Six Fearless Female Riders to Watch — WE ARE GIRLS IN SPORT

Motocross could just be one of the coolest forms of motorsport on the face of the earth. Many might say that the adrenaline rush you get on a bike is like nothing else. Especially when you launch the bike into the air with an awesome landing with the dust kicking up behind you! So what is motocross like for girls?

As co-founder of We are Girls in Sport, at the age of eleven, my dad bought me an Italjet 50cc motorbike scrambler. I remember it so well. I always thought it looked so cool in blue and yellow. I was certain I was the only girl in my school who owned a motorbike. I went to school with constant burn marks on the inside of my leg from constantly kickstarting the bike, but I was always buzzing to get home to get on my bike and scramble across the fields! I rode alongside my two brothers, learning how to build my confidence, conquer jumps and how to accelerate just at the right time. My passion for motorbikes didn’t continue into my teenage years, but for many girls, motocross has become their career. With gender equality in the forefront of debate for many sports, I considered what could be done to bring more girls through into motocross? The answer really is for platforms such as We are Girls in Sport to shine a light on girls and women which are making an impact. Therefore, in today’s blog, we focus our attend to six female riders who are kickstarting change.

In an interview posted on Men’s Journal, they interviewed Vicki Golden who is recognised for winning several medals, including taking a bronze metal on the podium of the X Games in Los Angeles some years back. It was, at that time, considered to be a big deal. Vicki Golden was the first woman to earn an invitation to the freestyle motocross event at the X Games. She was on a smaller, less powerful bike than the men. She was up against some of the most formidable male riders in the sport. The interesting part of this story is that the medals were awarded through a real-time popular vote on social media, meaning that despite being outnumbered by her male peers, people were rooting for Golden to win. For Golden, she says that she felt the gender gap wasn’t relevant in the beginning of her career. She said, “I looked up to anything my brother did and wanted to ride just like him.” She eventually entered the competitive circuit at age seven and had to compete against boys since there weren’t enough girls her age to warrant a separate race class. “My first race was with boys, and I was with my friends,” she remembers. “It was all I knew. My dad just wanted me to race, and that’s where he put me.”

For girls considering motocross, competitive riding can start with ages four to six year olds who would start on a 50cc Yamaha PW (often called a PeeWee) bike. At around eight years old they can ride a 65/80cc mini motocross machine and by age ten, kids can ride anything up to a 150cc 4 stroke, or 65/80cc two strokes. As a final note, any electric bike must have a self-closing throttle that shuts down the moment the rider releases their grip on it.

Here are six, super female riders to watch and follow: -

1. Ashley Fiolek

Ashley Fiolek is a professional motocross racer who has won many awards, including the X Games, a famous extreme sports championship in the United States. That is not completely. One of her most important and inspiring breakthroughs is having been the first woman in history to be on the cover of the famous motocross magazine Transworld Motocross. She was also the youngest woman in history to win the AMA Motocross Championship.

Follow on Instagram - @ashleyfiolek_67

2. Kirsten Landman

Kirsten Landman is a professional off-road & hard enduro rider from Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. She has been riding since the age of 8 and started her professional career at the age of 22. Everything started as just fun with her family, has now turned into Kirsten making the story and a name for herself worldwide in the hard enduro racing view!

Follow on Instagram - @kirstlandman

3. Louise Forsley

From an eight-year-old trials biker to the 2020 Queen of the Motos, Louise Forsley has enjoyed an extraordinary biking career. She won 6 North American Women’s Trials titles, then took a break from her career to become a Hollywood stunt driver. Now shows itself again at Endurocross.

Follow on Instagram - @louiseforsley77

4. Megan Griffiths

Megan, from Kelowna British can often be found ripping through the woods in British Columbia, jumping and training over logs. Megan represented her country, Team Canada at the 2016 International Six Days Enduro, where she and fellow Canadians Shelby Turner and Felicia Robichaud became home sixth in the Women’s World Trophy competition.

Follow on Instagram @megs_braap

5. Vicki Golden

Vicki Golden is a professional freestyle motocross rider, four-time X Games gold medallist and the first female member of the SoCal freestyle motocross team Metal Mulisha. She also performs in Travis Pastrana’s Nitro Circus Tour.

Follow on Instagram - @vgolden423

6. Rachel Gutish

Rachel is a determined teenager who balances a full load of classes at DePauw University with track and field meets and an off-road motorcycle racing career that has her traveling around the whole country. Rachel races GNCC and competes in some of the more special enduro events in the country. She’s an impressive one to watch!

Follow on Instagram - @rachel_gutfish

To sum up, motocross is a great way for children to start riding bikes, but it can also give them some very important life skills, help them socialise, build their confidence, and keep fit. Especially as motocross is a very physically demanding sport! There’s a thriving scene for all ages and all abilities, and you never know… your daughter could be the next world champion!