Kiwi mum after World Champs
| UCI XCO/XCE/DHI/4X WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Pietermaritzburg | |
| 12 Sep 2013 |
- Congratulations Karen on your 22nd place at the World MTB Champs! Could you tell us a little about how your race panned out?
- Thank you. I was pretty disappointed with my start as I had a pretty severe crash in my warm up, and a terrible first lap. My race then became focused on getting myself back into a respectable placing, so to finish 22nd was pleasing- however I definitely had my sights set higher.
- You finished 8th on the Pietermaritzburg course at the 2012 World Cup. What aspects of the course do you like? What courses tend to suit you best?
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I really enjoyed the long uphill climbs combined with the drop offs and log roll off technical sections. I've spent a lot of time improving my skills on rock gardens and find this is no longer a major weakness.
- You are a working Mum! How do you find time to compete and perform to such a high level?
- I am a physiotherapist and work 3 days a week, which allows me time to train during the week. My husband is extremely supportive and works as a Physical Education teacher at the local high school. Caleb is 6 years and in his 2nd year at primary school, and Aramia is 4 years and she attends a preschool while I'm working and training in the week days. We have both sets of our parents living close by, and they offer a lot of support with babysitting, so our kids are really lucky to have a close relationship with both my parents and Mark's. It is really hard travelling abroad, as I miss my family- but know it's only a short time in the bigger picture.
- How long have you been mountain biking, and what got you in to the sport?
- I first began mountain biking 3 years ago in 2010, when I took up multisport: trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. I really enjoyed it straight away, and as an attempt to improve that aspect of my multisport racing I decided to enter into some long distance mountain bike races. My first XCO race was in our NZ National series in 2011.
- You didn't do any international racing since you took out the Oceania title in Tasmania before the World Championships.. Was this due to other commitments and priorities in your life?
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Yeah- last year was very demanding financially and time wise away from the family and work, so I made a decision to train and save up based in NZ this year..
- What are your goals/plans for the 2014 season?
- My major goals are focused on qualifying and competing in the Comonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland next year. This will involve a strong NZ National season and Oceania Champs together with returning to the World Cup circuit for qualification and UCI points.
