Ambassador Stories

Helen Gaskell
E-Enduro Racer

We caught up with Helen Gaskell to learn more about her favourite places to race, what the future holds and what her steed of choice is when racing.

Ambassador Stories

Helen Gaskell
E-Enduro Racer

We caught up with Helen Gaskell to learn more about her favourite places to race, what the future holds and what her steed of choice is when racing.

Photography and interview courtesy of Ben Gerrish

From racing the boys around her local park, to racing DH World Championships, Helen Gaskell has been there done it and is still killing it. You'll now find Helen racing some of your favourite events around the UK and more than likely on the podium at the end of the day. She has big plans for her S-Works Levo in 2023 and we can't wait to tag along for the ride.

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Q. What is your background in Mountain Biking? How did you get into it?

A. Mountain biking has been in my life since I was a little girl, as soon as I could ride a bike I was off playing in the park racing all the boys. I started racing xc when I was only 8 years old, from that day I have never stopped riding and racing my bike. I got into riding just from playing on the park in front of my parents house, one of the boys started racing with his dad and they asked if I wanted to go so my parents took me along and that was that.


Q. What has been your favourite place to race/favourite race in particular?

A. I have loved many races over the years and it’s so hard to pick just one, Fort William Downhill world champs was insane because the crowds would just line the whole track, then the world cup in Schladming Austria was my favourite race track as it was 5 minutes of steep technical woods and not much pedalling then also Brazil was an amazing world cup venue, the finish was at the beach.
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Q. How are you finding racing E enduro? How different is it to racing an analogue bike?

A. E bikes have changed everything, I love my e-bike, the races I have done so far have been incredibly hard, long days, 14 long stages in one day, over 40 miles and 10,000ft of climbing.
Not all e-bike races are like that, the EWS make them hard as they have too. I love the technical challenge of the power stages and riding so many races tracks in one day just makes it so much fun.
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Q. Tell us about the E-bike you choose to race on? Have you changed the set-up at all?

A. My choice of E- bike for racing is the Specialized Full Fat Levo, it’s the S-Works, I’m a lucky girl, it has all the best kit on, having the best brakes to me is so important on any bike, but so important for e-biking, you need to be able to stop fast on a e-bike as they are heavier than a normal analogue bike, for me the Magura MT 7 are my choice every time. The Levo has a big 700 watt hr battery, it’s a mullet so 29er front and 27.5 rear which I think really suits me on tighter stages for example in the tweed valley where I raced the EWS – E and I train there a lot, I have put some high rise bars on as I really like that feel and I run 750mm wide bars, everything else on my bike is standard and works just lovely.
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Q. How does the Levo aid your winter riding/training?

A. Riding in the winter is always that little harder here in the north east of England, but not when you have an E-bike, I put my favourite Hill Billy mud tyres on and go ride some wet and rutty tracks at my local riding spot Hamsterley Forest. It just means I can ride for a couple of hours and get so much more riding in and most importantly have loads of fun.


Q. What race are you most looking forward to next year?

A. Lots of plans for 2023, I love the Ard Rock and Ard Moors events, I want to race some new and exciting E bike races in 2023, the E bike Mount Blanc looks amazing, the E-bike Boosh Challenge series and any new events that will be happening I will be keen to do and plan some fun adventures with my riding friends.

The Kit

Take a look at some of the kit Helen uses when competing and training.