18-year-old Mountain biker Erice van Leuven won the Rangatahi Young Sportsperson of the Year performance award at this week's Wellington Regional Sports Awards.
van Leuven's past year has included winning back to back UCI Junior Downhill world titles, winning the overall UCI World Cup title, while also battling a major injury after an accident while riding.
She joined Adam Cooper to discuss her award and look back on her past year.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
From Junior Netborn at Titi to the Pulse at TSV.
We've got it covered on the All Sport Breakfast with
Rutherford and Bond Toyota and King Toyota on News TALKSB
fourteen to nine here on the All Sport Breakfast. So well,
it was a very fun night at the Wellington Sports
and Recreation Awards the other night. So much to celebrate
of top level sport but also amazing community recreation work
(00:21):
happening in our region. Will give you some of the
main winners shortly, but I wanted to chat to one
of the winners this morning. Eighteen year old mountain biker
Eras van Levin took out the Performance Award in the Angatahi,
which is the Young Person of the Year category. For Eras,
it had been an outstanding mountain biking season. She's been
the back to back Junior UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World
(00:44):
Champion and the twenty twenty four UCI World Cup Overall Champion,
so some amazing success already in her career, which has
also been hampered by some major injuries. So on the
back of her win at the Wellington Sports Awards, Eras
joins us wanting to Eras and congratulations and get another accolade. Firstly,
what did it mean for you to be recognized by
(01:05):
the Wellington sporting community the other night, Yeah, Kilder, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
No, it's been it's been really cool to have the
representation from a pretty a pretty niche sport down on
mountain biking and it's like it's becoming pretty a pretty
big thing in altior at the moment biking, so now
it's pretty cool to showcase that. And yeah stop to
get the award.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
You've had some huge wins and several U c I
titles to your name. Eris is there anything over sort
of the past, you know, twelve eighteen months above all
else that stands out for you as one of your
favorite moments.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, for sure. Last year, late late August, I had
World Champs and yeah I was. I came out on top,
so that was that was a pretty special one for me.
And to have my mum and brother there to support
me wasn't for all. And my brother has been like
the driving force behind mountain biking for me. So shout
(02:05):
out to Finn and.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I know you've been mountain biking for a while, but
did you ever think that you know, being at events
like that, and having that much success would would come
so soon in your career. It's still a pretty young age.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, I mean it's I've always loved biking, but to
be world champ or junior wor champ, it's pretty crazy.
Like I still I still haven't really come to a
grips with it. But yeah, just kind of pinch myself
every now and then and I'm like, oh, I've actually
done it.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So yeah, it's pretty.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Special because every now and then we have had a
few New Zealanders at the Olympics for mountain biking over
set of you know, the past decade or so. But
but you know, for you where did the sports sit
in terms of you know, having something to aspire to
in a New Zealand's you know, silver Ferns Jersey.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, we've.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Had We've had a few pretty amazing athletes through a
cross country which is a slightly different discipline to what
I do.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
But yeah, it's just been it's.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Been pretty cool to have those role models to look
up to. And yeah, no, it's just it's pretty special
to be from little Elsie at all and to represent
us in the world stage.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah. Great, and of course sort of being from the
Lower Heart area, tell us just a bit about Yeah,
your mountain bike Jerny, what actually got you riding in
the first place.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, so my two older brothers, Ben and Finn got
me into it and one of the mountain bike park
one Way Mountain Bike Park is where it all started,
and it's just that, Yeah, an incredible place to ride.
There's lots of of different levels and terrain and whatnot, so.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's it's pretty place to.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Begin the whole mountain biking thing. And then yeah, since then,
just been kind of pretty pretty busy working away at
it and yeah, traveling all over New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, and you mentioned a couple of those other Kii
mountain bikers had had done the cross country stuff. You're
obviously a specialist. And then can you give our listeners
a bit of, you know, backgrounds on why someone like
yourself would go into downhill, you know, what skills you
use for that as opposed to the cross country format.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, so downhill's a lot obviously in the name. It's
it's focused on descending and you're doing you're doing roughly
like five to six hundred meters vertical drop in about
three four minutes, so it's pretty, it's pretty steep, and
I just love the technicality of it and just the
(04:31):
adventa one rush as well. It's pretty, it's pretty cool.
It's something a bit like you know, freestyle skiing or whatnot.
And I've also never been one that has loved peeling
up pills so much. So it's quite enough to have
that gradient on my side when I'm racing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
It's funny, not like in pedling up hills.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But you're from Wellington, Yeah, yeah, well I have to
peel up hills for training, but not on my racing.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Fair enough, fair enough, And tell us about the start
of this year, because you're coming on the of such
an incredibly strong year last year with those you know,
defending your Junior World Cup title and everything like that
or Junior World title, i should say, and things. And
you came into twenty twenty five, you were racing over
in Tasmania at a Red Bull hardline race and can
(05:16):
you just give out listeners, you know, a bit of
background what happened in February tier.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, so it was it was pretty special to be
selected for that event. Only one female athlete had actually
completed that course before me. My teammate grater Hemi Street.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
But yeah, I was having a great time over there,
and in the morning.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Of race day I crashed on an eighty five foot
gap jump and knocked myself out, broke my back, broke
my neck, broke my wrists, and puncture my lung. So
it was a pretty it was a pretty narly one
and pretty scary to get that whole kind of consensus
of what I had done in the hospital. But I
(05:59):
had my five O there.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Which was.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Really really needed, So yeah, it was. It was rough,
but it taught me a lot of lessons and I
came out on the on the other side pretty well
and haven't got no ongoing issues with that, So I'm
I'm pretty happy that the recovery went so well.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yeah, incredible recovery and awesome to see you at the
awards on Thursday night, still at a moonboot. Tell us
about sort of that injury, Is that part of the
wider recovery from that, and just how everything's tracking for
you after such a challenging start to the year. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So actually I actually fully recovered three or so months
ago and went back to Europe for racing in my
first year is an elite writer in the in the
scenior category. But I had I had another tumble and
tore my MCL on my knee.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
So that's a new injury. That's that's cropped up. So yeah,
pretty pretty gutted.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yeah that's frustrating, isn't it just when you think you're
getting on the right track.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah. Yeah, Luckily I didn't the injury because it wasn't
a full rupture. But yeah, still still out for a
for a good three months. So yeah, not not ideal and.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
There's some pretty big setbacks to have at just eighteen
years old. Mentally, how do you you know, do you
find it easy or hard to kind of just just
drive yourself to get that recovery done and get back
to being a full fitness Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It has its challenges, but I'm not I kind of
I kind of knew, you know, injuries come comes free
hand in hand in the sport I've chosen, so I
know it just gives me time to spend to spend
more time in the gym and work on some parts
that I might not be.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
As strong at.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So yes, it's hard because I'm a very sporty, outgoing
person and I love to be busy.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Doing whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So it's hard to be sitting on the couch, but
you know, I find I find things I can keep
myself busy with.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah, amazing. So with with that injury recovery and it's
hopefully sort of later stages, what is next for you?
What what sort of targets are you hoping to meet
to get back to some full competitions.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, so at the moment, it's kind of the final
block of the World Cup circuit, so it's looking pretty
unlikely I will be able to get the tail into that.
But I mean we're still we're still gunning for getting
back on the bike by early October, which is when
the last two races of the season they're in Canada.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So that's still that's still a goal.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
But it's looking like it will it will possibly just
be a bit I'll be a bit too too late
to the party for that one, for the recovery of
my knee. So just just getting into a good rhythm
for the summer and yeah, getting getting back to full
speed by next season.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We know how tough and how competitive is competitive and
often how cutthroat some of these these teams around the
world can be. How have your team been kind of
helping manage some some pretty areas injuries this year.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Oh, they've actually been really good.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
They're super supportive, a lovely, lovely Canadian Canadian team NAUCA
Race Division, and yeah, they've just been with me throughout
and working on what's what's next to my recovery, working
with a local physio from Wellington. So that's been really
good to have all their support, and my teammates as well.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I've been great.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So no, it's been it's been pretty cool to have
their support.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, great to hear and on the back of the
winn at the Wellington Sports Awards the other night. Aras
and of course, yet your past twelve months, what about
long term sort of targets and aims. I guess for
a lot of cyclist your rage it would be, you know,
eyeing the Olympics. But what is in particular for you?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, well, I mean at the moment that my discipline
isn't in the Olympics. It might be in the future,
but who knows. So the moment kind of the pinnacle
event for US as World Champs, which is once a year,
it's that along with the World Series of about ten races.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, yeah, brilliant. Oh well, thanks for chatting, Eric, It's
awesome to hear a bit about your story and and
sort of especially that injury recovering. Glad to hear it's
all going well and yeah, amazing determination to get back
up to the top level. So I really appreciate you
sharing some of your journey. Thanks for chatting, and go
well and all the best with getting back on the
bike properly very soon.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Thanks having me on.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Cheers for more from News Talks ed B.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Listen live on air or online, and keep our shows
with you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
From Junior Netborn at Titi to the Pulse at TSV.
We've got it covered on the All Sport Breakfast with
Rutherford and Bond Toyota and King Toyota on News TALKSB
fourteen to nine here on the All Sport Breakfast. So well,
it was a very fun night at the Wellington Sports
and Recreation Awards the other night. So much to celebrate
of top level sport but also amazing community recreation work
(00:21):
happening in our region. Will give you some of the
main winners shortly, but I wanted to chat to one
of the winners this morning. Eighteen year old mountain biker
Eras van Levin took out the Performance Award in the Angatahi,
which is the Young Person of the Year category. For Eras,
it had been an outstanding mountain biking season. She's been
the back to back Junior UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World
(00:44):
Champion and the twenty twenty four UCI World Cup Overall Champion,
so some amazing success already in her career, which has
also been hampered by some major injuries. So on the
back of her win at the Wellington Sports Awards, Eras
joins us wanting to Eras and congratulations and get another accolade. Firstly,
what did it mean for you to be recognized by
(01:05):
the Wellington sporting community the other night, Yeah, Kilder, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
No, it's been it's been really cool to have the
representation from a pretty a pretty niche sport down on
mountain biking and it's like it's becoming pretty a pretty
big thing in altior at the moment biking, so now
it's pretty cool to showcase that. And yeah stop to
get the award.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
You've had some huge wins and several U c I
titles to your name. Eris is there anything over sort
of the past, you know, twelve eighteen months above all
else that stands out for you as one of your
favorite moments.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, for sure. Last year, late late August, I had
World Champs and yeah I was. I came out on top,
so that was that was a pretty special one for me.
And to have my mum and brother there to support
me wasn't for all. And my brother has been like
the driving force behind mountain biking for me. So shout
(02:05):
out to Finn and.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I know you've been mountain biking for a while, but
did you ever think that you know, being at events
like that, and having that much success would would come
so soon in your career. It's still a pretty young age.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, I mean it's I've always loved biking, but to
be world champ or junior wor champ, it's pretty crazy.
Like I still I still haven't really come to a
grips with it. But yeah, just kind of pinch myself
every now and then and I'm like, oh, I've actually
done it.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So yeah, it's pretty.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Special because every now and then we have had a
few New Zealanders at the Olympics for mountain biking over
set of you know, the past decade or so. But
but you know, for you where did the sports sit
in terms of you know, having something to aspire to
in a New Zealand's you know, silver Ferns Jersey.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, we've.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Had We've had a few pretty amazing athletes through a
cross country which is a slightly different discipline to what
I do.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
But yeah, it's just been it's.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Been pretty cool to have those role models to look
up to. And yeah, no, it's just it's pretty special
to be from little Elsie at all and to represent
us in the world stage.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah. Great, and of course sort of being from the
Lower Heart area, tell us just a bit about Yeah,
your mountain bike Jerny, what actually got you riding in
the first place.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, so my two older brothers, Ben and Finn got
me into it and one of the mountain bike park
one Way Mountain Bike Park is where it all started,
and it's just that, Yeah, an incredible place to ride.
There's lots of of different levels and terrain and whatnot, so.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
It's it's pretty place to.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Begin the whole mountain biking thing. And then yeah, since then,
just been kind of pretty pretty busy working away at
it and yeah, traveling all over New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, and you mentioned a couple of those other Kii
mountain bikers had had done the cross country stuff. You're
obviously a specialist. And then can you give our listeners
a bit of, you know, backgrounds on why someone like
yourself would go into downhill, you know, what skills you
use for that as opposed to the cross country format.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, so downhill's a lot obviously in the name. It's
it's focused on descending and you're doing you're doing roughly
like five to six hundred meters vertical drop in about
three four minutes, so it's pretty, it's pretty steep, and
I just love the technicality of it and just the
(04:31):
adventa one rush as well. It's pretty, it's pretty cool.
It's something a bit like you know, freestyle skiing or whatnot.
And I've also never been one that has loved peeling
up pills so much. So it's quite enough to have
that gradient on my side when I'm racing.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
It's funny, not like in pedling up hills.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
But you're from Wellington, Yeah, yeah, well I have to
peel up hills for training, but not on my racing.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Fair enough, fair enough, And tell us about the start
of this year, because you're coming on the of such
an incredibly strong year last year with those you know,
defending your Junior World Cup title and everything like that
or Junior World title, i should say, and things. And
you came into twenty twenty five, you were racing over
in Tasmania at a Red Bull hardline race and can
(05:16):
you just give out listeners, you know, a bit of
background what happened in February tier.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, so it was it was pretty special to be
selected for that event. Only one female athlete had actually
completed that course before me. My teammate grater Hemi Street.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
But yeah, I was having a great time over there,
and in the morning.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Of race day I crashed on an eighty five foot
gap jump and knocked myself out, broke my back, broke
my neck, broke my wrists, and puncture my lung. So
it was a pretty it was a pretty narly one
and pretty scary to get that whole kind of consensus
of what I had done in the hospital. But I
(05:59):
had my five O there.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Which was.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Really really needed, So yeah, it was. It was rough,
but it taught me a lot of lessons and I
came out on the on the other side pretty well
and haven't got no ongoing issues with that, So I'm
I'm pretty happy that the recovery went so well.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Yeah, incredible recovery and awesome to see you at the
awards on Thursday night, still at a moonboot. Tell us
about sort of that injury, Is that part of the
wider recovery from that, and just how everything's tracking for
you after such a challenging start to the year. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So actually I actually fully recovered three or so months
ago and went back to Europe for racing in my
first year is an elite writer in the in the
scenior category. But I had I had another tumble and
tore my MCL on my knee.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
So that's a new injury. That's that's cropped up. So yeah,
pretty pretty gutted.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yeah that's frustrating, isn't it just when you think you're
getting on the right track.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah. Yeah, Luckily I didn't the injury because it wasn't
a full rupture. But yeah, still still out for a
for a good three months. So yeah, not not ideal and.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
There's some pretty big setbacks to have at just eighteen
years old. Mentally, how do you you know, do you
find it easy or hard to kind of just just
drive yourself to get that recovery done and get back
to being a full fitness Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It has its challenges, but I'm not I kind of
I kind of knew, you know, injuries come comes free
hand in hand in the sport I've chosen, so I
know it just gives me time to spend to spend
more time in the gym and work on some parts
that I might not be.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
As strong at.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
So yes, it's hard because I'm a very sporty, outgoing
person and I love to be busy.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Doing whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So it's hard to be sitting on the couch, but
you know, I find I find things I can keep
myself busy with.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah, amazing. So with with that injury recovery and it's
hopefully sort of later stages, what is next for you?
What what sort of targets are you hoping to meet
to get back to some full competitions.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, so at the moment, it's kind of the final
block of the World Cup circuit, so it's looking pretty
unlikely I will be able to get the tail into that.
But I mean we're still we're still gunning for getting
back on the bike by early October, which is when
the last two races of the season they're in Canada.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So that's still that's still a goal.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
But it's looking like it will it will possibly just
be a bit I'll be a bit too too late
to the party for that one, for the recovery of
my knee. So just just getting into a good rhythm
for the summer and yeah, getting getting back to full
speed by next season.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We know how tough and how competitive is competitive and
often how cutthroat some of these these teams around the
world can be. How have your team been kind of
helping manage some some pretty areas injuries this year.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Oh, they've actually been really good.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
They're super supportive, a lovely, lovely Canadian Canadian team NAUCA
Race Division, and yeah, they've just been with me throughout
and working on what's what's next to my recovery, working
with a local physio from Wellington. So that's been really
good to have all their support, and my teammates as well.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
I've been great.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
So no, it's been it's been pretty cool to have
their support.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, great to hear and on the back of the
winn at the Wellington Sports Awards the other night. Aras
and of course, yet your past twelve months, what about
long term sort of targets and aims. I guess for
a lot of cyclist your rage it would be, you know,
eyeing the Olympics. But what is in particular for you?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, well, I mean at the moment that my discipline
isn't in the Olympics. It might be in the future,
but who knows. So the moment kind of the pinnacle
event for US as World Champs, which is once a year,
it's that along with the World Series of about ten races.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, yeah, brilliant. Oh well, thanks for chatting, Eric, It's
awesome to hear a bit about your story and and
sort of especially that injury recovering. Glad to hear it's
all going well and yeah, amazing determination to get back
up to the top level. So I really appreciate you
sharing some of your journey. Thanks for chatting, and go
well and all the best with getting back on the
bike properly very soon.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Thanks having me on.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Cheers for more from News Talks ed B.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Listen live on air or online, and keep our shows
with you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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