Bike
Bike
Meet the new generation of riders freshening up the cycling scene
A new class of bike athletes are beginning to make their mark in the wider cycling world. Here's who to keep your eyes on with a view to future sporting success.
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Reaching the top of a sport takes talent, hard work, guts and determination. A new generation of riders are beginning to make those journeys on two wheels. Whether it be racing up or downhill on dirt, tricking it up on a skatepark course or pumping their arms on a BMX track, these athletes are ready to make a name for themselves in their respective disciplines.
1. Vali Höll
- Discipline: Mountain bike downhill
- Cool fact: Vali landed her first sponsorship deal at the age of 13
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Vali could be downhill's most exciting rider of her generation
As one of downhill mountain bike racing's burgeoning talents Valentina 'Vali' Höll has received a lot of hype in recent years. The Austrian is yet to make her elite debut at the sport's premier series, the Mercedes-Benz UCI World Cup, but her times as a junior hold up well against ladies her senior on the same tracks. Höll is expected to be contending for wins straight away when World Cup racing for the 2021 season gets underway in a few months time.
10 min
Vali Höll
The rising star of UCI Mountain Bike Downhill, Vali Höll, is here to show you just how fast she really is.
2. Hannah Bergemann
- Discipline: Mountain bike freeride
- Cool fact: As well as being quite handy on a bike, Hannah is also an accomplished skier and can ride rails on skis
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: If there is one rider who will push progression in women's riding than it is Hannah
Freeride is all about having fun on your bike but it's also about being unconventional. Hannah Bergemann is certainly that. The 24-year-old is a supreme bike-handler who is just at ease racing mountain bikes in pro-level enduro competitions as she is being upside down after lifting off on a dirt jump. Never one to stand still, Bergemann is keen to progress her riding abilities and being a freerider offers her the perfect creative outlet to show what she can do, as she did at the groundbreaking freeride camp, Formation. Bergemann has shown that with talent a female bike athlete can make a career outside the race tape.
Being free to ride is everything for Hannah Bergemann
© Katie Lozancich/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Saya Sakakibara
- Discipline: BMX race
- Cool fact: Saya's brother Kai is also a pro BMX racer
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: At just 20, Saya is already mixing it up in Elite against more established BMX racers
BMX racing is fast, furious and full of high octane action so it takes a level head at times to succeed at the highest level. Saya Sakakibara has that quality. The Australian is already a three time World Champion in junior age-group racing (from 14 to 16 years old) and five time Australian National Champion. Being part Japanese, Sakakibara has an incredible following in Japan, which will definitely be an advantage when it comes to racing at the Games in Tokyo later on in 2021. As winner of the test event in Tokyo in 2019, Sakakibara goes into the summer as a favourite for a medal.
More podiums beckon for Saya Sakakibara
© Ryan Fudger/Red Bull Content Pool
4. Laura Stigger
- Discipline: Mountain bike cross-country
- Cool fact: Laura attended a specialist sports school, Sportborg, in Austria's Tirol region in an effort to finish her education
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Laura will be racing in elite cross-country races despite being 20
When it comes to making first time impressions then Laura Stigger has quite the record. In her first elite races at the Mercedes-Benz UCI Cross-Country Mountain Bike World Cup in 2020 at Nové Město, the Austrian podiumed with two fifth places, as well as a third place in the second short track competition at the Czech venue. The former two-time junior cross-country world champion also won the junior World road race championship in 2018, her second ever race on the road. Mountain biking is Stigger's focus for now but a multi-disciplinary approach has never done Tom Pidcock or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot any harm.
Stigger is looking to reach new heights in the years to come
© Michal Cerveny/Specialized Global Sports
5. Lara Lessmann
- Discipline: BMX freestyle
- Cool fact: Lara has a fear of flying but that hasn't stopped her travelling the world to participate in contests
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Lara is the 3rd ranked BMX freestyler in the world
4 min
Lara Lessmann - Berlin Skateparks
Looking for new challenges in the Berlin area, BMX ace Lara Lessmann finds what she is looking for in her adopted home alongside local riders Daniel Tünte and Mati Echeverria.
6. Rocio del Alba Garcia Martinez
- Discipline: Mountain bike cross-country
- Cool fact: As a junior, Rocio won national titles on the road, for cyclo-cross and in mountain biking
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Rocio is an up-and-coming U23 cross-country racer
Garcia Martinez is one to watch in cross-country
© David Acedo
7. Nikita Ducarroz
- Discipline: BMX freestyle
- Cool fact: Nikita has set up a mental health initiative called m1ndtricks where action sport athletes can share stories about their struggles
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Nikita has a goal to get more girls and women riding BMX
When it comes to to promoting women's participation in BMX freestyle there is no bigger voice than Nikita Ducarroz. The Swiss athlete with the American twang is super supportive of her fellow competitors and newcomers into the sport. Ducarroz is currently the 5th ranked rider in the UCI world rankings and her results show she's never far away from the podium when it comes to competitions. In 2019, she placed fifth at the UCI Urban World Championships and fourth overall during the World Cup series. A career highlight for Ducarroz was winning the 2020 BMX Simple Session contest.
Nikita Ducarroz is keen to promote women's BMX freestyle
© Robert Snow/Red Bull Content Pool
8. Sae Hatakeyama
- Discipline: BMX race
- Cool fact: A stuffed rabbit called Piro-chan travels with her everywhere
- Why this athlete should be on your radar: Sae is an outlier in the women's BMX race field with the potential to cause an upset
Racing BMX is the sport Sae Hatakeyama was made for
© Yusuke Kashiwazaki/Red Bull Content Pool
9 & 10. Queensaray and Lizsurley Villegas
- Discipline: BMX freestyle
- Cool fact: The sisters are identical twins
- Why these athletes should be on your radar: The Villegas girls are the future of BMX freestyle in the next few years
These sisters from Colombia are invariably grouped together as their careers in BMX freestyle has so far been a shared experience. Despite a lack of training infrastructure and resources back home both Queensaray and Lizsurley are making waves in the sport. With funding the two are now able to travel to competitions abroad, where riding with their peers in competition will only progress their own abilities and improve them. Representing Colombia at the Games in Paris in 2024 is their medium-term aim going on forward.
15 min
Lizsurley and Queensaray: the jungle freestylers
Find out how identical twin sisters from the Colombian jungle grew up to become pro BMXers.
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