Since being the 1998 US Junior National Downhill Mountain Bike Champion, Melissa Buhl has been riding bikes fast and winning races in both downhill and 4x. She was the 2008 4x World Champ, and is off to Australia this week to compete in both disciplines yet again. Martha Hucker caught up with her for a quick Q&A before she left the U.S.

Melissa Buhl, Garbonzo DH 2009.
Photo: Justa Jeskova

Hey Melissa! Only two more big races left for 2009… how’s the season been for you?
It’s been a really busy season doing all the races and both events. Some are better than others:) But overall it’s been ok. I would liked to have done better this year in the DH, but those Frenchies have been pretty tough:) Hopefully I can go out with a bang in Canberra. It will be my last race of the season as I started Fall semester this week.

How did you get into racing mountain bikes, and did you always think you’d get this far in the sport?
I started racing BMX and my Mom, who owed a bar and restaurant at the time, had customers come in that welded mountain bikes. She would always brag about my BMX racing as a proud Mom does. They suggested me to try mountain bikes. The man was Frank “the Welder” Wadelton who built bikes for many companies and racers over the years. He lent me his kids Yeti to do some local XC racing, and then later built me a bike.
Our local XC series was sponsored by Cannondale and one of the reps got me hooked up with Missy Giovie’s Team Amazon. It was a womens pro developmental program that Missy put together to help women in DH. From there I got into DH racing.
No I never thought that as a little kid I would be doing it as an adult, as a career, traveling to cool places and racing every weekend!

Congrats on winning the US National Champs (results are here: Melissa Buhl and Jill Kintner win US National Champs). How did your race go?
The race was a close one between KP (Kathy Pruitt) and I. It has been like that for years between us.

There was a bit of drama there about some very big jumps in the course. Can you tell us what went on?
The jumps were a new challenge for a lot of the racers. The first day of practice not everyone was hitting them and it was windy. So I guess there was a discusion at the first meeting, I wasn’t at the first meeting, but I guess the officials were going to close the jumps if it got too windy and put go arounds in.
The weather was fine and all turned out fine they kept them open, but put go arounds in so people could progress through each of them and pull out if a mistake was made.
I think most of the drama was not really the jumps, but the 4-X gate which got changed last minute from a drop off to the alternate gate which was similar to a typical UCI straight. The decision was based on the fact that it was a selection for worlds race, and the officials thought that the course should be as close to Worlds starts as possible. Which makes sense, but the course builders were really disappointed after all the hard work they put in.

You’re riding for KHS. How long have you been riding for them, and what bikes/setups are you on?
I have been riding for KHS since 2001. They have been a great sponsor. I race my DH-200 in DH and mostly my hardtail DJ 300 for 4-X, but sometimes I will race my full suspension (XC Team) depending on the course.

What’s the best and worst things about being a pro mountain biker?
There are a lot of great things. The best is to do what you love the most in the world while getting paid. You get to travel to so many great places and some of my best friends I have met, I have met through mountain biking. Mountain biking trains you for life. The adversity you face while racing, makes it seem like you can hadle anything:)
The worst thing….maybe the pain from crashing, but that happens. I guess being away from my boyfriend and doggies all summer make it tough sometimes, but it’s all part of the job.

There seem to be a lot of women gravity riders in the US, but the race numbers are as low as many smaller countries. What do you think could get more women to take part in events?
Women’s racing in the US has dropped off a bit. Not form lack of talent by any means, just the depth in entries at the events. I think a lot of it is b/c it is so costly for them and there is lack of support. Some of the race promoters don’t give enough incentive for pro racers to make the trip. We are racing for free or next to nothing at a lot of the events, and that’s unacceptable for any pro. There are so many talented riders here, but you’ll find them doing other events and other types of riding and racing they enjoy more. I hope we can get a consistent series going that offers that kind of enjoyment in racing again and bring tham back.

Are you looking forward to racing in Canberra?
YES! I have never been to Australia before and I am really looking forward to it.

Anyone you’d like to thank?
I would like to thank my boyfriend Dave, my family, my sponsors KHS Bicycles, Adiddas, Azonic, Kenda, Manitou, Hayes, Sunringle, Gamut, and ODI.

Cheers Melissa, and good luck in Canberra!

Older: Martha Hucker asks Darcy Turenne about the 2010 Vixa

Fresher: Martha Hucker interviews Celine Gros

Published on 23/08/2009 by Martha Hucker.