RIAK Women's E-racing Team

Gesine came to cycling and triathlon later in life but since taking them up, her love for all things swim, bike and run has grown year after year as, 'a way to stay fit, meet friends, travel, feel the wind in my hair, do epic sh*t and eat cake!'

However, when the indoor cycling phenomenon kicked off during COVID, 'coming from a decidedly analogue, pre-millennial generation it baffled' her. She felt intimidated by the techy language and eventually gave up on it as a result.

Gesine is exactly the type of rider we are looking to reach with the RIAK Racing project. A rider with enormous potential (she has a history of placing highly in age-group triathlon), but despite which, that real world confidence hasn't translated to the virtual world because of the perceived hurdles.

As she says, 'what has changed? The RIAK Racing team presents an opportunity to give e-racing another go, in a very supportive community. And most importantly, it’s going to be fun!'

You can follow Gesine via the team's social channels or on her personal social channels:
Instagram: @gesinejunker

Serena by her own admission is inexperienced when it comes to E-racing and cycling in general, having only taken it up a few years ago. But this is why Serena is such a great addition to the team. She is a fantastic example of someone who might lack experience, but with a little bit of support and some consistent high quality training has developed the confidence to try anything! This includes recently destroying her first Ironman Triathlon and now embarking on a full season of E-racing.

Her progress in the short time she has been working with RIAK has been phenomenal. Whilst she lacks experience, she no longer lacks power!

You can follow Serena via the team's social channels or on her personal social channels:
Instagram: @serenaace333

Chantal's background is as a triathlete competing in her first Ironman event this year, which is doubly impressive considering she didn't even own a bike 5-years ago!

She has commented to us that one of the reasons she came to endurance sport later in life is because she didn't see anyone like her competing in cycling or triathlon.

As she says though, 'the world is changing and I see this project as being a great way of raising the profile of women in cycling, in particular e-sports, and having the chance to be part of that is incredibly exciting. Five years on I'm proud to say I'm training for my first IM event and have fallen in love with cycling and really want to show other girls and women what is possible!'

You might not think E-racing is compatible with long-course triathlon but it really can be. As an off-season focus, E-racing is a fantastic and fun way to help develop anaerobic power. Put simply, build that strength, then add in the endurance as the triathlon season nears and you will be in a fantastic position to hit the start line flying.

You can follow Chantal via the team's social channels or one her personal social channels:
Instagram: @thisis_mendes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chantal.mendes

Laura is a former international level javelin thrower with multiple British champs victories and a 4th place in the Commonwealth Games. Her pedigree as an athlete is assured but can she apply that prowess, dedication and talent to E-racing? ...we've seen her numbers and can confirm she absolutely can!

Alongside using her profile to inspire other female athletes into the sport, Laura herself is seeking support and guidance as she hopes 'to bring the training experience of a seasoned athlete and enthusiasm of a novice to the team!'

We think Laura is a fantastic example of someone who is unafraid to take a risk and we hope her story demonstrates that you can be a phenomenal athlete but even so, we all need a bit of help and guidance at times and a community such as that around the RIAK E-racing Team makes no judgments because it is there to help everyone.

You can follow Laura via the team's social channels.

Caroline is one of our more experienced riders with a background in Cyclo-cross and some fantastic results at Masters level. She has also won some big E-racing series and it is our hope that Caroline's experience will help our less experienced athletes transition into the E-racing scene and help lead the team.

For Caroline, the motivation is to be part of a team after racing solo for some time as she has loved racing with other female riders in previous E-racing series. She remarked to us recently about previous E-racing team experiences, 'we had never met in-person but worked together to achieve some great results. I would gladly take part again in something similar!'

Caroline is a fantastic source of cycling knowledge and we are excited to have her helping the team and hopefully, continuing her own push for big results.

You can follow Caroline via the team's social channels or on her personal channels:
Instagram: @caroline_b_25
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caroline.reuterbouteiller
Twitter: @creuter2575

Probably the team's most experienced E-racer, Wendy is one of our team leaders and a rider keen to share her knowledge and experience with others.

Her motivation:
'I think what I can bring to the team is my own experience as a way to support others to hopefully inspire and motivate women to enjoy racing and to grow as a rider while doing that. It can be scary on the start line with a bunch of boys. It would be great for other women to see the Riak girls out there doing it, and think 'wow maybe I can do that too', and be inspired to give it a go.'

We are really glad to have Wendy on the team and look forward to seeing her help guide our less experienced riders whilst hopefully pick up some top results for herself!

You can follow Wendy via the team's social channels or her personal social channels:
Instagram: @norseandsouth
Strava: Wendy (WonderWheels) Gallagher