Rachel Pageau signs on as Jukebox Cycling’s first mountain bike athlete

Flying off a win at Downhill Southeast and a podium at UCI DH continental championships, Rachel Pageau is joining the team at Jukebox Cycling for the 2022 season. That puts her in interesting company, as the enduro and downhill racer will be Jukebox’s first mountain bike athlete.

Pageau says she’s eager to join the squad, even if they spend most of their time on skinny tires.

“I’m extremely excited to have partners like Jukebox Cycling that can help me grow,” says Pageau. “This year, there’s so much room for improvement—and right now, I have so much room to progress! Last season, I was sleeping in a Honda Fit, so you can imagine that it was not an ideal race situation. Now, I’m trying to do better. For the first time, I’m really focusing on being all-in as a racer. With sponsors like Jukebox Cycling, I’m trying to invest in having a more dialed program.”

Narrowing focus to find success

2022 will see Pageau focus on her downhill racing, after finishing 18th at 2021 world championships in Val di Sole, Italy. The renewed focus on DH completes a transition from cross country to gravity racing, by way of enduro. The Chicoutimi, Que. born racer is currently roaming across North America in her van chasing domestic UCI points before heading overseas of the upcoming World Cup season.

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“Second at Continental Championships was a great way to start the early season, and I’m quite happy with the way I rode, especially after a very nasty crash in Friday’s practice session,” Pageau says of her recent results. “’I’m also very happy to have gotten some great training on different types of terrain and tracks.”

After graduating from Brevard College recently, Pageau is staying on in North Carolina and Tennessee. Staying south to wait out the long Canadian winter earns the Canadian more time on the bike.

Pageau joins Jukebox Cycling’s growing roster of cyclists. Phil Gaimon, Dylan Johnson, Canadians Ruby West and Adam Roberge, and Alexey Vermeulen already represent the brand on tarmac and gravel. Also joining the squad is Ranger, Pageau’s pup. Ranger will watch races roadside with Vermeulen’s Insta-famous mini-dachshund, Willie, and Gaimon’s Creature.

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“I just love bike racing more than anything,” Pageau says. “I still have so much room to grow, there are still so many things I can achieve. And I’m still achieving things every year. Every day, every week, every month, there’s still a little bit of improvement that I find. I finally have great partners to work with, and that’s even more motivation to keep going to see where that gets me. As long
as there’s progression and there’s room to grow, I don’t see why I would stop.”