Jenna Hastings Gets Honest About Life as a World Cup Racer

Jenna Hastings joins The Ride Companion for an incredibly honest and hilarious conversation about life as a professional World Cup Racer. The Pivot Factory Racing rider and 2022 Junior Downhill World Champion opens up about the pressure of qualifying, questioning whether she can still ride a bike during World Cup practice and crying between Q1 and Q2 before fighting back to finish fifth in Andorra. Jenna explains why winning at Crankworx hasn’t automatically translated into World Cup success, what separates the fastest women in downhill and why making a final can still feel like winning. She also reveals that she sometimes vomits inside her helmet! Away from racing, Jenna talks about growing up riding BMX in Rotorua, leaving school at 17 to pursue her dream, travelling overseas with Eddie Masters and joining Bernard Kerr’s Pivot Factory Racing programme. She also shares what it’s like living in a renovated caravan in Wales, chasing summers and building a future beyond professional racing. This is a real look inside the life and mind of one of the World's fastest bike racers. We hope you enjoy it and don't forget to leave a like and comment. Episode Sponsors:- Looking to book an RV or a camp site for an EPIC adventure? Check out our new friends at https://www.outdoorsy.com and enter code RIDE at checkout to remove all service fees! invisiFrame: 15% off with code REFRESHANDRIDE at https://www.invisiframe.co.uk Feedback Sports: https://feedbacksports.com LIKE THIS EPISODE? Hit subscribe, checkout the back catalogue and follow us on Instagram: Instagram: theridecompanion LISTEN TO THE PODCAST & MORE Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/66evYll... Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... All episodes, merch & more → https://theridecompanion.co.uk LONG-TERM PARTNERS & CODES Marin Bikes → https://www.marinbikes.com/gb Focus Bikes → https://www.focus-bikes.com SRAM: https://www.sram.com/en/sram adidas FiveTen: https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten invisiFrame: 15% off with code REFRESHANDRIDE at https://www.invisiframe.co.uk Troy Lee Designs → 10% off with code theridecompanion at https://saddleback.avln.me/c/OzduCWvj... Manta Sleep → 10% off with code theridecompanion https://tinyurl.com/theridecompanion HUEL → 15% off with code RIDE: https://huel.com/ Mudhugger → Get 10% off with code ridecompanion10 at https://www.themudhugger.co.uk Compex → 20% off with code THERIDECOMPANION: https://www.compex.com/uk/ Igloo: https://www.igloocoolers.com/ Feedback Sports: https://feedbacksports.com WORX → 15% off with code THERIDECOMPANION at https://uk.worx.com/aff/34311/ Cadence → Get a free month at https://getcadence.app/trc Kecks → 10% off with code THERIDECOMPANION at https://kecks.co.uk HKT Products → 10% off with code PODCAST RX Sport → https://rxsport.avln.me/c/kdvMdXvBBUjH 00:00:00 Jenna Hastings joins the podcast 00:02:50 Chasing summers from New Zealand to Wales 00:09:20 Why Jenna stopped riding in the off-season 00:14:48 E-bikes, downhill bikes and Jenna’s favourite riding 00:19:30 From BMX and enduro to World Cup downhill 00:25:10 Crankworx wins versus World Cup pressure 00:29:00 Jenna’s career-best World Cup result in Andorra 00:32:10 Are World Cup downhill racers actually friends? 00:37:30 Trusting the process on a World Cup weekend 00:41:50 Outdoorsy 00:45:34 invisiFrame 00:49:00 Lada joins the podcast 00:50:50 Why downhill racing is such a cruel sport 00:58:17 What separates the fastest women in downhill? 01:02:44 Jenna threw up inside her helmet mid-race 01:09:06 Feedback Sports 01:13:15 Leaving home at 17 to race around the world 01:19:21 World Cup goals without losing perspective 01:25:18 What if professional racing hadn’t worked out? 01:32:34 Cooking, careers advice and life after racing 01:45:23 The formula for World Cup success Contact Us → https://theridecompanion.co.uk/pages/... #theridecompanion #mtb #mountainbike