Two collisions and a flat tire into her first race for Team USA, in the Netherlands, senior Sarah Ogden felt her stomach sink. She had lost too much time to continue and was being pulled out of the race, but she knew she’d come too far and gone through too much to simply give up.
“The pain of working through setbacks or just intense physical pain during a race is significantly less than the pain you get knowing you didn’t do all that you could,” Ogden said. And so she did all she could, competing in two more races even though she didn’t have to, coming in ninth and 11th place, respectively.
By the end of her short trip, there was something breathtakingly cathartic about the way such a minimal amount of time had impacted her career as a biker.
“I was really proud of all that I’d learned,” Ogden said. “I went in with the mentality that I’d do the best I could representing my country and I came back as a much stronger rider and with a lot more skill and confidence going into future races.”
Ogden was presented with the opportunity to race for Team USA during her junior year by the coach of the Redwood biking team.
“It was really just sheer luck,” Ogden explained. “I honestly didn’t think I was at that level and never even considered it, but my coach heard they had an opening and put my name forward.”
Ogden, who had only been mountain biking for three years, jumped at the opportunity and flew out to Europe during the summer, all expenses covered, where she participated in three main races, representing the United States throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. “I just got lucky,” Ogden said. “There was an opening at the right time and right place.”
It was three years ago that Ogden first got on a mountain bike after being recruited by friends for the Redwood biking team due to a shortage of girls. Ogden said she believes it was just by chance that this opportunity made itself visible to her, but it didn’t take long for her to realize this would be far more than just a phase.
Without a doubt, Ogden believes biking is something that she’ll be sticking with for a while. “It’s something that, looking back on, continues to amaze me,” Ogden said.
“It only took about ‘til my fifth ride for me to realize I really loved mountain biking and that it was something I wanted to continue with,” she said. “It was pouring rain, freezing cold, and there was thunder in the background and about halfway through, sopping, covered in mud, I realized I had this massive grin on my face and that the only way I could possibly be having fun in these conditions was if I really loved it. It was a crystal clear moment for me.”
Ogden has a clear set of goals for the future.
“Part of mountain biking is that anything could happen,” she said. “Of course it depends where I end up regionally for college, but it’s something I have every intention of doing the rest of my life even if it’s not competitively.”
Come October, Ogden will begin training once again with Redwood’s biking team after returning from a season break. This year, she plans to focus on the California State Championship and Nationals. Although she recently got bumped out of the juniors’ leagues due to her age, Ogden will be competing in the intermediate and pro categories for the majority of her races.
As a returning captain of the Redwood team, Ogden hopes to help and inspire the newer members, while encouraging them to take advantage of future opportunities.
“I try to be a leader on the team, and I honestly love sharing my passion and helping others grow who want to try mountain biking, so mentoring the other girls on the team has been really fun for me,” Ogden said.
