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Martha Hucker interviews Claire Whiteman

Claire Whiteman is probably the fastest DH woman in Australia right now, and is in the process of proving it at the National Series this summer.
 
Martha Hucker caught up with her via email to find out what makes her tick, and more importantly, what makes her ride so well!

 
Hey Claire. How’s things? Have you been training hard over Christmas to prepare for the rest of the Nationals races? 

Hey Martha. Yeah it is a crappy time to be in the middle of a race series, everyone else is eating heaps, drinking, of course and relaxing while we have to keep on training! Unfortunately I over did it a bit this year and nearly ended up with pneumonia, so I am recovering from that now.

 
How did you get into riding bikes down hills fast?

I started riding while on was in Whistler. It was my thrid trip there skiing and snowboarding and like everyone else I grabbed a bike for the Summer. I started racing when I got back to Australia in 2003. I had no idea it was a popular sport. I started working in a bike shop around then too.

 

What do you do in the bike shop – are you competent with a wrench?

 I am the Manager of Onya Bike Civic, a new bike shop in Canberra City. I am ok with the tools but I do more of the retail stuff, ordering etc.

So you’re on a Giant this year – they seem to be huge in Australia, heaps of top riders are on Glorys, right? What’s the deal, are they great bikes, or just really supportive of Aussie riders?

 Yeah I got a new bike just before the 2nd national round, a Glory DH 0. I love it! They are great bikes that work well and they are good value for money. It does help to have a few of our top riders on them too. Jared Rando, Amiel Cavalier, Will Rischbieth, Ben Bell, Craig Yates etc. They are all nice guys that the young kids look up to.

What’s your favourite course to race? Other than your home track in Canberra! (Everyone loves their home track don’t they?)

Ummm… Yeah Canberra is ok! Its funny because the courses I do well on aren’t particularly the ones I love to ride. I seem to do better on the jumpy, bermy type tracks without too many rocks! But my favourite Aussie track would be one we raced a few years ago over in W.A. I think Sam Hill had a hand in the course design. It was in the the middle of nowhere, near a tiny place called Nanup, but it was great, had a bit of everything in it.

What’s your biggest strength as a downhill racer, and your biggest weakness?

I think my biggest strength would be my bikes, I have always had good race bikes, I was previously on the Kona Mt Buller team and now on my Glory, I think having a good bike really helps. Even if it is psychological help! My weakness would be confidence, it takes me 2 days of practice to work up to some lines and then when I do it it is easier than I thought. Wet races are also a wekness for me. It rarely rains in Canberra (except when you host a World Cup!)

 
How did you manage to take 15 seconds off your qualifying time in Geelong? That’s a massive difference. What was going through your head in that run?

I knew I wasn’t the fittest at that race and that I really had to conserve energy for the finals, so in qualifying I didn’t pedal much and through the last section you really had to pump and pedal to clear all the jumps. In quals I didn’t clear any of them, so when it got to the finals I just pedalled absolutely everywhere I could and ended up 15secs faster. I was quite surprised, I knew Sheryl would be hard to beat.

 
Got any tips for new riders getting into the sport, who want to become fast like you?

Ride, ride, ride! DH XC BMX whatever. It is all about practice on the bike. Once you have skills and confidence on the bike then you can work on fitness and strength etc

 
What are your plans for ‘09, are you heading overseas at all?

Well my friend Cara and I found it really hard to train over Winter last year for the WC round we raced here, so this year we are hoping to head OS for a while before Sept for some training. Though I highly suspect we will be doing more sightseeing and cheese and wine tasting than riding. Oh well you only live once !

 
Other than Giant, who’s helping you out this year?

The bike shop I manage along with its sister shop, Onya Bike Belconnen, have helped me out with a DH and XC bikes (not to mention time off) and my friend Cara has very kindly helped out as her Qantas travel companion for the year so travel is alot cheaper.. and its in Business class!!! My boyfriend Ben is also a great help too.

 
Thanks Claire, and good luck for 2009!