• Elizabeth Sampey
    • Iceland -- "Off The Beaten Path" Expedition 2015
    • Guatemala -- 2015/2016
    • Volcanarchy Expedition, Guatemala 2016
    • Georgia to Quebec -- Summer 2016
    • Peru: Expedicion Ancash -- Fall 2016
    • Van Life Storm Chasing Colorado/Utah: Jan/Feb 2017
    • Expedition: Alaska -- Bikepacking & Packrafting Aug/Sept 2017
    • Return to Iceland: Glacier360 Stage Race Aug 2017
    • Wild Women's Project -- Sept 2017
    • Arizona to Alaska Summer 2017
    • Unconventional Life -- Italy: May 2017
    • Desert Days, Arizona Singletrack, Spring 2017
    • Bike Racing
  • media
  • appearances
  • partnerships
  • blog
  • van life
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  • contact
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Vital Motion Life

off the beaten path
  • Elizabeth Sampey
  • adventures
    • Iceland -- "Off The Beaten Path" Expedition 2015
    • Guatemala -- 2015/2016
    • Volcanarchy Expedition, Guatemala 2016
    • Georgia to Quebec -- Summer 2016
    • Peru: Expedicion Ancash -- Fall 2016
    • Van Life Storm Chasing Colorado/Utah: Jan/Feb 2017
    • Expedition: Alaska -- Bikepacking & Packrafting Aug/Sept 2017
    • Return to Iceland: Glacier360 Stage Race Aug 2017
    • Wild Women's Project -- Sept 2017
    • Arizona to Alaska Summer 2017
    • Unconventional Life -- Italy: May 2017
    • Desert Days, Arizona Singletrack, Spring 2017
    • Bike Racing
  • media
  • appearances
  • partnerships
  • blog
  • van life
  • coaching
  • contact
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Endurance Mountain Bike Racing 

Beti Bike Bash, Denver CO. Photo by Mark Woolcott.jpg

 

I have been racing bikes since 2008. 

 

From 2008-2016, bike racing was my life. I jumped into the racing scene first on a road bike, loving the thrills, spills and fast action of criterium racing. I won Colorado state championship titles in both criterium and road race disciplines, and worked my way up to the elite level in road and cyclocross racing. 


In 2010 I reconnected with my first love, the mountain bike, and entered my first mountain bike race. This quickly became passion bordering on obsession as I centered my entire life around racing my mountain bike, moving from cross-country to marathon and finally to ultraendurance and stage racing on an international level. I won a Colorado state championship title in the Cross-Country discipline, and a USA National Championship title in the Super Downhill (sort of a pre-cursor to the modern day Enduro races).

In 2012, I earned my UCI Professional license as a mountain biker. 


Throughout this whole process, my goal remained the same: to be good enough to race on an international level and be supported in doing so, without compromising what I value in a race: adventurous, challenging in all aspects of being an athlete (not just being fast), and a fun course and/or really beautiful or unique terrain. 


I reached that goal in 2014 when I landed on the podium in the highly competitive Breck Epic, a 6-day international stage race right in my own backyard. This was also the year I got my first win in a 100 mile race, the Breck 100. Since then, I have traveled to Guatemala, Ecuador, Canada, and Iceland to race my bike on the international level. I have over 20 career wins on my mountain & road bikes, many podium finishes, and countless incredible experiences with wonderful people across the world through racing my bike. 


More importantly, all of my adventures in racing my bike over the years has made me a better human; confident that I have the skills needed to tackle challenges and obstacles not only on my bike, but in the rest of my life as well. 


Since 2016, my focus has been primarily on creating and implementing my own challenges in the backcountry through multisport expeditions. I am still primarily a mountain biker, but I also incorporate other ways to travel through mountains such as backcountry skiing, ski mountaineering, fat biking, bikepacking, and alpine running. This allows me to combine all the assets I've gained through adventure mountain bike racing, the backcountry knowledge I have from my years of backcountry skiing, and all the creativity I could ever possibly desire. 


I continue to compete in ultraendurance and stage races on my mountain bike, as they are great training for expeditions and heaps of fun. When I'm racing, I am at my absolute best as a person: completely focused physically, mentally, and emotionally on the task at hand, giving my best in every moment, putting negative thoughts and experiences behind me and always looking ahead at my next move. I still stand on my fair share of podiums, and I'd be willing to bet that racing will remain a part of my life for a long time. 


Notable Race Results

 

  • Vuelta al Cotopaxi (Ecuador) -- 2nd (Duos)

  • Grizzly 50 (Canada) -- 1st 

  • El Reto del Quetzal Stage Race 4 day -- Guatemala: 2nd (Duos)

  • Pisgah Stage Race 5 day -- 1st (Duos)

  • Transylvania Epic Stage Race 5 day -- 3rd (Duos) 

  • Carrabassett 100 -- 1st

  • Breckenridge 100 -- 1st

  • Crested Butte 100 -- 2nd 

  • Craftsbury 50 -- 2nd 

  • Sedona BFL -- 3rd

  • Glacier360 Stage Race 3 Day (Iceland) -- 1st (Duos)

  • US National Championships -- 1st Super Downhill (2012)

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