Fostering a riding future
Jaide Foster wishes she had more female competition, but the 15-year-old can still be proud of winning a B.C. Cup downhill championship.
“I think more girls should ride bikes because it’s really fun and I want more girls to ride with,” said Foster, who splits time between Sun Peaks, with her mom, and Kamloops, with pops.
She locked up the provincial title after Race 7 on the eight-race series.
The four regulars competing in the girls’ 15-to-18-year-old division were no slouches.
Samantha Hoover of Vernon will likely finish second in the overall standings, with Isabella Roeleveld of North Vancouver and Mikayla Martin of Garibaldi Highlands left to battle for third.
Foster won gold in four of seven races, but the margin of victory was often slim.
(Results for Race 8, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 2, in Hemlock, were unavailable as of KTW’s press time. Log on to mountainbike.cyclingbc.net to find out how Foster fared.)
Foster, a NorKam secondary student, wanted to try downhill this season to see how she liked it.
“It’s been really fun, but it can be really expensive, so next year I might not do as many races,” she said.
“I want to learn how to hit jumps and free-ride. I want to be an all-around rider, not strictly racing.”
The B.C. Cup series stops this season were in Kamloops, Victoria, Sun Peaks, Vernon, Invermere, Golden, Courtenay and Hemlock, near Chilliwack.
Riders must compete in six of them to be eligible for the overall points title. Foster completed all eight.
With her parents — “They’re my No. 1 sponsor,” she said. — forking up most of the travel cash, Foster might soon begin hunting for sponsorship.
Most of her biking partners are male and Foster mentioned several times in an interview with KTW how much she would appreciate some female riding buddies.
“In the way of girls, there’s not a whole lot,” she said.
“I know it’s tough to get up to Sun Peaks, but I think a lot more girls should ride.”
Riding with Foster would be great practise — she spends plenty of time on dirt.
“When the chairlifts are running, I don’t see my dad as much,” she said, noting she likes all the trails local mountains have to offer.
The young rider is just taking things as they come for now, having fun and riding to get better.
Provincial titles are just an added bonus.
“I’m not even super sure what’s out there,” Foster said.
“I just started riding a little while ago. I just want to get super good.”
Stewart wins gold
Kyleigh Stewart of Kamloops won the female under-15 division on the B.C. Cup downhill circuit.
The 12-year-old rides for Cycling BC, the Bicycle Cafe and Mostly Mental Shuttles.
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