Cayley Brooks, an up-and-coming mountain biker

Cayley Brooks of Craighurst, Ont., graces the cover of the October/Noverber 2013 issue of Canadian Cycling Magazine. As one of Canada’s most promising female mountain bikers at 21 years of age, her biggest goal is to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games for Canada.

At 10 years old, Brooks began mountain biking with her parents, who were adventure racers. Soon after she was racing, first locally, then provincially and nationally. Now she races internationally at World Cups. Her steady progression has not been perfectly smooth, yet she has not been deterred by poor results. Brooks has tenacity and remains focused on her goals when faced with adversity. “To date, I think my greatest accomplishment in cycling has been overcoming a very disappointing 2011 season,” Brooks said. “After a poor season, I made the 2012 mountain bike worlds team and achieved two top-10 World Cup results.” As of 2013, Brooks has represented Canada at three world championships. There are likely more to come.

Currently, Brooks is riding in the under-23 category and she has no shortage of ambition. She hopes to represent Canada at the 2014 mountain bike world championships and to win the Canadian national championships.

Her involvement in cycling is not limited to just her personal aspirations. She is deeply involved with the cycling community as a coach and mentor to younger riders. “Coaching is one of my biggest passions and I love to inspire kids to pursue mountain biking,” said Brooks. “I am now a coach at the new Horseshoe Multisport Academy and it has been amazing to introduce kids to many different sports. In all likelihood, they wouldn’t normally get a chance to try these sports. I definitely see myself working in coaching and mentoring young athletes in the future.”

Brooks certainly has great promise as both an athlete and coach. Her involvement in the Canadian cycling community will likely continue for many years to come.