BackSimone T. Christensen: The opportunity of a lifetime
She’s one of only a handful of riders from all over the world who has been chosen to train fulltime at the UCI Centre in Switzerland.
Her goal is to be in the absolute top of BMX Racing. The culmination would be to get to the top of the podium at the Olympics in 2020.
We talked to our team rider Simone T. Christensen about why she takes on the challenge, and what it means to move more than a thousand kilometers away from home.
What I need to get to the top
So until the Summer Olympics in Japan, Simone will be living at the UCI headquarters to train to get in the shape of her life.
“It’s a unique opportunity! I’m so grateful to be one of the few riders who has been chosen to be here. This was just what I needed. I get to ride with a bunch of talented riders every day. And to be trained by Liam Phillips (former Race BMX World Champion) is so crazy”, says Simone.
World-class training
Photo by: liamphillips65
But what is it that makes the training worth traveling 1427 kilometers from Aarhus in Denmark to Agile in Switzerland?
“I get to train regularly with a group of riders that all want to be the best. Before I mostly trained alone, which also was ok, but when you train together with someone you're just pushing yourself a little further, whether it’s in the gym, training sprint, or racing at the track”, she says and continues.
“It’s also awesome to be more than one girl here, but in general, I will say that the whole team has a firm bond and we all respect each other and help each other every day, and that really makes a difference.”
Everything comes at a price, but it’s worth it
It seems natural to say ‘yes’ to the deal of her life and go abroad to live and train at the UCI headquarters. But going also meant that Simone had to leave something really important behind.
Photo by: jeanlouis.gt
“Saying yes to this also meant leaving all my family and friends back in Denmark. So, I went for a six weeks trial period to test if I wanted to leave it all behind to train here. I miss them all, but it’s so great here, and I’m doing fine. And of course, thanks to the inventor of FaceTime” says Simone.
This summer Simone got a bachelor degree in medicine and she was studying to become a doctor - something that she had to put on hold for now.
“When I finish university I’m going to work as a doctor for the rest of my life. But I didn’t want to let my education get in the way of this crazy opportunity. That being said, I really love studying medicine, and I’m looking forward to picking it up again. But right now, there’s just a lot of things I want to achieve within my sport”, she says.
Follow Simone on her adventures at the UCI Centre and around the world here. Feel inspired to hit the track on a Race BMX of your own? Find all you need here
