Monet Adams - Interview

Bounding onto the British downhill racing scene in her early teens as the youngest female competitor at the time, Monet Rose Adams took the non-elite women’s category by storm. Since then Monet has spread her wings becoming the racer, designer, and journalist she is today. After spending a few years working, riding and skiing in Morzine, Monet went on to fulfil her more creative interests at Design School in London. Juggling her studies whilst maintaining her ranking of being a top 5 British Elite female downhill rider, Monet has kept her name on the racing radar by competing at various BDS, iXS and World Cup races.

Last season Monet had her eyes set firmly on the World Cup series, but a broken arm sustained at round one in Lourdes, France, put an end to her racing goals for 2015. After a slow rehab period, she hasn't lost her enthusiasm and thankfully Monet is back and has a great schedule for 2016. With that in mind, I caught up with her to see what she has planned for 2016...


So after a year of recovery you’re finally back and with an impressive list of sponsors, behind you, you’ve decided to change things up this year.

Yes! I've been getting a lot more time in the saddle this year. I’m racing some of the EWS rounds and the British Enduro Series. As well as some stand-alone events like Crankworx and depending on the progress of my arm I’ll be on the Downhill bike a lot more too. I’ll be making lots of videos on both trail and DH bikes on my travels and going off to discover some places that offer more than just DH laps.

What brought about the change to Enduro?

It’s not a strict swap. I’m generally just open to riding loads of different events! When I broke my arm I did a lot of radial nerve damage, and the surgeons didn't actually fix the Intramedullary nail to my bone, which meant it kept pivoting like a hinge! My hand didn't work for a long time and it was just a waiting game for my arm to set. As an illustrator, losing the use of my hand for quite a while was a bit of a scare and it made me do a lot of thinking about what element of riding I actually enjoy the most. As rehab was quite long I was back out on a trail bike a long time before I could hold onto a DH bike again and I loved the big days out on the bike. As my strength and confidence was building back up I started to really enjoy pushing my trail bike as if I was on a DH bike - it feels a bit more rebellious on a little bike! When I raced XC as a kid I enjoyed thrashing the descents as hard as I could on my little hardtail (my poor dad had to fix it after every race!), so I guess it's just come full circle.




Your Dad got you involved in mountain biking in the first place didn’t he? Were there any other influential people from your early days of riding bikes?

He did - I was a pretty hyper active kid and mountain biking was an attempt to get me to actually sleep at night! My first major influence has to be going to a DH National at Combe Sydenham to watch, where I also met Tracy Moseley - I thought she was so cool! Tracy and Fabien (Barel) talked to me about mountain bike racing and that night I told my mum I wanted to race Downhill like Tracy. Over, the next few years I would email Tracy every time I raced telling her every detail. She was really encouraging and would always write back telling me about her trips too. There were hardly any girls racing when I first started going to the odd race, so I got a lot of help and advice from people who I think found a girl as tiny as I was riding bikes terrifying and amazing in equal measure!




Adventure is also on the agenda this year?

I’m going to start with little trips as one of the issues I hold closest to my heart is getting people out from in front of their Xbox's and into the amazing countryside we have right on our doorstep. I want to document lots of places that are achievable for people to reach on a weekend away. I'm currently exploring the MTB possibilities around Fontaine Bleu to tie in some climbing and culture. Myself, and my boyfriend Tom have just come back from Punta Ala too, which was a great trip that included a few mini adventures. Further afield I've been eyeing up Iceland and the Himalaya’s. I went to the Himalaya's backpacking with my grandparent's when I was 12 and have wanted to return with my bike ever since...

I wouldn't say adventure brought me to the sport. I was just quite a ballsy kid. I’ve grown up racing and everything being about the race. I've never travelled with my bike unless it's to a race and that’s been amazing, but racing is a bit of a bubble and doesn’t give you much perspective on what else is out there. I’m really glad I went to Uni in that respect. I've been following the work of people like Easkey Britton, Shannon Galpin and the late Doug Tompkins over the last few years so they have really inspired me to start thinking about how I could use my bike and my creative flair as a vehicle to make a positive impact somewhere.

A video posted by RemDawg (@remymorton) on Jan 4, 2016 at 2:11am PST

So enduro. Are you looking forward to riding these tracks?

Yes absolutely. I do like the big fast DH tracks but I've grown up on steep, naggery, technical Welsh tracks and I think it's where I really come into my own. I also find the lack of practice runs quite exciting as it really becomes about raw skill on the bike and your reaction times.

Are there any tracks you’re looking forward to the most?

I’ve just got back from Wicklow (Ireland) and that was great - I think the shorter, more technical tracks were a good introduction into Enduro racing for me and I’m looking forward to seeing how I fare over the longer alpine distances this summer. I’m hoping to get out to Whistler for the first time this summer too, so I’ll finally get to ride A line.

So far this year I’ve been riding trail bikes almost exclusively. I'm starting to feel pretty confident over bigger jumps and gnarlier features. I think that’s the biggest thing to deal with when getting off a downhill bike and onto a trail bike - it takes a while to realize quite how much little bikes are capable of... I took it to Punta Ala a few weeks back and those tracks were amazing - like the dustiest driest, most flat out gully’s I’ve ever ridden, and they finished on a beach! I've essentially been learning to ride a bit smarter. The tracks are not so much about pounding through rough sections and clearing pro gaps, but more about maintaining speed, reacting quickly and preserving yourself and your bike... I think I’m starting to get the hang of it!




With having done a few races abroad already, how do they differ to the British racing scene?

I think they are just generally faster and on a bigger scale. With the exception of Fort William, most tracks in the UK fall into a category, whether that be 'steep', 'flowy' or 'rooty' - European tracks tend to drop through loads more types of trail so there's more to deal with in one run. There's no shortage of quality riding in the UK but we have a distinct lack of altitude... The racing itself is very different because of the different levels of infrastructure surrounding landownership and insurance in the UK, we pay more and there are more rules here but we produce the best racers in the world.

How did pre-season preparations go last Winter to put yourself in the best possible position to get on the coveted podium?

I just tried to get as fit as I can. I rather dimly didn’t take any notice of the fact I had been running a 34 tooth chainring on my Enduro bike, which for a 65kg waif who’s supposed to be unfit is quite brave! So that was a pretty good unintentional training aid! Deity gave me a Cryptkeeper, which I rode at the pump track and some jump spots too - I think that makes a massive difference to your riding! I’ve got a lot to learn about Enduro racing like pacing - I think it will take a season to identify what really needs working on for big results.




How do you stay motivated to train throughout Winter in the UK?

Winter training is what my strength trainer Ben calls, 'Type 2 fun'. It’s just as fun, but you only realize when you're sipping on a nice brew afterwards and you have that satisfying ache in your legs! I actually don't mind the wet and mud at all, in fact, I'm pretty used to it growing up riding in Wales! I think it's hard to motivate yourself to go out on your own sometimes, so I generally organize to go with people. Then you can't back out without being a flake! Another trick is to see how much money I can save by riding my bike places instead of driving or paying to get somewhere... that way I’m getting fitter, and getting to more races this summer!





How do you manage the stresses of racing?

I think the honest answer is not entirely. Otherwise, I would probably be on podiums! Last year my nerves at the first few races of the season were finally in check and it was ALL down to confidence in my preparation. Knowing I had put in 100% in the gym over the winter and that if something went wrong on my bike there was a backup. Just having a set of spare parts and everything on my bike being new and actually working! DH is a largely psychological sport, for you to be able to truly lay it on the line. You can't have "I hope my wheels hold up for one more run" going through your head so being a privateer leaves little energy for your actual race run. I have massive respect for the people who manage to do it. Having the support to literally think about nothing but your run is a big part of what sets the top girls from the rest.

And you're riding a Vitus Sommet this season?

Yeah, Wideopenmag have kindly hooked me up with a long term test bike for the ywar which is not only stretching my journalistic muscles, but it’s also forcing me to really analyse my riding and the bike. I think it's making me a better rider as a result. So far this season I’m enjoying it. I’m learning a whole new format of racing so it’s difficult for me to compare it to other Enduro bikes, so I’m giving a commentary of the challenges I’ve faced setting it up and how I’m getting on throughout the season. I’ve also just been lucky enough to take delivery of a size small Scott Gambler, so the downhill is back on!




Will you be making any changes to your bikes?

I’m running a shorter stem on the Medium Sommet Pro to allow for my ‘long legged short body’ build. Along with some extra weight saving from The Carbon T-Mo Deity bars, I’ve upgraded all of the cables to Fibrax’s low friction offerings. The 32 tooth chainring I am running is smaller than stock. I’ve also added 2 tokens into my pikes and after my punctures at Wicklow, I will be running heavier tyres and just matching my fitness to the weight. It’s not worth the weight saving to lose a stage to an annoying puncture.

Do you have any advice for girls working their way up?

If I could give any advice it would be a slightly controversial one, but when you first start racing don’t feel like you can’t practice as you just won't get better if you don’t practice and at the end of the day, you paid your entry. Have fun on the track, exaggerate your movements, ask questions and listen to others advice. Also, a big piece of advice I was given which sounds brutal but it's true; the stronger you are, the faster you can crash.

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Website: pencilmountain.com
Instagram: instagram.com/monetroseadams

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MENTIONS: @wideopenmag / @crankbrothers / @VitusBikes / @deityusa / @aspectmediauk / @PureDarkness / @MTB-Strength-Factory

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