Encouraging more girls and young women to get on their bikes and take up regular physical activity is a top priority for Fife Council’s Active Fife team.
Some “really inspiring” young women are championing the cause.
Water-skier Georgina Hutchison is making waves nationally while footballer Tiegan Clark and her 40-yard wonder goal became an internet sensation.
Now the focus is on downhill mountain biking and the success of local sisters Hope and Téa Jensen from Windygates.
Hope, 18, tried the sport for the first time four years ago where she quickly established herself as a serious contender, winning most of the mini downhill events she entered.
She progressed to the full Scottish and British series in 2014 where she finished the year as the UK’s number one ranked junior downhill rider.
A year later she moved up to world level and the full UCI world cup series competing against the world’s fastest elite women, despite still being classed as a junior.
Hope said: “Due to my college studies, I’ll be briefly changing direction this year by taking on the Scottish Enduro series where I aim to spend more time on my bike and increase my fitness for a return to downhill in 2017.
“As long as I can remember I have loved sports and keeping active and I feel I am now ready to pursue my interest in the field of sports science and physiotherapy while also working towards my ambition of becoming a professional athlete in downhill mountain biking.”
Younger sister Tea, 15, has also caught the mountain biking bug.
She was the UK’s top ranked juvenile rider in 2014 and 2015 and had a successful start to 2016 with a third place in the Scottish championship, second place in the Scottish Cycling mini downhill series and win in the Kingdom Crit XC series and currently sits as second ranked youth in the UK.
She said: “I’m fully committed to my training and increasing my strength and stamina. I was selected to be part of the Scottish Cycling downhill performance squad this year which gives the selected riders some great coaching.”
Mark Hood, chairman of the Fife Sports Partnership, added: “Helping more people to access sport and physical activity is a priority for us and there are lots of activities for girls to try out.
“Hope and Tea might be skilled athletes in their field now but everyone starts off as a beginner and they’re great examples of how far you can take a sport if you develop a real passion for it.
“Downhill mountain biking might not be an obvious sport to try out and we want to remind people that there are a huge range of physical activity opportunities available to them.”
