Pinkbike Awards - Female Athlete of the Year Nominees

Female Athlete of the Year: Nominees

From Downhill, to Enduro, to Cross Country, female athletes have risen to prominance - and the worldwide audience has taken note. We've seen a robust international field unleash their A-games in recent years - especially so in 2015, which offered up some of the most technically demanding venues in recent history. To choose three nominees from the cream of a crop of a women’s field so richly adorned, we polled athletes and industry insiders to offer up their three choices for Female Athlete of the Year. After we surveyed our judges and staff, three ladies rose to the top, for their influence, their results, and of course, for their work as ambassadors for our sport. We think you'll agree that our three nominees have left exceptional legacies - while their accomplishments throughout the 2015 racing season speak for themselves

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Rachel Atherton

You didn't think we would leave Rachel out, did you? After a 2014 marked with illness that saw Rachel struggle for the top step, 2015 was not going to go to another contender without a fight. Round one didn't go quite according to plan when Emmeline Ragot, pumped up on home crowd atmosphere, came storming out of the gate for the win in Lourdes. Rachel’s season could have been in jeopardy but that was not to be the case. She came back and won the remaining six races, then went and hammered the final nail in the coffin of the 2015 season by snagging the World Champs title too. The thing about Rachel is that she’s a consummate athlete - she’s gracious in her victories and defeats, and she's considerate. If you need proof, look no further than her carrying injured racing rival Emmeline Ragot off the stage after Ragot announced her retirement at Val Di Sole. Beyond racing, this year Rachel initiated a female mentoring program at the British Downhill Series, where she offered ladies-only track walks, tips on bike setup and access to her mechanic for all female competitors. A move that show's she's invested in encouraging and welcoming more women into the sport.

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Emmeline Ragot

Emmeline the Pocket Rocket has been a heavy hitter of women’s DH racing for 13 years. She’s twice been a world champ, and stood on the podium 60 times at World Cup Races. She’s tough as nails, tiny, quick as a fox and so, so strong. Coming off a hot 2014, where she podiumed every round and took two wins, Emmeline charged into the 2015 season and claimed victory on her home turf in Lourdes, France. The season looked to be set as a battle between Emmeline and Rachel, and Ragot stayed at the pointy end of the results until she came undone in Mont-Saint-Anne with a crash in final practice that would retire her, not only for the season, but the rest of her racing career. For Emmeline, this was the injury that truly made her consider what her health is worth to her, and wanting to be able to pursue a career in physiotherapy after racing, she made the tough decision to preserve herself, so that she could help others. The one title Emmeline is missing from her belt is the World Cup overall, but she’s OK with that. To see Emmeline walking away from a distinguished career with a smile on her face and a sense of accomplishment, we are too.

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Tracy Moseley

It would seem unfair to deem Tracy Moseley anything less than a legend. With a list of podium places and titles across a range of disciplines T-Mo has seemingly done it all. She's been EWS Champion three times, DH World Champ Once, British Downhill National Champ multiple times and had 16 World Cup DH Wins. She was even the British 4X National Champion twice. After a long and excellent career racing downhill, Tracy hopped on the Enduro bandwagon and put in three consecutive years of rock solid performance. The first round of the EWS in Rotorua in 2015 would be a battle between her and long-time opponent Ann-Caroline Chausson, with ACC proving strongest that round. At round two in Ireland, Tracy came back to form and won six of the seven stages to take a dominant victory. She backed up that win n Scotland with another superb performance, and clocked up consistent wins for the rest of the season. Had ACC not dropped out of the EWS due an illness, some claim the outcome would have been different. That, we will never know. After the last EWS race of 2015 in Finale Ligure, Italy, Tracy retired her race plate without fanfare, in the down to earth, unassuming nature that her followers have come to love her for.

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Click here for information about the judging and selection criteria for Pinkbike's Year-End Awards.

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MENTIONS: @trek / @GTBicycles

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