Martha Gill, Juliet Elliott & Morgane Such give us their view on their view of women in the MTB community & where they see it going in the future.
MARTHA GILL
''Women are becoming more and more present within the MTB community which is a great thing to see! from jobs in the industry to professional athletes. I see more women being sponsored, more than 1 woman on factory teams, the growth of the freeride scene and more women invited to freeride events, and so so so many young girls who are the future of the sport taking to social media to showcase their shredding and sending it hard - I can't wait to see in another 5-10 years time when those girls will be taking the sport to a whole new level! there's still plenty to be done to help this grow but it takes time, if we compare now to 5 years ago so much has changed, so hopefully it just keeps on progressing in that way.''
JULIET ELLIOTT
''It feels like women’s mountain biking is in a really great place. The level of progression is exciting and inspiring and the community feels strong and supportive. there are more and more women only events, rides and takeovers happening, many of which sell out within a day and at these events, the camaraderie is awesome. but…. I still sometimes find myself the only one at certain bike parks and that just strikes me as a real shame. Why aren’t there more women there? they’re missing out! what can we do to get participation levels on a par with men's?''
MORGANE SUCH
‘‘I am completely stoked to see nowadays awesome female free riders taking risks, taking part in free ride events where it was only men 2 years ago! Even having women on the front cover of magazines too! there’s an insane level of women today, which is great for the girls who are afraid to try. We see 12-year-old girls, even younger, ripping up the trails and jumps now and that’s only the beginning. I'm sure in a few years women will be competing equally with men everywhere on the bike scene (dh, free ride etc)’’
