Profile
Road racing in New Zealand
NAME: Genevieve Whitson
AGE: 31
WEIGHT: 56kgs
MENTORS: Amy Taylor (www.kecycling.com) & Mario Dhingsa
YEARS RACING: 9
YEARS RIDING: 10
FAVOURITE PLACES TO RIDE & TRAIN: Wellington/Makara NZ & Highlands, Scotland
MOST MEMORABLE RIDING EXPERIENCE: Climbing up the 'Wall' at the UCI Liberty Classic with huge crowds cheering us on, including people playing bagpipes and having BBQ's! - an absolutely incredible atmosphere to be part of.
WORST RIDING EXPERINCE:Arriving at the wrong airport in Belgium to fly back to Scotland after a hard week of racing, to discover I am going to have to sleep over night at the airport, and use all excess funds to pay for a new flight and consequently starve for 24 hours.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
24th Elite Women, UCI 1.1 Liberty Classic, USA, 2011
Member of Team Swaboladies Women's Road Team, Holland, 2011
1st New Zealand Female cyclist to compete in the UCI World Cyclocross Championships and World Cyclocross Cup, Germany and Belgium, 2011
39th Elite Women, World Cyclocross Cup, Kathlmout, Belgium, 2010
1st Elite Women, The Catskills Epic Road Race (Stage one), Tour Of Catskills, Windham, USA, 2010
4th Elite Women, UK National Cyclocross Trophy, Round 6, UK, 2010
4th Elite Women, UK Women's National Road Race Series, Round 1, UK, 2009
NZ Mountain Bike Representative 2005 & 2006 (Oceania Games and World Champs)
45th Elite Women, World MTB Championships, New Zealand, 2006
6th Elite Women, Oceania Mountain Bike Games, Australia, 2005
1st Elite Women, Scottish National Mountain Bike Championships, 2005
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, Otago University (New Zealand)
RESIDING: Edinburgh, UK
OCCUPATION: Programme Co-ordinator/Cyclist
CLUBS I RATE: Pnp Road Club (nz), Edinburgh Road Club (UK)
CURRENT GOAL: World Road Cycling Championships 2011
GOOD ADVICE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME:Follow your bliss
INTERESTS WHEN OFF THE BIKE:
Playing the guitar, good food and wine, photography/art, travelling and exploring new places, watching documentaries (the weirder and crazier the better..) skiing and snowboarding, lounging in cafes, reiki, yoga, meditation, green issues..
HISTORY:
So where did it all begin?
When I was 17, I started studying at Victoria University (NZ) towards a Bachelor of Arts. I saw an ad for the Victoria University Mountain Bike Club and thought it would be a great way to get active again after retiring from competitive running at school
It was a somewhat turbulent start to my cycling career. The first three rides involved various broken bones, black eyes, stitches and a lot of tumbles. However, this somehow motivated me to improve; and after competing in the university games in 1999, I was addicted.
I transferred to Otago University in 2000, and became active in the mountain bike/multi-sport scene, where I met Kirsty Fleming (one of the most fundamental people in the first few years of my racing career). Up until then, I had only competed at the Mountain Bike Nationals once, finishing second to last in the expert class, and had felt quite demoralized by the entire experience. I have Kirsty to thank for taking me to the elite level, and eventually onto a NZ representative level in 2005.
It had always been a major goal of mine to race in Europe, but I had never quite been able to figure out how to arrange or fund this. In 2004 I got some really good advice from some of NZ's best mountain bikers and started putting plans into place. However things took and unexpected turn when I came down sick with glandular fever from overtraining and stress. I was advised by the docter to take a full year off the bike, from all racing and training. Reluctanly I took the advice, but decided to go on a four month holiday to the Highlands of Scotland – one of the bonniest places I have seen on my travels! This year off turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I formed valuable contacts and was able to cement goals for the following season.
In 2005 I started training again. I wasn't very fit after a year off, but I knew that it would only take 6 mths to get some form back, and launched myself directly into a campaign aiming to qualify for the World Mountain Bike Championships, to be hosted by NZ, in 2006.
Not having the funds to support six months of full-time racing, I found work at a local bike store in the heart of the Highlands - Bothy Bikes (www.bothybikes.com). Quite conveniently, the store is located in Aviemore – which is only a one hour drive from Fort William (which usually hosts a round of the Mountain Bike World Cup Series each year).
It turned out to be a promising move, as Bothy Bikes were completely supportive of my cycling goals; and the location offered me the most scenic experience of the Highlands I could have asked for.
I spent two years in Europe racing the Mountain Bike World Cups, as well as the Scottish and UK Mountain Bike Nationals, and was stoked to be selected for the NZ World Mountain Bike Championships in 2006. It was an amazing event with what felt like a million Kiwis on the track yelling their support at us.
After the World Championships finished, I was left with a lot to reflect on. Two years in Europe, with a lot of plane flights and racing had seriously crippled my finances, and acted to give me the chance to re-evaluate where I was heading. I decided it was time to diversify, and made the decision to give the road racing a real go. In 2008 I got a guest spot with a USA team HPC (Powered by Altarum) and had a total blast travelling and racing the national/international road series. Things progressed from there, followed by more guest riding in the UK and Europe in 2009, which eventually lead to a contract for the 2010 season riding for a USA team and a guest spot with a Europe Club team in Holland for 2011. This enabled me to compete in several top level UCI races which has lead to a full contract with a UCI french road team for 2012. It's going to be an epic year for sure.
I've come to the conclusion with this sport that one of the most important factors is the word ‘persistence’. You don’t necessarily have to be the most talented person in the field; it just comes down to having the diligence and motivation to keep pursing your goals that will eventually, and sometimes quickly, lead you to the place that you desire. It’s also compulsory to remember to have a laugh along the way with cycling and remind yourself that at the end of the day you are doing this because you love it...
