Getting to Know - Leah Maunsell

Jul 5, 2016 at 10:49
by Rachelle Frazer Boobar  
Leah Maunsell


LEAH MAUNSELL


Leah Maunsell may only be 17 but you need only to watch her riding briefly to know that she has already got some serious bike handling skills. The softly spoken Irish lass has been riding for the last five years and already has 4 XC National Champ titles to her name, and has won the U21 female category two years running at the Irish EWS round. Leah chases her older brother Jonathan around to learn as much about speed and line choice as she can from him, and looks up to the likes of Rachel Atherton and Tracy Moseley as athletic inspiration. With a level head and impressive focus for her young age, we have no doubt she will be taking names on the international enduro circuit very, very soon.

Leah Maunsell

Who Is Leah Maunsell?

My name is Leah Maunsell and I am 17 years old. I live in Cork, Southern Ireland. I began mountain biking at the age of 11 when my Dad and Brother Jonathan introduced me to it. I soon began racing and when I started getting good results I guess it was hard not to get hooked!


Where are you from and where do you live now?

I was actually born in London but I lived there for only a very short time before moving to Cork, Ireland where I have been living ever since.


Who do you ride for?

I currently ride for Kona Bikes, Dare2b Clothing, G-Form, MBW Bike Shop, Crankbrothers, Clif Bar, C-Bear Ceramic Bearings and Ergon grips through Extra UK.


Photo by Caleb Smith.
  Photo by Caleb Smith.


Where are you happiest?

I am happiest when I am riding my bike. Probably riding my home trails with some good friends whether it’s on my xc bike or enduro bike.


What’s been your favourite race/contest venue?

Carrick, Ireland - This is probably the best venue we have in Ireland for mountain biking. It has everything: rocks, roots, jumps and a mixture of flat out open forest and tight tree sections. Having consistent good results here at the Enduro World Series probably influences my decision too! It’s also rideable in all weather conditions which is important here in Ireland!


What are your favourite trails?

I haven’t really gotten to travel much of the world yet being so young, but from my experiences I really like the trails in Les Arcs, France. They are much longer than anything I’m used to at home and they are so tight and technical, which I love. I suppose having chairlifts to the top is a bonus too!


Views: 6,849    Faves: 20    Comments: 3



What are your strengths?

My strength is that I am able to really focus on racing, if a problem occurs during my race day I am usually able to deal with it while remaining calm and not losing my race focus. I think this could be because I started racing at such a young age. I have already competed in quite a lot of events and racing doesn't phase me as much anymore as it did in the beginning.


What are your weaknesses?

My weakness would probably be that I get a little bit more nervous than I should be before a big race. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.


What’s been your worst crash over the years?

I guess I’ve been pretty lucky to get through this many years with only a broken wrist. What made this worse though was that it happened on the first day of a week long video shoot in Switzerland with the Kona Bicycle Co.


Leah Maunsell


What’s been your luckiest escape?

Last year at a local downhill race I had a pretty lucky escape. I came across a road too fast and hit a stump mid drift throwing me over the bars straight onto my head. I landed full speed onto my head breaking my helmet in several places. I somehow got away injury free with just some bruising.


Which bike from over the years, conjures up the best memories?

My first proper race bike was a Giant Anthem. I won my first XC National Title on that bike and I also did my first season of Enduro racing on it. The classic 26inch bike with only 100mm of travel brought me to some top results and we still have it in our shed at home!


What bikes are you riding right now?

At the moment I have my Kona Process 153DL Enduro bike and I have a Kona Big Kahuna XC race bike too.

Leah Maunsell

Who’s your favourite rider?

There are quite a few people that I look up to! Tracy Moseley is a big one. Not only is she a very successful and skilful racer but she is extremely modest in victory. I really like her attitude to cycling, encouraging everyone to ride as many disciplines as they can. Tracy is also very generous with her time, giving back to the youth of the sport whenever she can. I think she is a good role model to have.


Who or what inspires you?

Rachel Atherton is an inspiration to me. She has been at the top of World Downhill for such a long time now. She trains hard alongside her brothers and she has always had them to look up to. I can relate to her as I am lucky enough to have an older brother who I can look up to and who helps me to train. Rachel comes across as a really genuine person and she just really loves riding her bike. She isn't afraid to get her hands dirty either doing a bit of trail building!


Photo by Caleb Smith.
  Photo by Caleb Smith.


What do you enjoy doing away from bikes?

I really like cooking and especially baking some nice sweet treats to enjoy when I can!


What are you listening to right now?

I normally just listen to any upbeat chart music.


What’s your favourite bike movie?

I love watching the Dudes of Hazzard videos. They are always guaranteed to make me want to go out and shred.


What is your favorite non-bike movie/tv show?

At the moment I’m watching Pretty Little Liars, it’s just a typical teenage girl series!


Leah Maunsell
  Leah Maunsell as a youngster, getting at it on the bike.


What’s your favourite non-bike website?

I love Instagram.


What’s your favourite motto or saying?

I’m not too sure that it is my ‘favourite’ saying but I do hear this one a lot before the races from my Dad. ‘To finish first, first you have to finish’


What grinds your gears?

When people wear clothes that clash. Will they ever learn? Orange and red don't go together!


Photo by Caleb Smith.
  Photo by Caleb Smith.


What makes you happy?

A combination of big mountains, summer, bikes and friends.


If you weren’t a pro mountain biker, what would you be doing?

Well, firstly I’m nowhere near pro yet! But it is the dream to some day become ‘Pro’!


If you were in charge of the sport, what changes would you make?

I would get more media coverage for Junior and U21 categories. These are the up-and-coming World Champions who deserve more media coverage than they get.

Photo by Caleb Smith.
  Photo by Caleb Smith.


When you hang up your racing shoes, how do you want to be remembered?

Obviously, I would love to be remembered as being very successful in the sport. But more importantly, I would like to be remembered as being humble in victory and defeat. I would also like to be known for giving back to the sport because without the help that I have been given so far I wouldn't be where I am now and I would like others to have the same experience.


What does the future hold for Leah Maunsell?

I hope to be competing at the top in Enduro World Series. I would also hope to race as much Downhill and XC as I can in between. But mostly just have as much fun riding bikes as I can!


MENTIONS: @konaworld / @SramMedia / @ThredboResort / @Odigrips / @duncanp


Author Info:
rachellefrazer avatar

Member since Jul 20, 2010
143 articles

10 Comments
  • 10 0
 You go girl !!!! Bright mtb future ahead of ya !
  • 14 0
 Ummmmm your bike is orange and red!
  • 1 0
 @jeff444: Gwin's YT was an absolute eye sore with those orange forks too
  • 6 0
 There are riders who are worked by the terrain, and riders who work the terrain. In seconds you can see Leah is in the second group. Good going. I like the look of that twisty track at the end.
  • 3 0
 This girl is going to be ripping it up soon enough. Looking forward to seeing her race.
  • 3 0
 Goodluck Leah great to see a girly with passion and speed !!!
  • 3 0
 Great to see up and coming young girls in the mtb sport, keep it up!
  • 2 0
 She's a fantastic rider regardless of age, sex, or experience. Factoring those things in? Her riding is pretty ridiculous.
  • 1 0
 She is a shredder, nice to see. hope u continue to have good luck with offs !
  • 1 0
 Goddamn she's fast and smooth!







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.044366
Mobile Version of Website