February's Featured Rider: Claire Buchar

Claire Buchar is Canada's fastest female downhiller. Claire consistently places in the top ten at World Cup downhill races, and she finished 8th overall in the series in 2008. She's part of the Canadian DH Girls with Katrina Strand, and has spent this winter training and racing in Australia. But Claire is more than just an incredible athlete--she's a talented artist and is super smart about marketing herself within the bike industry. Read on for proof. --FF

Name: Claire Buchar (soon to be Kovarik!)
Home: Whistler, Canada and North Brisbane, Australia
Age: 30
Favorite type of riding: DH, dirt jumping, XC
Why you ride: Fun, traveling, challenge, fun, adventure, fun
Sponsors: ChainReactionCycles.com/Intense, Sombrio, Maxxis, Smith, Crank Brothers, Dakine, Evolution Bike Shop, Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Website: CanadianDHGirls.com

Both my parents were athletes, my dad especially. He used to race motocross and was on the Czech National Alpine Ski Team. He is now 72 and still rips on his moto in the backcountry of Squamish, BC. I guess I got his blood. As lanky as I was (still am!), I was always good at sports. As a kid, I dreamed of being an athlete. I didn’t care what kind. I used to pretend I was winning races of all sorts and even clothes-lined myself on my homemade backyard finish line!

However, I didn’t pick up a mountain bike until I was about 20 years old. And naturally, I had to try racing. I finished 2nd at my first National Champs in 2002 and was selected for the Canadian National Team which, at the time, I didn’t even know existed! I’ve never looked back.

My bike has taken me all over the globe, from Chile and Peru to Croatia and Slovenia, from Scotland and Ireland to New Zealand and Australia. I’ve been on the craziest adventures with all
sorts of crazy people and even met my very near future husband, fellow racer and rider Chris Kovarik, through one of those adventures! It’s been really cool and I feel privileged to be able to live this lifestyle. However, it absolutely did not come without serious hard work, determination, passion, drive and sacrifice. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I genuinely enjoy riding my bike. I am currently spending my winter in summer! Chris and I are in Australia for the off season and the riding here is pretty sick. The XC is flowy and addicting and there are some world-class DH tracks to get going fast on. It’s quite different from the riding we have back in BC or in Europe, in addition to the fact that you have to dodge extremely venomous snakes. I like riding different styles of terrain. I think it helps you become adaptive to any situation. The area we are in is a bit lacking of my favorite thing--dirt jumps, but our buddy has a pumptrack in his back yard and sometimes we hit up the skatepark for a little play.

Besides all of that, I decided to go back to my roots……art! I’m getting smart at graphic design school. It’s pretty full on, but I’m stoked.

December's Featured Rider: Katrina Strand

It's hard to discuss Canadian downhill riders without mentioning Katrina Strand. She's a Whistler, BC local who has dedicated her career to gravity riding. Katrina and Claire Buchar are the Candian DH Girls, and the two were ranked 19th in Decline Magazine's 26 Most Influential People in Mountain Biking earlier this year. When Katrina's not racing World Cups or Canadian Nationals, she coaches other athletes through her business, Katrina Strand Fitness Coaching. Oh, and can someone get this girl a frame sponsor?--FF

Name: Katrina Strand
Home: Whistler, BC
Age: You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever?!
Favorite type of riding: Downhill! But there isn’t any type of biking that I don’t like – you’ll see me at the dirt jumps and the velodrome, riding cross country, all mountain , BMX, and road
Why you ride: Challenge, adventure, fun
Sponsors: Oakley, Maxxis, Shimano, Mavic, Fox Shox, Crank Brothers, Syncros, Dakine, e13, Giro, Fizik, Whistler Bike Park, Evolution Bike Shop, Peak Performance Massage Therapy
Website: CanadianDHGirls.com

On a rainy summer day in 1997, my best buddy Lisa Lefroy and I grabbed her dad’s cruisers and brought them up the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. We were the only people out there, slip and sliding the whole way down. At the end of the day, we were scrapped, bruised, muddy and happy. Shortly after I bought my first mountain bike!

When I first started mountain biking, my intentions were %100 genuine. I loved being outside with my friends, riding trails, going on adventures, and challenging myself. Ten years later, I have traveled all over the world with my bike – from South America to Jamaica, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. I have represented Canada at the World Championships, had top-three finishes at the Canadian National Championships, and top-15 results at World Cups. I have written several media and editorial projects, been in countless marketing campaigns and magazine articles, coached thousands of people and co-created the only women’s-only freeride event in existence, The Gala.

Through all of this, my intentions remain the same – I ride because I love to ride! All of this came through being passionate about mountain bikes. I work hard because I want to work hard. It has not been glamorous in any way. I have, for lack of a better expression, worked my ass off! But, I love it. I am so lucky to have found my passion – so when the hurdles get big, it doesn’t scare me away, it only makes me jump higher.

I’m starting off 2009 with a trip overseas to Australia and New Zealand. As for the rest of the year, I’m not so sure yet. I am still working on a frame sponsor so we’ll have to see. But whatever happens, the future looks bright. I’ll always be a rider and I will always be out there, riding in the woods, looking for the next adventure, pushing my limits and laughing with my friends.