Overcoming adversity..
It’s been a year of ups and (alot of fast) downs for Toni. It goes without saying she has had to face a few obstacles to her riding in 2022, most notably a Broken wrist, which could have ended any hopes of a successful season. But with more grit than Bradford council, Toni’s approach to this setback meant she would be back faster than ever when it came time to strap on a number board again…
Photo: Man Down Media @man_down_media
On May 21st Toni sustained a Broken wrist racing on the 4X track at Fort William, which then took until late Summer to fully recover from. This included nine weeks fully off the bike and 6 weeks in a cast! The physical recovery from the accident was only part of the battle for Toni.
Once she regained a little fitness and strength after rehabilitation she revisited her usual trails and it quickly became apparent that there would be a mental aspect of recovery to also overcome.
“I went to ride the fresh cut trails in Grizedale as soon as I felt fit enough, it was a big shock in processing what was happening at speed, which started to effect my confidence. Once I’d lost my confidence I lost my speed and vice versa”
Always a racer at heart she knew she had to devise a plan to get back to speed ASAP. So she developed a strategy of going back to basics and relearning the fundamentals by going back to riding some far less technical trails which she was familiar with.
It took longer than anticipated to rebuild the confidence needed to ride at the speed she was capable of. But by revisiting the drawing board and having faith in the process she laid the foundations for huge improvements in her riding with progress being made each week.
“All of a sudden the penny dropped and I noticed I had become more capable and faster than I was before Fort William.”
Feeling back on form, Toni decided it was time to put her strategy to the test put a number board on the Roubion and go racing again before the season came to a close.
Photo: Dave Price Photography @davepricephoto
Straight in at the deep end, Toni had an amazing result at the 2022 ProAm British Championship held at Glentress, coming 3rd. This was a turning point, signifying a return to form not just in terms of a result but also in her confidence to push the bike once more. A great result that was a little unexpected as the riding conditions were so unfamiliar to the rocky tech fests she’d been honing her skills on leading up to the race.
This year Toni put her some of her success down to having a set up that wouldn’t hold her back, allowing her to push as hard as she can.
Her bike of choice was a Juliana Roubion CC with a few tweaks to optimise the suspension for her lighter rider weight. Toni ran MegNeg on her RockShox Super Deluxe shock and two tokens in the Fox 36 Factory fork to give the bike a super supple feel to the initial stroke. This gives her bags of traction without losing the progression for the big hits on technical enduro stages and the big mountain terrain in the Lakes, where she’s usually found riding.
Even though Toni is very light, she chose to run two Maxxis Double Down Assegai tyres for the majority of the season after having three punctures when running EXO+ sidewalls on the rocky stages of Ard Rock, this gives you an idea of how hard she rides!
Toni has no plans to change any part of her set up for 2023, having got the bike pretty dialled in 2022. As far as Toni is concerned on the Roubion she doesn’t feel compromised in any situation, the bike is super capable in racing the gnarliest enduros but still light and responsive enough to not slow her down on those mid stage sprints and lung busting Lake District ascents. In her words…
‘It’s not just the perfect bike between the tapes but also the ultimate weapon of choice for a back country epic.’
Photo: Sadie Aldridge @sadiealdridge
Although she missed a large chunk of the season through injury 2022 was till a great year on the bike. Her favourite event was the Boltby Bash, with ‘great riding and good vibes all day lapping with riding buddies’. She also enjoyed hitting up the big jumps on the ‘Vision Line’ at Revolution Bike Park and is very keen to get back there before it closes.
But according to Toni the most memorable riding location this year was the fantastic trails surrounding the Ballater Hills in the Cairngorms, most notably Heartbreak Ridge.
Photo: Dave Price Photography @davepricephoto
It’s been a busy year for Toni, outside of the tape too, with a property renovation project keeping her busy. You might wonder how she has time to relax, kick up her feet and chill, well… she doesn’t do much of that. Whenever at a loose end you’ll find her at Lake Windermere Wakeboarding off the back of her parent’s boat!
So having proven that she is now able to push the bike harder than before, her main goal for next year is to ‘Ride Bikes and Have Fun!” with no particular target event or race in mind, her approach to racing and training is all about accumulating as much saddle time as possible and having a blast along the way. So in 2023 you best look out.. she’ll probably be even faster, we might just need another shelf in the trophy cabinet!
