Manon Carpenter interview
Wednesday 23 May
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Manon Carpenter, 19, from Caerphilly in South Wales is a rising star of the downhill mountain biking scene. We managed to steal five minutes of her time for an exclusive interview.
Manon is currently competing in the elite category of the UCI World Cup and at the time of writing, is dominating the Halo British Downhill Series with 1st place podiums at the first two events. In 2011, Manon won both the Junior World Championships and the Junior World Cup Series.. an amazing year, not to mention also completing her A-Levels. This year is looking even better with Manon at the absolute top of her game and announcing her arrival to the World Cup elite circuit in style.
We caught up with Manon for a quick chat about experience as an international athlete, what makes her tick and most importantly, mountain biking in Wales.
You’ve been to a few pretty cool places already this year Manon. How are you finding all this international travel and what have been your highlights so far?
Yeah I’m pretty lucky to be able to go to all the places racing takes me. Competing at Sea Otter was a definite highlight this year; it was my first time in California and was so much fun. South Africa is an amazing place to go as well; I’m looking forward to the World Champs out there in 2012. I love all the travelling and it definitely takes a while to settle back into normal life again once you get home!
You’re sponsored by the Madison Saracen race team. Is life on the road with them a bit rock ‘n’ roll or is it a strict regime of early morning training sessions and healthy meals?
Ha well it’s a bit of both. Our team manager Will is fairly strict with early mornings and getting everything organized but then we do get a chance to mess around once the racing’s over. I’d say it’s a happy medium between the two.
In your first world cup event this year in South Africa you finished 2nd in the elite category. That must have felt amazing and how has that set you up mentally for the next event at Val di Sole in June?
Even though I spent the whole winter training and felt better than ever on my bike, I still couldn’t believe it when I was less than a second behind first place, and even after winning both UK Nationals I still can’t quite believe it! That said I do feel confident and strong so we’ll see what happens… I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like to admit my goals or think about winning, I’m just aiming to get there, ride the track as best I can, give it all I’ve got and see where that puts me. Quietly confident maybe?
Do you have any role models in the world of mountain biking who have particularly inspired you?
I would say that Anne Caro inspires me most as she was and probably is still the best female MTB racer ever, and I love that she dominated DH, Dual Slalom and won a gold medal in the Olympics. However I wouldn’t say I have a role model as I’m not trying to be anyone else, I’m just doing things my way and seeing where that gets me!
Your dad, Jason is a pretty keen biker. Do you guys get to ride together much these days?
Yeah we do, not as much as he’d like to though! He usually complains because throughout the week a lot of my training is based in the gym or on the turbo but we do still get to ride together. I’d say we have something along the lines of sibling rivalry going on now as we always seems to be trying to outdo each other!
How do you like to chill out when not on the bike?
When I’m home and not on the bike or training I generally like to chill out and do fairly average things with friends. It’s nice to re-learn how to be a girl and go to Cardiff or the cinema, and on the rare occasions when the weather’s good I love going to the beach!
Coming from South Wales, you’ve grown up around a lot of great locations for mountain biking. Tell us about your favourite trails.
In South Wales we have some of the best all mountain trails I’ve ever ridden. You have both flowy, rollercoaster-like trails that are perfect in the summer time and so much fun to ride, and you have steep, technical trails that are amazing in the wet and the dry. And they’re all within 30 minutes ride from the house!
For an average day out on the bike, do you prefer purpose built trail centers or natural trails?
Definitely natural trails. I see that trail centres have their place as they’re generally a lot faster and you can ride them whatever the weather but you can’t beat some of the steep, loamy trails in South Wales where you get to slide the bike around and get loose!
If you could only have one bike for riding in Wales, what sort of setup would you use?
The bike I use for XC at the moment is my 140mm travel Saracen Ariel and I think I would be happy to take that bike anywhere in Wales. It’s no more effort to climb than your average XC bike and it just loves to go downhill, fast. A bike that’s nimble and easy to throw around, yet can get away with some pretty big hits is perfect. However I’ve yet to try the 160 version which might be even better!
I’m guessing you’ve heard about the new bike park development at Gethin near Merthyr Tydfil. What do you think this will do for mountain biking in South Wales?
I’m really excited about the Gethin bike park, it’s a shame it can’t come sooner though! It will definitely help South Wales become a popular mountain bike destination along with all the other trails centres such as Cwmcarn and Afan in the area, and hopefully it will enable even more people to get involved with the sport. There are lots of exciting things going on in South Wales at the moment - the next few years are looking good!
Are you into any other action sports?
I’ll have a go at anything that looks fun. I never used to see myself as an adrenaline junkie but I think I definitely am one! I went snowboarding for the first time in January and couldn’t believe how much fun it was and I love riding motorbikes. And go karts are always a laugh. I’ve never got the hang of surfing, if that’s classed as an action sport, but I’d really like to spend some time learning.
What music do you like to get you amped for some downhill action?
Been listening to Chase and Status so far this year – seems to be working!
What’s your favourite trail-side snack?
SIS Go Bars are good to keep you going on XC rides, Dairy Milk to get you home if you’ve completely blown up!
In an interview with the BBC, you said you might delay university a bit longer depending on how the racing goes. Your results so far this year suggest that maybe you should avoid the uni campus and stick to the trails. What do you reckon?
I’m kind of thinking the same… I am still planning on going to university at some point but I can’t see myself going this September. Mainly because I want to focus on one thing or the other rather than trying to juggle both. From past experiences I don’t think uni lifestyle would work too well with the training!
How long do you see yourself racing bikes for?
Again I’m still not sure, I’d like to see how far I can go in racing and how much better I can become. I’ve made massive improvements this winter, and I feel stronger and more confident on the bike all the time so I can’t see myself slowing down anytime soon... I’m excited to see how the next few races go!
With mountain biking growing all the time as a sport and leisure activity, there seems to be more and more opportunities for making a long-lasting career out of riding your bike. Any thoughts on that?
Yeah, well you only have to look at Tracy Moseley who is embarking on a new stage in her career to see there are endless opportunities. There are new events and centres emerging all the time and so long as the sport and industry keeps growing that will keep creating more opportunities for people to make their living on their bike!
Where do you see the sport of mountain biking in Wales in say 10 - 15 years time?
I’m sure it’ll keep growing, hopefully with a lot more youngsters and girls getting involved. It would be great to see more people discover Wales as a mountain bike destination, it has the potential and landscape to become one of the best so with all the investment in the area hopefully that potential will be realized.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Manon, and we would like to wish you the very best of luck through the rest of the race season. Wales is definitely on the map this year in the world of downhill thanks to your flat out racing and amazing podium results!
Manon’s next UCI World Cup race will be at Val di Sole, Italy on the 3rd of June.
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