INSIDE THE PROS’ BIKES: GWENDALYN GIBSON COULD BE AMERICA’S NEXT BIG WORLD CUP CROSS-COUNTRY STAR
Photos by Andy Vathis
Gwendalyn Gibson is one of the newest World Cup stars to come from the USA. Readers who pay close attention to cross-country racing know that Europeans have been dominating the podiums at the World Cup level for the last 30 years, with only a few exceptions.
This year a new American face started showing up on the World Cup podiums—Gwendalyn Gibson, who won the Elite Women’s Short Track at the World Cup race in Snowshoe, West Virginia, last summer.
After leaving the U23 ranks last year, Gibson is coming to be seen as one of the best cross-country racers in the world, and she is only starting her second year in the Elite Women’s ranks. Read on to learn more about her and the bike she was racing in 2022 at the toughest mountain bike events in the world.
RIDER PROFILE
Name: Gwendalyn Gibson
Age: 24
Birthdate: April 5, 1999
Birthplace: Mammoth, California
Height: 5-foot-6
Shoe size: 41
Helmet size: Small
Marital status: Single
Current home: Grand Junction, Colorado
Started racing: 2014
Turned pro: 2022
Racing specialty: XCO mountain bike
Favorite course (North America): Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup
Favorite course (Europe): Vallnord, Andorra, World Cup
Favorite food: Pizza
Goals: My top three goals are to compete for the USA in an Olympics, win a World Championship medal, and win an XCO World Cup
Heroes: Lea Davidson is a mentor/hero to me and a great role model in mountain biking. Chloe Woodruff is also one of my heroes
Favorite recording artist: Dominic Fike
Favorite hobbies: Biking, hiking, anything outside!
Jobs held (other than racer): Barista, exercise science lab tech
What you would be if you were not a racer: I would work in the exercise science field, in a lab, or doing physio
INSIDE THE PROS’ BIKES
GWENDALYN GIBSON’S NORCO REVOLVER FS 100
Frame: Norco Revolver FS 100, medium, carbon
Fork: RockShox SID, 100mm
Tires: Kenda, 29-inch
Sealant: Stan’s with Cush-Core insert
Rims: DT Swiss
Front hub: DT Swiss
Rear hub: DT Swiss
Brakes: SRAM Level TLM
Handlebar: FSA 680
Bottom bracket: SRAM DUB
Bottom bracket height: 333mm (13.11″)
Grips: WTB
Cranks: SRAM XX1 Eagle DUB, carbon, 170mm
Pedals: Crankbrothers
Chain: SRAM Eagle
Rear derailleur: SRAM AXS XX1 Eagle
Shifter: SRAM AXS XX1Eagle
Rear cassette: SRAM XX1 Eagle, 10-52
Saddle: WTB Silverado
Seatpost: FSA
Headset: FSA
Head angle: 68.5 degrees
Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe
Stem: FSA, 60mm
Extras: Wahoo computer
Weight of complete bike: 23 pounds
MBA Q&A
MBA: Where did you grow up?
Gwendalyn: Ramona, California.
MBA: What kind of work do, or did, your parents do?
Gwendalyn: My mom used to make wedding cakes and also worked at a bio-tech company. My dad owns an auto-detailing company.
MBA: When did you first learn to ride a bike?
Gwendalyn: When I was younger, I learned to ride on camping trips with my family.
MBA: Who taught you?
Gwendalyn: My dad and high school coach Robert Grace taught me to ride.
MBA: Did you compete on other kinds of bikes before mountain bikes? If so, what kind? When did you do it, and how well did you do?
Gwendalyn: I have only ever raced mountain bikes, but I used to do endurance races that were six hours when I was younger, and I did very well in them.
MBA: When did you get your first mountain bike?
Gwendalyn: I got my first mountain bike when I was a freshman in high school.
MBA: When did you start competing on mountain bikes?
Gwendalyn: I started competing when was 15.
MBA: How did you finish in your first competition?
Gwendalyn: My first competition I was racing in the Freshman Girls category In the SoCal NICA league and I finished in seventh place.
MBA: Did you win any titles as an amateur?
Gwendalyn: I won my first National Championship when I was racing in the Junior Girls category.
MBA: What have been your best results as a pro?
Gwendalyn: My best results have been my Short Track win at the World Cup in Snowshoe, and the next weekend, at the MSA [Mont-Sainte-Anne] World Cup, I was second in Short Track.
MBA: Did you go to college?
Gwendalyn: I graduated from college in May of 2021 and got my BS in exercise science.
MBA: What other sports have you done?
Gwendalyn: I have done gymnastics, volleyball, cross-country running, track running and soccer.
