September 6, 2010 (Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC) – Pedal Magazine caught up with Lauren Rosser of Squamish, BC, just minutes before she mounted the podium to receive her rainbow jersey and gold medal as the 2010 Junior Women’s Downhill champion. Her victory was the first medal for Canada at these MTB Worlds and will be remembered as one of the highlights for the host nation.

Rosser’s historic gold is the first Canadian Junior medal at the MTB Worlds and Canada’s first DH Worlds podium since 1990 at the inaugural MTB Worlds in Durango, CO where Cindy Devine won Elite women’s DH gold. Along with Steve Smith’s fabulous silver in the Elite men’s DH they’re Canada’s only medals at the 2010 MTB Worlds as Canada was seventh overall in country rankings.

When asked how this win felt Rosser, 16, responded, “Awesome! When I came across the finish line, I looked at my time and was like, OK, that’s alright. A little bit slower than in seeding, but I was on the hot seat and as I watched everyone come down I thought, ‘are they going faster, or same speed, or what?’ So I was nervous, but it was awesome.”

Rosser added that she had been able to share the news with her parents (Ron and Sherry) and… “they are so excited.” The new world champ was clearly excited as well, and we wondered if it had sunk in yet. Rosser started to reply “not really” when a team mate told her that the rainbow jersey was just around the corner on the table – but Rosser didn’t want to peek and spoil the moment.

Earlier we spoke with Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) president, John Tolkamp, who told us that her victory was fantastic, “It’s great to have a world champion on home soil.”

Rosser got into mountain biking in Grade 8 starting with cross-country, but she was also really good on downhills. Her dad, a cycling enthusiast, encouraged her to get a downhill bike when she expressed interest in trying it out. She saved up and her ride of choice was a black and white Kona Stinky – then she began to develop her skills. The downhill riding also helped improve her cross-country, and she has a hard time choosing which she likes better.

Earlier in the week we chatted briefly with her parents and discovered that Rosser has been riding since age four on training wheels. “Yep. I remember that, on my little red bike. I remember my dad always used to go on rides, and I would say ‘can I come with you,’ and he’d say ‘no, you can’t come this time’. I was always asking him. And we would set up little trials in our backyard, and I would be asking ‘Can I do this?’ and he’d say ‘OK, but I have to go behind you’, so I’d be riding along it, and he’d be holding my bars, and I’d say OK, Dad, can I do it by myself? And I would just ride along and was super pumped about it. Then when I got older and had a cross-country bike I asked again, ‘Dad, can I come with you?’ I was about seven or eight years old, and he finally said yes, and I was pumped. It was great.”

So does Dad race as well? “No… he does it for fun.” And what about Lauren? “I’m doing it for a lot of fun right now!!”

For a first year junior (Rosser is a grade 12 student) to win the rainbow jersey is an “awesome” accomplishment – to quote the winner herself. Looking ahead, she sees no reason to give up either discipline as she loves them both, although she did admit that school was difficult to include in the mix. She is certainly optimistic about her future, and as for a repeat next year? “Possibly” was her reply; by then she should be “a little bit faster, [and have] more tricks”.

Full results here.