Vying for the Top - The Vaea Verbeeck Interview

What's in a name? While in conversation with Vaea Verbeeck in Les Gets, France, we asked her if, given her strong Crankworx.com results so far this season (she came out of Crankworx Rotorua with a fourth place finish and a win, ultimately finding herself in the top three in the rankings for the 2017 Queen of Crankworx title), she was now vying for the overall. There was a pause. Vaea. Vying. [Vie: to strive in competition or rivalry with another; contend for superiority.]

Coincidence? Unlikely.

Verbeeck has been a force in the world of women's downhill for years. She's been on many a Crankworx podium, a consistent top-ten finisher on the UCI World Cup circuit, and finished sixth at World Champs in 2014.

Recently though, we've seen her go beyond. At Crankworx Rotorua, she competed in the Giant Toa Enduro, in Les Gets in the Crankworx Les Gets Pumptrack Challenge presented by RockShox, and most recently, she sent it in the Tiroler Tageszeitung Official Alpine Whip-Off Championships presented by Spank at Crankworx Innsbruck.

What's inspiring her to take on these new MTB disciplines? We went straight to the source ahead of the Raiffeisen Club Pumptrack Challenge presented by RockShox to talk new challenges, the battle for Queen, her strong season so far, and how freaking cool it is to see women pushing the envelope.


You pulled in some strong results in Rotorua, gaining points in both the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill presented by IXS and the Crankworx Rotorua Air DH, and landing in the top three for the Queen of Crankworx after our first World Tour stop. Did you expect that at all based on your early season training?

I didn’t. I came into it thinking I knew I was going to race in New Zealand, both Crankworx events in Europe, and Whistler, so I knew I could be in contention for the overall because I was going to do all four events. When I went into Rotorua, I was racing the enduro there to start the week, and I was like, “Huh, if I get top 10, I could get some points, maybe get ahead of some of the other girls that are more in the downhill scene." I was kind of thinking I was going to do everything in Rotorua, then I saw there were no more points for Whip-Offs, there was no women’s category for Speed and Style, so I thought, “Oh, okay. I don’t have to do those then.” So I thought I’d do pumptrack and both the DH events. But I did pretty crappy at the enduro, and it took my morale down pretty low. It was so stormy and so wet and so energy draining. So I was trying to just get back up with my energy that week. And I just didn’t feel like it for pumptrack there. So I just focused on downhill and Air Downhill and having fun, which I did. Looking at it afterward I was like “Ahh, I could’ve gotten a couple points at the pumptrack there.” But, when I think back on that day, I just didn’t feel like it, so I didn’t do it.

Despite not competing on the pumptrack, you had two really strong finishes in the downhills. How did it feel to have pulled in those two strong results and start off your season with such a surge of momentum?

It was great. I usually start my seasons with injuries and I come back from rehab and I start doing a little bit okay. After injuring myself again last year at the start of the year, I thought I needed a lot of riding early in the season before my first race, which is in April, so I figured I’d spend a month in New Zealand and get a ton of riding, which I did in Queenstown before going to Rotorua. So that was the plan, but I didn’t know how well it was going to turn out. I still didn’t feel like I was doing that well in the downhill. It was kind of wet, and I’d been riding a lot of dry, so just different conditions. But as far as Air Downhill goes, that was good, the track was so manicured and you could just push it and lean in. I really liked it. And I was fit after winter training. And I like jump tracks, so that was sweet. I didn’t expect to win, but why not. I’m really fit and I’m riding good.


You talked a bit about going into Rotorua planning to race the enduro and maybe get a bit of a points lead. Is the Queen of Crankworx title something you have in the back of your mind now as you go into Crankworx? A lot of people are coming in with strategies. It's changing the way they play “the game,” in a way. You came out of Crankworx Rotorua in third place in the Queen of Crankworx race, and are currently sitting in fifth. Was this something on your radar at the beginning of the season, or was this something that became a factor after you started raking in the points?

I never even thought or considered going for the overall before. It was always earned by a very strong player, for example, Jill. My focus is mostly on downhill World Cups, so there are quite a few races going on, and Crankworx is always a bike festival where it's a bit more fun. Though I always go and do as well as I can. But now it’s definitely more on my mind, even if I’m not at the top of the leaderboard. But then again I just got out of two World Cups, and I’m going for another Crankworx, and then two more World Cups, and then I’ve got more races at home when I head back. So when I look at the big picture, it’s a long season and there are races every single weekend, so I’m trying to not only focus on this because I don’t want to stress myself out too much. I’m trying to, kind of, just take this as a vacation and just ride a lot, different bikes, and have fun. When I’m on my bike I'm just trying to do my best and see how that turns out. But I feel like, in order to focus on the Queen of Crankworx title, I kind of need to do what our current Queen Jill's doing, and that’s focussing on Crankworx events. That means you train for it and you come out fresh and ready. So, yeah, I don’t know, I’m just trying to take it with a grain of salt because it’s…
there are a lot of races coming up, back-to-back, for me, so I can’t be giving everything I have right now this week and next week. See how she goes.

Looking at some of the other main competitors in the battle for Queen of Crankworx right now, does it give you a boost to know you’re in this upper echelon of mountain bikers, with these two women, Jill Kintner and Caroline Buchanan, who are both icons in women's mountain biking. How does it feel to be placed up on the same level with them?

It’s so cool. Looking at the podium pictures from Air DH in Rotorua, it felt so, so cool. It didn’t really feel real when I was there. I definitely know I’ve got this, not power, but, I’ve got the strength to be up there. And on the downhill side of things, I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m still making mistakes, but I know speed-wise, I’m right up there. It’s just putting it together. That’s the tough part.


Now, in this race for King and Queen, it seems to push a lot of athletes to take on new disciplines. We're starting to see you compete in events like the pumptrack, in addition to your downhill races. How do you find the time?

I have a hardtail at home, but I probably ride it once or twice a year. I really want to ride it more, but I’m also away from home so much, and I don’t have a hardtail with me here, so it’s pretty hard, but I do enjoy it. It’s a good, fun time on the bike. So yeah if it’s good condition and I’m not feeling drained of energy, then yeah, I’ll do it, for sure. And in the bigger picture, it’s good training for any of the races coming up this year.

If you're starting to think about incorporating new disciplines, does that change how you look at training?

Definitely. I mean, for downhill training, or any sort of riding, pumptrack is right back to the basics. It’s really good for posture and how you hit corners, carry speed, and pumping. Those are all things I really enjoy. It’s more like, in the winter, how much time can I take off work to go somewhere and ride a pumptrack. It’s not always available in the winter in Vancouver. This year I was focused on training for downhill, so I went to New Zealand for a month. I rode my trail bike a bit but I was mostly focused on downhill. I’m thinking for next winter I’d love to go for a little longer and bring a hardtail this time around and ride it a lot. The guys that I hang out with, we kind of just train in the morning, go ride in the afternoon, then go to the dirt jump skills park in the evenings. So, that’s a lifestyle I’d love to be into, but I just need to get a better financial setup to be able to do my races and afford to be away longer.

Sounds like a dream lifestyle for a lot of people.

I know, right? I focused on downhill this year and I think I did well. There are more doors opening because I’m doing so much better at that. That means I'm now maybe looking at the overall title, and that involves pumptrack, so the next step will be to bring out more bikes and work on more bike skills next time around. I just couldn’t afford to do it all at once, so I focused on downhill.

It’s like the progression in everything. As you progress as a rider, then your goals progress.

Definitely.

You mentioned some injuries before. Let’s talk about setbacks and victories, starting on the positive side. What have been some of the most positive experiences you’ve had in your career as a mountain biker? And what have been some of your struggles?

There was this one season where I was coming back from an injury, so I just rode with zero expectations. I ended up riding so well that season, winning the national championships, getting my best World Cup results, and I got sixth at World Champs. It ended up being a flawless kind of season for me, where all of my race runs were pretty mistake-free. It probably wasn’t my fastest and strongest because I was just coming back from rehab, but it just seemed to work out really well and I got really good results. That was really motivating. And then, every season, even if I come back from injury, I can feel in my riding that I'm getting better speed and picking better lines. I’m picking more technical lines, and I feel way more comfortable taking them. I know there’s a bigger tank in me. When you know there's something better in you, you want to try for it obviously. At this point, I’m trying to train more and dig in deeper into that.


Then again, knock on wood, I’m not injured right now this year, but it’s kind of the first time. Last year I broke my collarbone in April. The year before I broke my wrist early in June. The year before, I lacerated my liver, no that was 2014. I’ve had a lot of injuries, and when I broke my collarbone last year I was really, really bummed. It really brought me down, that one. It was just one more injury to the list of injuries. And kind of questioning how I was riding and how I was racing. Everyone was trying to give me advice—they know you and they know you can do it. Even coming from the top field of women, they were all encouraging me, telling me I could tone it down a little bit and still be way faster and do well. But I have a hard time believing this. I feel like if I try to tone it down and be careful, that’s when I make mistakes. I think that’s kind of a general rule, if you try to be careful, that’s when you’re going to make mistakes. So I’ve been doing mistakes for all of my World Cups this year, and I crashed pretty much at every single one of them, but I think the best thing for myself is just to ride the way I ride, be conscious of the changes on the track happening on race day and just be careful about that, but maybe not tone down on my speed. That’s not how I ride or how I train.

You mentioned the other girls who're out there and how they’ve been really encouraging. Who are some women that you’ve looked up to over the years as you’ve been developing as a rider?

In terms of riding and how strong she is, definitely Rachel Atherton. Even in the past few years, I feel like she’s really turned it up a notch in terms of her speed and how hard she rides. She’s literally riding faster than most guys. It’s really cool to see. Tracey Hannah’s also very aggressive in her riding. I really like that. And Tahnee Seagrave as well. Those are just girls that do not hold back. They ride and they shred and they do really well at it, so those are girls that I look up to.

Over the past few years I think we’ve definitely seen the mountain biking landscape change in terms of seeing women out there more. The field is growing. If you could have your way, what would you like the future of this sport to look like for women?

I think the change is definitely happening. When I was first racing World Cups, I felt like I was easily in the top 10. Now I feel like if I have a good run, I’m having a hard time getting a top 10. There are so many more girls that are really, really strong riders. They’re really dialed and they’re not scared. There’s no more room for mistakes. If you crash, you’re not going to go down one or two spots, you’re going to go down quite a few. I’m quite impressed, and I really enjoy that. It is tighter, and it’s exciting to watch, for the fans and for us as well. We’re kind of getting closer to what the guys’ field is like, how you need to be absolutely dialed and not make a mistake. I’m very happy with where we are now, and I’m sure the next generation is going to come in knowing they need to train hard and keep pushing. It’s pretty cool.

Watch Vaea Verbeeck right here on Pinkbike and on crankworx.com as she takes on the Raiffeisen Club Pumptrack Challenge presented by RockShox at Crankworx Innsbruck
Friday, June 23, 8–10p.m. CEST
Friday, June 23, 11–1p.m. PST
Saturday, June 24, 6–8a.m. NZST

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Interviews Vaea Verbeeck