Catherine Vipond Interview

Canadian mountain biker Catherine Vipond is having a very strong season and is currently leading the Canada Cup series. We caught up with her at her home in British Colombia to ask her a few questions.

How does it feel to be leading the Canada Cup series?
Definitely exciting to be leading the Series, and pretty sweet that Norco Factory Teammate, Andrew Watson, has the men’s lead. As a junior I always looked up to the top Canada Cup riders so to be at that level now is really neat.
Was this a goal of yours for the season?
The Canada Cups have been a goal of mine for the last couple seasons and trying to be consistent is always important. The overall is a goal for this season so leading halfway through the series is encouraging. Still two races left, Edmonton and Bromont, I’ll have to keep it consistent for these last two.
Can you tell us about your training? Perhaps take us through a typical training day?
I spent the winter training in Kamloops BC, we had an amazing winter there. It was only about 2 weeks where it was too cold or too snowy to be outside so I was able to spend a lot of time on the bike but with the mountains so close could easily get out skiing as well. I definitely like to get in lots of cross training in the winter with some cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and running. Typical training day I like to head out in the morning so that I arrive home and can have a late lunch then do some stretching and relax a bit. In the winter I would then head to Canada Post to get in some arm strength, I worked in the warehouse this past year. Sleep lots at night and repeat.
What is the rest of your season looking like – are you going to be doing more World Cups or focusing on the Canada Cup series?
For the rest of the season I’ll be doing both sets of races. Right now is a bit of a down time in racing, with a couple fun local races, but I’ll kick it back off again with the Edmonton Canada Cup and then Nationals. Right after that I am heading to Europe to race Champery and Val di Sole World Cups with the National Team Project. From there I’ll head to the Bromont Canada Cup and Windham World Cup and hopefully end the season off with World Championships.
How does it feel to have the World Championships in Canada this year?
I think having the World Championships at home is great for the sport, it helps to build excitement for mountain biking. I’ve heard of a lot of people heading out to watch so I think there should be lots of home crowd spectators. Being the host country, Canada is sending larger teams allowing more riders to get the experience of competing at that level.
Do you have any advice for young cyclists considering a career as a professional cyclist?
Keep it fun. We start mountain biking because we like to ride our bikes and I think it is important to keep that in perspective at times and not get overly focused on training and race results. Go out and challenge yourself, find someone faster than you and try to find the speed to stay with them through technical stuff.
Any mentors or role models that have helped you out along the way?
There have been many people that have helped me along the way. Both Kevin and Sue Haviland have had a huge influence from the beginning. Sue’s a great racer and awesome person who I looked up to as a role model since I was a cadet racing at the Canada Summer Games in 2001. Kevin has helped me out a ton, knows exactly how I like my brakes even if I don’t know how I like them and is always there when I need something. I live with Catharine Pendrel and have learned so much about racing and life, just seeing her approach to racing and training has been really helpful to my career.
Tell us how you relax off the bike – what do you do to recharge?
Right now relaxing is working in the garden, encouraging my cucumbers to grow. I’m also working on my bread baking skills and things are starting to rise. I like to spend time outdoors get in some camping if I can, and if near water head out in the kayak, canoe or sailboat.