Vaea Verbeeck
Injuries are mere obstacles for this tenacious young downhill racer
Inconvenient injuries may have led downhiller Vaea Verbeeck off course in her professional racing career. A broken wrist sidelined her from competition completely in 2015. Still, they have not hurt the determination of this self-professed sporty tomboy who was born in Tahiti and raised in Granby, Que. In July, Verbeeck was disappointed by her fourth-place finish at the national DH championships in Sun Peaks, B.C. – her first race after healing a broken collarbone. “My expectations of myself on the national circuit are pretty high,” she says. “I strive to be at the top of the mix.”
Now that you live in B.C., where do you train? Living in North Vancouver, I do most of my off-season trail bike riding at home on the North Shore. It’s technical and fast and keeps me sharp. Occasional trips to Mount Prevost on the Island are the best for downhill training in the wintertime. Whistler Mountain Bike Park is definitely a go-to anytime I’m home in the summer. It has everything to train and keep things fun between races.
Do you miss the trails in Quebec? I do miss Bromont. Those trails were so fun. I would still choose B.C.’S vast options on any given day.
How would you describe your riding style? I could say I’m a pretty aggressive rider. I like to ride strong, push myself and define my limits.
How do you get mentally prepared to get back on the bike after an injury? I’ve been caught with injuries quite a few times. It’s never enjoyable to be away from the bikes. The equation is pretty simple in my opinion. It takes a lot of effort to strengthen your body and make it out to races. With injuries thrown in the mix, it’s important to make sure to have a fun time doing it all. When I get back on the bike, I just want to enjoy myself. At races, I do all my homework to be prepared and strong, and leave the worries at home.
What’s your favourite World Cup course? I really enjoyed racing in Hafjell, Norway in the past. It had a bit of everything: big jumps, good turns, high-speed technical wood sections and rock gardens. I like high-speed technical tracks where you can push for more speed and flow.
Do you have a run somewhere in the world that’s your nemesis? Not exactly, no. They are all challenging in their own ways, but there isn’t a track that I wasn’t able to improve myself on.
Rachel Atherton. Inspiring or frustrating? Absolutely not frustrating – definitely inspiring!
Earlier this year, Ghostbusters was rebooted with an all-female cast. Who would you cast in an all-female reboot of the Newworld
Disorder series? In all honesty, I came into the world of mountain biking a little too late to know my nwd cast well. I was also brainwashed by my friends with the racing movies from the beginning. Earthed movies are imprinted in my brain. Perhaps I should educate myself with the nwd series.
Any plans yet for 2017? The goal is always to reach my best performance and I will be hunting for it on a full season of World Cup racing – injury free that is.