Love At First Ride with Mari Holden (Episode 65)

Girls Gone Gravel podcast

This week on the podcast Kathryn & Kristi chat with former professional cyclist Mari Holden. Mari confesses she has been in love with the sport of cycling since getting her first bike as a kid. This love took her all the way to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where she won a silver medal in the time trial. Mari spent her professional cycling career racing on the road across Europe and North America in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. She talks about the changes she has seen in the cycling industry since then, and reiterates why it is important that we keep advocating for more media coverage of women’s racing to continue to bring exposure and attention to women’s cycling.

After retiring from her own athletic career, Mari worked as the director for team Twenty20, and now serves as the Community Director for USA Cycling. She is passionate about diversifying the sport and getting more people, especially young women, on bikes.

Mari took part in her first gravel race this year at the Last Best Ride. She tells us what she loves most about gravel, and how embracing a new discipline of cycling has helped keep her excited about the sport.

Follow Mari on Instagram @msmariholden and learn more about the USAC Let’s Ride initiative at https://usacycling.org/article/learn-about-lets-ride

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