Catching Up With The Juliana SRAM Pro Team - Sea Otter 2016

Kelli Emmett and Sarah Leishman are two-thirds of the SRAM Juliana Pro Team. We sat down at Sea Otter to talk about injuries, racing schedules and what the reception has been like to the first ever all women's pro enduro team.


Kelli, last year you were set to race the entire Enduro World Series before your injury and Sarah, you competed in select events. This year you guys are switching things up with Sarah racing a whole season and Kelli and Anka focussing on just select events. What spurred on this change?

Sarah: So, last year in August I was dealing with an injury and the girls had mentioned that they were interested in doing more media projects and less racing and the wheels started turning in my head. I figured that it's really hard to get good at EWS races if you don't go to all of them. I kinda learned that the hard way last year, being injured didn't help but I watched a lot of the girls that I really respect develop from doing a lot of them. That was a really big motivator for me so when Anka and Kelli said they wanted to set their sights on new stuff, well, I had come from doing a lot of media stuff mixed with racing which I found really hard to change gears with so I thought 'yes I'm in, I'm going to do a full tour'.

Kelli: This is my 16th Sea Otter so I've been racing for almost 20 years now. I kinda wanted to mix things up this year as I'll be retiring at the end of the season. Yeah, I am saying it out loud now and getting used to the thought of it because it's been kind of scary and intimidating for a while but I kind of feel like it's time. I really believe what the Juliana message is and I want to support that and get it out there a little bit more because I think more women need to see what we're doing and see this is pretty cool. I want to support all of that and give back what I can from what I've learned over the years and so it's kind of been a nice change.

So what will you be focussed on?

I will be doing a little bit of everything so I will be hitting the BC Bike Race, I raced the first one ten years ago so now I will be going back for that. I will be doing some of the EWS' as well as some domestic racing. A little bit of everything. I've been trying to kinda create a little more of a community around Juliana in Colorado Springs, we have a huge group there. It'll be fun to mix it up.


How has the reception been for you both out there representing the Juliana brand? Do people get the concept and are they welcoming of it?

Sarah: Juliana isn't about winning EWS races and it's not about learning how to ride a bike either. It's a celebration of women who are really good at riding bikes. It's a celebration of really sick mountain bikes that are really good to look at and really good to ride which can be a bit unique, sadly. I think when we showed up on the tour last year they instantly got it. They liked the kits, they liked what the message was and I think that was an easy place for us to each fit into.

Now that I am alone at the races I really notice that legacy that these two [Kelli and Anka] created last year. I am meeting the other women that are new to it too and they are like 'oh you are part of the brand, you're accessible and you're someone I can talk to'. At least I hope that.


It seems like there is good camaraderie out there on the EWS within the women's field, would you say that that's true?

Sarah: Yes. I felt really intimidated when I started. Maybe Kelli felt differently as she was starting at a different tier obviously. I met some amazing women in South America from these last two rounds, I learned a lot from people who are newer than I am to this sport and then I've learned a lot from people who have been doing it longer than anyone else. It's really cool. I think the thing with the EWS is that it allows competitors to come together, which is where Juliana fits so beautifully. Every race I've done I've learnt something about myself as a human. The races are designed to be such a true test of the ultimate mountain biker in terms of technicality, physical prowess, mental capability, everything. There is no competitive bullsh*t because people are just getting it done. That's a good fit for us because that's what we're about.

Kelli: It's really healthy, it's very supportive everyone is there to have a good time, [there are] so many laughs and stories and I feel like it's a super intimate sport. I mean I raced xc for so many years and I swear I never talked to any of the girls on the circuit at all, I mean I had my one or two go to girlfriends and I feel like in this you will be riding between stages and you'll get in these great conversations and really get to know that person. So I feel like when you walk away from the race you gain more than just the actual racing experience, you gain a bond with the actual women.


Sarah: And then you realise that's what you have to do at the races. It's funny because in Rotorua which was our first race all together I remember getting to the first stage which was gnarly and virtually unrideable in places and I whined and cried and I remember it was Anka who looked at me and was like "That's what these are, that's what they're designed to be. You can't find fault for the thing that you signed up for that was extraordinarily hard you knew it was going to be really hard and then give in because it was inherently what it was." Anka is so full of that kind of wisdom because she's been doing it for a while and she is very aware of who she is as a person, she knows what her expectations are of herself at an event and I thought that was really eye opening for me.


You've both been on other mixed teams before, what are the advantages, if any, to being on an all female team?

Sarah: It's hard because I just went to South America and the girls weren't there and I have to say there is something really valid to the way our team was designed. It was a different experience to last year when Kelli and Anka were both there, I think that it was a way more comfortable environment when my teammates are there. You have people to bounce ideas off of.

I think people in the sport are a bit like 'why an all women's team, how does that make sense and how does that boost the skill set of the riders?' But Kelli and I will train together at races and I learn a lot from that and I think it is really important. We learn from each other in a different way, there isn't a lot of panic in it. We are on the same program, we have the same plan.

Kelli: We ride similarly, unlike compared to the boys I can bounce ideas off Sarah, we can both kind of look at it and we can stop and we can analyse a section whereas the guys can be like 'oh I just sent it'. You know it really helps to be able to have somebody that gets it to talk through the course and the mental side of it. When I was on Giant I was the only woman and the guys would just get up and race. It seems like they don't think about it, maybe they do but it just felt like they did their jobs but for women, we like to talk about it.

How does that correlate at the end of the race when you've given each other all of that support and those tips? How is it to celebrate each other's successes?

when somebody does well because you're like 'that's awesome' because you know how hard they've been working and what they've gone through to make this happen and I'm super psyched for you.


Some people might not realise that you guys have other jobs. How do you guys manage that while racing and training?

Kelli: I was working for an energy bar company and so I had set it up with a very flexible schedule. Racing is my priority. I also work as a cycling coach and I look for jobs where I was able to work from anywhere and just with very flexible time schedules. I've been fortunate to set it up that way.

Sarah: I had a series of things go my way at the right time. I had a job working PR for Crankworx and I would stand there watching my friends thinking 'man it's hard watching my friends race bikes'. Around that time, Arcteryx offered me a contract to run their social media and it was also around that time that Juliana started. Since that time I've taken on a bigger role with Arcteryx, so I run all of their digital content. They've been ridiculously supportive of it.

Anka runs a guiding company and because of Sven’s work it's worked out well for them but they work really, really hard and always has stuff going on the side besides racing.

You all had big injuries recently. Tell me what happened? How has recovery been?

Kelli: So I broke my collar bone last year, September 1st, right before the last two rounds. I went to see the doctor for surgery and he seemed very excited to operate so that wasn’t a good sign. He thought it would be 4 – 6 months and I thought I would be back sooner but yeah it was almost that long, I got cleared a month ago. Luckily I’ve had a bit of extra time to get ready for the season as I didn’t go to the first two rounds. I will be in Ireland and then the North American Enduro Tour as well. My schedule has been a bit up in the air but that’s where we’re at.

Sarah: I broke myself off during round one last year on the second last stage dislocated my shoulder like a true champion. I rode the rest of the season and rode worse and worse and couldn’t understand why because the nature of my injury didn’t suggest that it should have gotten worse but during Finale I literally couldn’t hold onto my bike. So I came back and decided to have surgery and found there was some loose cartilage in there. I came back a little earlier than I should have for Chile but I feel good.

Anka broke her hand at the Andes Pacifico Enduro and she had planned to start the tour of NZ the following week. She had her hand pinned and I think on a Saturday then she started the tour on the following Tuesday and rode 3000k across New Zealand. She’s getting back on her mountain bike but she’s not race ready. She’s got to be the toughest woman on this planet.


What do you say to the folks out there who might be a bit skeptikal about the Juliana bike range in general? Is it more than some fresh paint and components?

Kelli: They are jealous! Honestly, I've had so many men comment on the colour of my bike. But really more than that it’s created a sector in the market for women that are great riders and we’re showcasing them and maybe we wouldn’t have gotten that much recognition in the past and so I think it’s more than just a paint colour what we’re doing here.

Sarah: You will see it in the comments of this piece, people will be like ‘why bother?’ and to those people I say 'why not?'. Why would you complain about offering something to people that it may not have appealed to before? I feel like Juliana has taken the time to say ok we don’t need a different frame geometry because our bodies are the same but the things that we touch are different. Why wouldn’t we be more stoked to get women riding? What dude would say 'there are too many women, get them outta here?’ Those kinds of comments are a bummer but I am actually really proud to be a part of a brand that kept it simple but kept it focused on getting more women getting interested in riding bikes.


Last question. Perfect day out, not on the bike.

Sarah: With Cedric Gracia. (Cedric happens to be standing next to us).

Cedric: Me cooking for you?

Sarah: Yes! Umm... it’s hard because everything I do is about my bike. It would involve eating, it would involve sleeping till 10 AM, it would involve hanging in a park in Whistler and hanging in the village.

Kelli: I’d throw some yoga in there. It wouldn’t involve hanging out in the village of Colorado Springs, that’s a little dicey.


Does your perfect day really just involve being on a bike?

Both: Yes!

Best of luck out there this year and thanks for your time!

www.julianabicycles.com

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MENTIONS: @SarahLeishman / @SramMedia

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