Mixed team with her brother: Interview with XCO pro Anne Terpstra

Mixed team with her brother: Interview with XCO pro Anne Terpstra

This year she won the famous Cape Epic stage race, came 9th in cross-country mountain biking at the Olympic Games in Paris, won several silver and bronze medals at World and European Championships and is a multiple Dutch champion. And she did sneak onto our start list without anyone noticing: The successful World Cup rider and cross-country pro Anne Terpstra is taking part at MONDRAKER ENDURO TEAM in Davos Klosters, in the MIXED category, together with her brother Rien. We asked her how this came about, what her enduro experience is and how she sees the likely distribution of roles at the event.

Anne, you are known as a very successful cross-country professional. How do you feel about enduro?
Cross-country is my main business, but in the end I see myself primarily as a mountain biker. And there are lots of bikes I can have fun on. 😊 I like the technical trails in cross-country and am therefore really looking forward to riding enduro again, where it's also technical. Although it is of course a big challenge for me to adapt myself and my riding style to a different bike. Luckily I have three days for this in Davos! 😉

How many enduro races have you been riding in?
I've raced twice in the Enduro World Series (EWS), once in an EWS-E and once in a team of three. But that was always after the cross-country season – and always in Finale Ligure because of the timing. So, I haven't had any enduro racing experience anywhere else so far and I'm really looking forward to get to know it in a different place.

You ride in a mixed team with your younger brother Rien. How did your participation come about?
My brother used to ride mountain bikes regularly, but he's been in the military for a while now and doesn't normally race any more. However, he still enjoys biking and when he has time in summer, he likes to do a race now and then – but now mainly downhill! 😉 Two years ago, he rode the Megavalanche in France and actually wanted to do it again this year. But as he is still in training to become a corporal, it didn't fit in with his schedule. So he looked for alternatives and asked me for ideas. I then made him a few suggestions. As ENDURO TEAM in Davos is a week after my World Championships, it happened to fit into my calendar too and I told him that I would take part if he chose this race. From then on, my other suggestions were out of question and we signed up as soon as we could. 😊

Have you ever raced together as a team?
No, never. But as long as my brother was racing, we always rode mountain bikes together. Of course, we know each other very well and as we rarely get to ride together now, it's even more special for us that this has worked out – we're really celebrating it. The fact that we can now even ride an enduro race together is even cooler.

How are you expecting your roles to be shared at MONDRAKER ENDURO TEAM?
We'll find out on the way. 😉 I reckon he will be able to play to his strengths on flowing trails and help me. When pedalling, or on rougher, technical sections, I can hopefully contribute something to our performance.

What is your goal?
Just have as much fun as possible and celebrate the fact that we have the chance to do here what we love to do together: Mountain biking 😊

How well do you know the Davos Klosters region?
I've never been there before, but of course heard about it. I'm very excited and looking forward to getting to know the area and of course the trails there.

Thank you very much for the interview! We are delighted to have you at the start and look forward to hearing how you like it.