the road. I think having him, and occasionally my brothers when we get to ride together, and seeing them just whip that bike around, like it\u2019s just so natural. And then always wanting to improve myself and never settling, you\u2019re always wanting more from yourself, and that\u2019s what has kept me getting back on the bike.\u201d<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s your all-time favourite bike that you like to ride? <\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cI love the question but it\u2019s so difficult to answer\u2026 (*Emily chuckles) It depends on what time of year I\u2019m in. So if I\u2019m in the Fall, my Trek Fuel EX. Just because we do more trails that are fun and more rugged. And like just enjoying different types of riding. Then I\u2019d say for like an all-round, enjoyable, fast bike, my Top Fuel. Which I really enjoy riding. But for a full-out race bike I\u2019d take my Procaliber. So do I have a favourite, it depends on what time of year you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Is there any advice you can give to riders aspiring to be like you?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u201cWhen I was a girl I didn\u2019t know to look to women for inspiration. So I looked to men because they were kind-of my role models at the time. There were few women, except for Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjaa, who I love competing with, and still look up to.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019ve always thought it was important for young girls and young boys, to have a female role model. I think with today\u2019s society, it\u2019s important for everyone to be inspired and to know that women can be dominant. With that, the advice I\u2019d give; is that things aren\u2019t always going to be easy. If you want to pursue something you got to go with the flow, you\u2019ve got to ride that roller-coaster. And you\u2019ve got to take those lows and you\u2019ve got to be able to overcome them. Just in general you\u2019ve got to work hard and stay committed, despite challenges. And what you see on Instagram and social media; you see the glorious side of it. But in order to achieve that glorious side you need to go through the highs and the lows. Because it takes those lows and challenges to become a better rider.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nFrom the SPARK BIKE Team and I; stay-tuned for our interview with Anton Cooper!<\/p>\n
Cheers for now!<\/p>\n
Joel<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n
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