Dirt

Frenchwoman Anne Caroline Chausson has an incredible competition record in a variety of bike disciplines, including BMX, at which she has won Olympic gold. However, she is most famous for being the most celebrated female mountain biker in history, winning major competitions in enduro, downhill time trial, cross-country mass start, dual, and 4X.

Her first taste of bikes came at the age of six, when she learnt BMX tricks from her older brothers at the local park. She soon claimed her first world BMX title in the under-10s category, and went on to win further junior world titles in 1992 and 1993. However, at the age of 16, she gave up BMX to devote herself full-time to mountain biking.

Since then, she has had 20 years of almost unbroken mountain bike success, winning 55 UCI races (a world record), and taking 19 World Cup or World Championship titles, including five consecutive World Cup downhill titles between 1998 and 2002. She also won the World Cup dual slalom crown in 2000, and the first-ever World Cup 4X title in 2002.

In 2007, her career came full circle as she got back on her BMX to prepare for the sport’s first Olympic appearance the following year. It was a good decision – she was crowned French and European BMX champion that year, and went on to win Olympic gold in Beijing. Over the last few years, she has moved on again, competing with great success in enduro races such as the Trans-Provence and the Enduro World Series.