Spokes 'N Words ... with mountain bike champion Sophie Wright

Why do you cycle?

I cycle because it's my passion and I enjoy the freedom, speed and most importantly the racing. I'm motivated by being successful in races which gives me huge focus during training and I love getting the rewards from my training.

What do you ride?

I race Mountain bike XC, road and cyclocross because at a young age I think it's good to compete in a variety of disciplines as you learn lots of skills from each which helps develop you into a well rounded rider, then in the future you have the choice as to which discipline to specialise in.

Tell me about your favourite route?

I don't have a favourite route but I love the way I can go straight out of my door onto quiet country roads which are brilliant for training. However, Norfolk is a very flat county so getting in technical MTB training is very hard!

Tell me about your best cycling memory?

I have lots of amazing memories. One of the recent ones being the awesome thrill and slight surprise of winning the European MTB Championships by such a large margin - over three mins. However, the one that stands out for me the most has to be when I became National Youth MTB Champion in 2015. This is because I had been working towards it all year and pressure kept building up finally until race day. It was such a relief to cross the finish line and I was so overwhelmed as I'd achieved my goal.

What do you consider your most important piece of cycling equipment?

All of my equipment is important, but my helmet is definitely one of the most important bits of kit. When I broke my collarbone in 2013 I also cracked my helmet and had to have a CT scan - the docs said my helmet saved my life.

If you could cycle anywhere where would that be?

I can't think of just one place, but I'd say the Alps as I LOOOOVE climbs and there's awesome road and MTB riding to be done there in fantastic scenery on brilliant trails.