Prudhoe mountain biker is riding high

Posted by The Journal on Oct 21, 09 02:02 PM in Sport

Angela Coates, mountain biker from Prudhoe A Northumberland female mountain biker has recorded a third-place finish in national competition - in her first full season.

Angela Coates has been mountain biking for only two years, but that has not stopped the 25-year-old from Prudhoe achieving great things in a sport which is dominated my male competitors.

Earlier this month the Geordie biker finished second in Rheola in South Wales to end the racing season in third place in the National Points Series (NPS) - an unbelievable achievement at such an early stage in her career.

The successful racer accepts it is an unusual sport for females to be associated with, but that does not prevent her from gaining the utmost enjoyment from competing.

She said: "I would say what motivates me is the speed, adrenaline and the need to go faster and to better myself every time.

"When you are going down super, steep gnarly tracks, the likes of Llangollen, it is so scary - but it also feels so good and is so much fun at the same time."

Coates was immediately hooked to the sport after she was a spectator at a race in Scotland in which her brother was competing.

She only attended the race to take photographs for her photography college course - but the high speeds and adrenaline rushes were too much for her not to have a go herself the following day.

Since then, Coates has never looked back.

After receiving a racing bike as a birthday gift from her brother she began to enter competitive races, finishing third in her first race at Hamsterly Forest.

More success was to follow as a number of impressive finishes resulted in her winning a sponsorship deal after an ambassador from Fox Racing spotted her talent.

She said: "The races are expensive with an NPS costing £65 to enter, and then there are petrol, food, accommodation and sometimes mechanicals and repair costs on top of that.

"Fox provide me with race kit, body armour, helmets, goggles and footwear.

"Without most of that you are not allowed to race, so it is really great to have support from them." Throughout the recent campaign Coates competed in two racing series - the Scottish Downhill Association (SDA) Series followed by the NPS.

In the first, she also recorded third place overall, an achievement she was pleased with but one she is eager to better.

Coates added: "I was really happy with that finish considering it was my first year racing the series, but I do plan to step it up next year. I want to be on the top spot."

Coates wanted to start seriously competing a year prior to her success, but early in the campaign she suffered a broken wrist while racing in Wales which brought a premature end to her debut season.

One year later, however, she finds herself ranked top senior female in the UK.

Now she is looking to the future and, after such an impressive first full campaign, is eager to improve further by racing on a bigger stage.

She said: "My aspirations for next year are to be able to compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William in Scotland.

"I also hope to compete in the Maxis Cup in Portugal, as well as again be competing in the SDA and NPS series."

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