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Martha Hucker interviews Harriet Harper, NZ National Champ

The New Zealand National MTB Championships 2009 this weekend was a big challenge for all the riders in the wet conditions on a super technical track, but Harriet Harper confirmed she is NZ’s top female rider with a convincing win over the other kiwis. Having dominated the North Island and South Island Cup Series as well as taking out the overall NZ series, winning the NZ champ title was a well deserved finish to a great season.

 

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Harriet Harper, NZ National Champ 2009.
Photo: Rita Langley

 

The 27 year old GP from Blenheim has been racing the downhill national series for the last four years. “I needed something fun to do apart from studying for my 5th year med school exams, everyone was working so hard, it was boring! So I got a cross country bike, and ended up taking it shuttling a lot, so then I bought a Kona Stinky which I thrashed too. I liked pushing myself and improving, and I figured if I did the national series I would get to ride lots. I’d only done two races before my first nats.”

Harriet has racked up a lot of experience since then, including four World Cup rounds. Her best result was coming 11th at Mont St Anne last year. “Mont St Anne was a great track, but it was really muddy and everyone rode the same line until there was just one massive rut right down to bedrock through the middle of the track! In my race runs I was most worried about my hands blowing off the grips in the big holes, but it was great fun and I had loads of adrenaline.” But competing at World Cups isn’t Harriet’s favourite aspect of racing DH. “World Cups are a lot more serious and a lot less fun, it’s good to do it so you can talk about it afterwards… that’s the only benefit I’ve found so far! Really, I’d rather do a fun race with my friends.”

 

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Harriet Harper and her Ironhorse, 2009.
Photo: Rita Langley

 

Winning National Champs in Nelson didn’t feel like a big victory, as neither her seeding or race run seemed like they went well. “In my seeding, at first I went out too hot headed and too hard out, and I had to go slow to not crash. Then I went too slow and kept coming to a complete stop and track standing! I even had to scooter one part. The first section of the track was hard, I f!cked it up both times. My race run felt slow, I tripoded [rode with one foot on the ground] around lots of corners, and nearly crashed so many times, but atleast I had the right gear for that top section and didn’t stop. Still, my race run was weird and it was a strange track in the wet. It didn’t feel like a race run, and having top World Cup riders here [Emmeline Ragot and Sabrina Jonnier who placed first and second] certainly keeps it real!”

As a riding philosophy, Harriet’s all about commitment on the course. “Downhill is 90% commitment, 5% skill and 5% fitness. You have to commit totally to what you’re about to do, and have no doubt in your ability. You do your training and your practice day and get everything sorted, but when you turn up on race day you just have to commit 100% to riding your absolute best.”

As national champ, Harriet qualifies to race at the World Championships in Canberra this year if she choses, and at the rate she’s pushing herself she should do well. “I’m very competitive and I don’t like to fall back. So now I’m addicted to this… and I can’t stop!”