World BMX champion Shanaze Reade will make her professional mountain biking debut at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William on 6-7 June.

The Fort William 4X event will be ideal preparation for the 20-year-old who will launch a bid for the 4X World Championship title later this year.

"I've always loved mountain biking but this will be my first real test competitively," she said.

"I want to prove that I'm versatile and I'm going for a big year."

Reade is a multi-talented cyclist, and has already won a world track cycling gold medal in the women's team sprint in 2008, and a bronze this year.

She was hot favourite for Olympic BMX gold in Beijing but suffered a crash as she challenged for the lead in the final and missed out on a medal.

The 4X event is particularly challenging, as riders compete in groups of four in a knockout event over a 400m-long course incorporating jumps, step-ups and other testing features.

The two fastest proceed to the next round until the ultimate winner is crowned.

"I've heard great things about the course at Fort William," said Reade.

"It'll be brilliant fun but a major challenge too. Bring it on!"

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version