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"Losing mountain
bike races to a girl ain’t so painful when the winner
looks like Niki…
Mountain biking has
never been sexier – with a world ranking climbing higher
and faster than a Nepalese Sherpa on speed, Niki Gudex is
devastatingly sexy and frighteningly talented. You’ll
never catch this lass slowing you down!"
How has it been
doing this shoot on glorious Brampton Island?
Oh my god, it’s been awesome.
When you can’t go mountain
biking, do you get itchy feet to jump onto a bike and go for
a ride?
Actually, this is the first time I’ve really had time
off from mountain biking this year. In my second year doing
cross-country, I had three weeks off and my legs actually
started to hurt.
Your legs hurt from not riding?
We struggle to ride a deadly treadly to the corner shop and
back.
They started aching, like they do if I’d been doing a
massive ride, but I hadn’t been riding. So I’m pretty
excited to get back on the bike now.
You have your fingers in a lot
of pies, mountain biking, modelling, graphic designing. What
do you say in the “Occupation” space on forms?
I’m a mountain biker. I’ve sort of come to the point
where you have to specialise and that’s where I see myself.
I love the modelling and the graphic designing, too, but they
complement my racing.
The modelling must be great for
getting the all important sponsorship dollars…
Yeah, but I have fun. With the mountain biking you need to
have a career based on sponsorship to continue. It’s
such an expensive sport to pursue because you’re travelling
all over the world. So yes, the modelling helps but it’s
also fun because as a mountain biker you’re out in the
mud and the rain and the heat. Modelling makes you feel feminine
- and it’s just fun to take on another character.
Do you reckon you could take on
the guys in professional competition?
No. I’d love to say I could, but I don’t think so.
The men who race pro level are so strong. There is a physical
difference.
How about just taking the guys
on for fun?
I’ve had a guy challenge me to a race because he didn’t
know I was a pro. I said: “You choose the bike, you choose
the location because I don’t have a problem with this
at all.”
Did you wipe the floor with him?
He backed out in the end!
Do any other guys get intimidated
because you’re such a good mountain biker?
I’m overseas for half the year and the guys I hang out
with are pro athletes – they’re not intimidated
because they could whip my arse.
What’s the worst stack you’ve
had?
Snow boarding. I fractured T4 and T5…
Huh? Aren’t those future
Terminator movies?
[Bones] in my back, thoracic four and five.
Sounds serious...
In a way, it didn’t bother me. Everything happens for
a reason. I always wanted to be as fast or faster than the
boys, so I was going beyond my limits. From the injury, I
learnt you’ve got to build up to things.
How did you get into mountain
biking?
The snow was really bad one day, so I went to watch some friends
ride motocross just out of Jindabyne and I decided to ride
a bike there. The road was really bad and I decided to take
a short cut through the bush. I’d never ridden a mountain
bike over dirt but it was so much fun. I was about 21 so I
started late. I’ve been pretty fortunate.
That’s awesome news because
people who excel at something usually start out at the age
of three... Like precocious violinists and concert pianists.
And their parents had forced them… I know. People I’ve
been competing against have been doing BMX since they were
young but in cross-country you need the experience behind
you. I’ve been doing cross-country for two years and
the girls I’m competing against have had eight or nine
years at the top.
What would you be doing if you
weren’t a professional mountain biker?
Well, when I was at school I never thought I was sporty or
athletic, so to be doing sport is so funny. Being energetic,
I’d have an outlet for that so maybe I’d be doing
something athletic - but then I’m pretty creative as
well, so with modelling and graphic designing, I get to do
that.
Do you consider yourself a bit
of a tomboy?
I think the more I’ve been mountain biking, the more
I see myself as a female. In letting your femininity go to
become a mountain biker, you actually find it more. If that
makes sense. So if you let something go, it actually comes
back.
What’s your ranking at the
moment?
I don’t know. It’s probably around 50 but I’d
have to jump on the computer to find out. I’ve been travelling
so much that I don’t really have an idea.
I know I’d be thinking about
how much my bum hurts and where the nearest pub is, but what
are you thinking about when you’re racing?
You’re definitely hurting – someone said we do it
so we can feel good when we stop. Also, I am just thinking
only about being in the moment because that is when I am at
my best. You can achieve things that may usually be out of
reach - when you are in the moment, things are easy. Like
this morning a bird flew through the room and I put my hand
up and caught it.
Weird. That could be your next
party trick at one of your mountain biking piss-ups.
I let it go! But I felt bad, because it was just too easy.
So your reflexes are just insanely
well tuned?
It must have been a really tame bird – and yesterday
I caught a fish with my hand on the coral reef!
A little bird called Amy Erbacher
told me that you all panicked when someone yelled out “shark”!
Was there an outbreak of girly shrieking?
No, I was in the water and out a bit deeper than them and
I saw this really big, brown, floating-looking thing and I
thought “what is that?” And I said: “Come look
at this massive fish!” and they all swam over. There
was a guy snorkelling who saw it near me and he said: “It’s
a shark!” Then I went back under to have a look and the
other girls yelled!
Profile: Justin Schoenmaker. Photographer:
Fabrizio Lipari.
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