Hannah Mullin

Talent, Tenacity, Toughness – mountain biker Hannah has it in spades

Portadown Enduro MTB racer Hannah Mullin sums up this category of mountain bike racing in three words; ‘Fast, Techy and very tough.’  “I just love the thrill of riding trails fast downhill,” says Hannah, “It’s such a cool sport and gives you a real adrenalin rush. There’s no better feeling.”

Hannah has recently returned from Europe after competing in UCI Enduro World Cup races, two of which were in Italy and the other in Austria.

To put it simply and using the UCI explanation, Enduro is mountain biking’s equivalent of car rallying. Each racer faces multiple descents across a day or days and must pedal themselves to the top of each stage. There are set start times for each stage, with transition breaks in between stages and the shortest cumulative time for all stages wins. Only the downhill descents are timed.

As Hannah explains, the rules of Enduro racing are strict for UCI World Cup race:

“With up to 5 or 6 stages, we are advised of stage start times before the race and it’s up to each rider to make those start times.  Transition times can vary between stages, but always involve a climb to the top of a mountain to start the next stage.

“The longest climb/transition I had this year was in Leogang in Austria. From the starting point we were allocated 3 hours to reach stage one and if you miss the start-time you receive a penalty So, it’s definitely full-on.  I have to carry my own food, repair kits etc and do everything myself. It’s not like F1 – I can’t wheel my bike into a pitstop where a team of people fix everything. In Enduro you need to be an all-rounder.  Although at the Enduro UCI races tech stops were 20 minutes, transition periods can be two or even three hours. For example, from start to finish including transitions the Leogang event lasted approximately 9.5 hours covering 70kms of tough racing.”

Hannah’s dad has always mountain biked and has competed locally Ireland wide, so to some extent it’s in the genes. Hannah started cycling at age three, and though she has tried and loved other competitive sports including horse-riding, football, swimming and skiing, she admits she is totally hooked on mountain bike racing.

Enduro has been described as the definitive test for the mountain biker with each race event creating atmosphere, community, competition and adventure for all riders, challenging their technical ability and physical capacity.

A student at St Ronan’s College in Lurgan, Hannah is a member of Gortin MTB (Mountain Bike) Club and Vitus First Tracks Race Division which is run by team manager and former professional mountain biker Glyn O’Brien from Newry.

It’s a costly sport to be involved in as an amateur so Hannah is naturally delighted to have been awarded funding from the Mary Peters Trust along with other athletes in early Summer 2023.

“As travel costs are so expensive and we have a lot of gear to bring across to competitions in addition to our bikes, this would be even more difficult if we didn’t have support from Vitus Bikes and my team Vitus First Tracks Race division. I also very much appreciate the financial support I’ve received from the Mary Peters Trust.

Competition events for Hannah have taken her and her family across Europe to Austria, France and Italy as well as all parts of Ireland and the UK. Her proudest moment to date is coming second in the U21s Trophy of Nations 2022 which took place in the Finale Ligure region of North Italy. At that time Hannah was a 16-year-old racing in the U21 female solo category.

Hannah is kind of unique as there aren’t many U21 females involved in her sport. She’s competed at the elite end of the sport since aged 13 and her ultimate dream is to one day be a professional mountain biker – but knows how hard that will be to attain. Meanwhile there are upcoming rounds of and points to be gained in the Enduro World Cup during September 2023 in France.

Whilst she is fully focussed on training both on and off the bike, coaching is also a big part of her life. Not only is Hannah completing a BTEC in Sports Coaching and Development, but also helps out as a coach at a local gym. “I love coaching and know it will help me in my sport as well as enabling me to build for the future – whatever I end up doing.”

Hannah’s advice could apply to any athlete or anyone in life and work,: ‘Stick to your sport, enjoy meeting new people, have fun and above all you must love it’