Haley Smith, based out of the Cycling sa国际传媒 national training centre on Bear Mountain, has again showed why she is being labelled the Next One in mountain biking.
Smith reached her first senior World Cup podium Sunday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, by taking women鈥檚 bronze. That follows up Smith鈥檚 bronze medal, her first major international medal, last year at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
sa国际传媒 has a history of success in women鈥檚 mountain biking.
Smith is following in the pedal straps of three-time world champion and 1996 Atlanta Olympics silver medallist Alison Sydor of Victoria, 2004 Athens Olympics silver medallist and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallist Marie-H茅l猫ne Pr茅mont of Quebec City, and Victoria-trained two-time world-champion, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold-medallist and 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist Catharine Pendrel.
鈥淚鈥檝e always liked this [Czech] course,鈥� said overall world No. 8-ranked Smith, in a statement through Cycling sa国际传媒.
鈥淚t really feels like mountain biking. It鈥檚 got flow and is about being a bike rider. That鈥檚 what I did. I just found the flow and I went for it. I think I was 15 seconds out of top-five heading out on the last lap, and [national team coach Dan Proulx of Victoria] yelled: 鈥楽even seconds!鈥� I knew I just had to give it everything I had, because I would regret it if I didn鈥檛.鈥�
sa国际传媒鈥檚 top mountain bikers are centralized on Bear Mountain under Proulx鈥檚 mentorship.
