Rachel on mille
“My first memory of Mille is meeting her at the World Cup in Ha!ell in 2013. She was this cute little kid in traditional Norwegian dress doing the opening ceremony. Every day for practice, she was at the start hut in her riding kit with her dad and the other locals running the event, grinning at all the racers and getting their autographs. She uploaded a photo of me and her on Instagram and tagged me, so I looked through her profile and was blown away by what she was riding!
“We started talking a bit, but I didn’t want to o"er her a place with our Atherton Academy until she was old enough to handle it. She was getting really good support from the rookie team she rode for, and was also part of the national ski team, training and racing all winter. When she became old enough, we arranged with her dad – who’s awesome and so passionate about Mille’s racing – for her to join the Academy. As a 14-year-old, she could already lift in the gym really well, which came from her skiing background.
“I’m so impressed with Mille. Her ability to ride technical stu" is amazing and her balance is so good. She’s pretty fearless, hitting those big jumps at Ha!ell since she was 14. Growing up ski racing, she has that competitive drive – she knows exactly what she wants and how to get there. She’s also young enough to have grown up with social media, so, like a lot of her direct competition (Vali Höll, Meg James and so on), she’s already a sponsor’s dream!
“We were at a Fort William national, on her first ever run down the track, when we got to the woods, where there’s a tricky wooden bridge drop thing that causes problems in the World Cup. I pushed back up to do it, expecting her to stay and watch. When I turned around, Mille was right behind me! I asked, “Are you sure?!” She just giggled and nodded, followed me in and hucked it. She crashed over the bars, but jumped up and tried again. So fearless and confident in herself!
“I see myself in Mille, which is superexciting, and I believe she’ll go all the way to the top step pretty quickly. Her parents are dedicated to her, but they keep her grounded. Her ability on a bike and her physical strength are incredible already. Exciting!”