Episode 03: Mikayla Parton

Scottish downhill mountain biker Mikayla Parton only discovered the world of MTB relatively late on. Based in Fort William, skiing was the mountain sport that had her heart to start with, but once she discovered bikes, there was no stopping her.

In this episode, Mikayla chats about how she got into the mountain biking, how she discovered a competitive side to her nature when she tried her first races, and how that then led on to sponsorship and support to race in the World Cup series. She talks about what it’s like to be a newbie in the world of elite racing, how she trains and prepares for racing, and the highs and lows of racing.

The highs have to include her phenomenal 2020 season which saw her ride to an incredible fifth place at the World Championship race in Leogang. But the lows also came that season when a catastrophic crash saw her hit the deck hard and suffer a concussion. Mikayla talks frankly about the concussion, what effect it’s had on her, and how her recovery is going.

The good news is she’s got a great coach to inform her training, she’s been out riding loads on her new Trek bike, and she’s feeling good for the year ahead - so tune in to find out what her 2021 goals are!

Image by Miles Mallinson @milesmallinsonvideo