In just a couple of years, she has gone from training crossfit and leading fitness classes to competing internationally in XCM. Terese is new to racing, but the physiotherapist from Mellerud, Sweden, has some kind of primal strenght. How else can one explain that she has stepped straight into the Swedish women's MTB elite? From bike commuting and exercise sessions in the Dalsland forests, to a strong P11 at the XCM World Championships in Scotland.
"I started competing in the summer of 2022, participated in a few smaller races locally and then tried the Swedish Marathon series. It was fun, and it went so well that I decided to go for it", says Terese Andersson.
It seems that she was right to do so. With one race remaining in the Marathon Series, Terese is in the lead and she has also achieved good results in other European races. A rather exceptional achievement for a "rookie". If you take a closer look at Terese's background, however, you realize that she's not exactly a complete newcomer at training hard. Terese has always trained, and at a level above the average exerciser. Running, crossfit and mountain biking in the forests around her hometown are a part of her background, and on top of that she leads interval sessions at Friskis & Svettis training center.
Yet, she could hardly have imagined that she would be cycling in the national team in the same year as her 40th birthday.
"Haha, no. But many ultrarunners and long-distance athletes are my age. The body gets better at performing for a long time when you get a little older. Since I'm new, I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I do it because it's fun, then I ride as well as I can".
TERESE ON CYCLING GLOVES
"Gloves are really important. You need good grip on downhills, when changing gears and taking drops. That's where the Hestra and Allebike co-lab glove works very well, it fits perfectly and is cool", says Terese.
In the winter, the focus is different. Priority number one is to keep the hands warm and dry. Winter training contains less technical cycling and more distance training to build endurance.
"We can be out for three or four hours and it can get really cold. Cycling is different from running, your body is more stationary and your hands are exposed to both wind and the cool contact from the handlebars. It can be tricky to find gloves that works in different temperatures, but I've used Hestra's lined cross-country ski gloves and they often work well."
