Schoolgirl from Kilmacolm chases mountain biking dream

Avid cyclist Rosie McLaughlan, who lives in Kilmacolm, is only in her first season of national competitions but has already taken on the country’s toughest downhill tracks and raced against top talents from across the UK.

The 13-year-old recently took part in the second round of the British Cycling DH National Series at Fort William, placing second in the 13-16 years age category.

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Port Glasgow High pupil Rosie started riding bikes before her first birthday and won the first race she entered at the age of six.

She has trained under top cycling coaches and is a member of Wolf Pax, a mountain biking group that she regularly rides with.

Rosie’s proud parents Kate and Michael travel across the country to support her and say their daughter has an incredible talent for the sport.

Michael, who is a keen mountain biker himself, told the Tele: “Her godparents bought her first balance bike when she wasn’t even one, then she moved onto a pedal bike.

“She started racing when she was about six and won her first ever race that she entered and then from that she’s just worked her way up through junior downhill races and is now racing national and Scottish downhill.

“What’s really good now is there’s a big push to get girls into mountain biking, so there’s all kinds of big benefits for her.

“She’s getting the chance to compete against some really talented people.

“She’s so good at it, she’s brilliant at picking the right line and sticking to it.

“She just floats over everything, the only problem is trying to keep up with her when we’re out!

“We’re so proud of Rosie.”

With the successful outing at Fort William behind her, Rosie is now preparing for her next race at Glenshee next month.

The youngster works hard before every competition to familiarise herself with the tracks, and visits the course several times to learn their ins and outs.

Rosie said: “It’s exciting to be taking part in all these competitions but also quite scary.

“When I’m racing, I try not to think about things and focus on the track.

“There’s so much to it, you need to maintain your flow and keep the best line out of a massive rock garden.

“Practicing can sometimes mean going a bit further away, we don’t really have a lot of trails around here which can be a bit of an issue.

“I would love to be a downhill mountain biker one day, that’s my dream.

“The energy of it’s amazing.

“I love everything about it, you can really be yourself on a bike.”