Shropshire Star

'If your bones aren't broken you get back on your bike' says mountain biker, 17

A sixth form student at a north Shropshire school races downhill at breakneck speed, risking life and limb in the process... and she thinks it's great fun!

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Moreton Hall’s Sixth Form student Ellie Jones proved her status as one of the nation’s most formidable Enduro mountain bike racers

Ellie Jones, 17, has recently proved her status as one of the nation’s most formidable Enduro mountain bike racers by finishing fourth in the national championships and first at the Ard Rock Enduro.

A student at Moreton Hall independent boarding and day school near Weston, Rhyn says she sees tumbles as inevitable as she competes against women in the under 30 age category.

After one particularly bad fall when she and her bike flew separately through the air and landed with a brutal thud, the peak of her helmet broke off, her helmet was dented and she thought she had broken her shoulder.

But after a few minutes, she was back in the saddle, in pain, but with no broken bones.

“If it’s not broken, you get back on your bike,” she said.

She goes through phases when she crashes more often, and phases when she doesn’t crash for a good while.

“You get up, get back on your bike and off you go,” she added.

Ellie Jones has been into the sport for about five years

Ellie was inspired into the sport at the age of 12 as she followed the tread marks of her father.

After trying downhill and some cross country, Ellie settled on Enduro where racers can take an hour to bike uphill and then go extremely fast down in a couple of minutes using hand-cut, off-piste trails.

“It’s the less lazy version of downhill,” Ellie said.

But why would anyone want to risk life and limb on the edge of a mountain ledge? Ellie said: "It is so fun. Racing is an escape from everything else.”

After a successful season she's looking onwards, upwards and downwards and plans to push herself to national and world Enduro.

And next year she faces her A-levels and university choices, as well as her Enduro.

The biggest riding challenge for Ellie, which also applies to life in general: “Knowing what you can and can’t do. How to push yourself, but also knowing your boundaries.”