How mountain biking revived Elizabeth Nuspan’s love for cycling

Following a traumatic cycling accident in 2021 that left her in hospital for 42 days with a broken pelvis, Elizabeth Nuspan started to question her future in the sport.

The 22-year-old Victorian grew up racing bikes at the velodrome and on the road.

In 2020 at age 18, she packed up her bags and made the move to Europe, chasing a dream of racing overseas after being offered a huge racing schedule.

However, Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works as many races were cancelled.

For someone who relished racing and pushing themselves to the limit through competition, it was a huge blow.

“I would say that I'm more of racer than a trainer. I try and get to every race that I can possibly get to,” Nuspan reflected.

“During Covid, the entire freedom of racing whatever race I wanted to, was taken from me. It was the same for everyone, it wasn't just for me, but when that's something that gives me joy in the sport and it was just gone.”

When racing resumed, Nuspan started to attract attention with her results and was picked up by an Italian UCI Continental Women’s team, giving her the opportunity to ride in bigger races. Everything looked to be heading in the right direction,

But then in June 2021, Nuspan would face one of the biggest hurdles in her career and life. She was hit by a car while riding in Italy and broke her pelvis.

“I was just like, ‘Oh, what do I do now?’ I just felt like all the cards were stacked against me.

“I completely forgot about why I got into the sport in the first place, which is because I like riding my bike.”

Traumatised by the accident, the sport that once provided joy and freedom had changed.

“I just didn't trust anyone. I just thought that no-one was going to stop, or no-one was going to see me,” Nuspan said.

Sparking joy

Things turned around when Nuspan started working in a bike shop back in Australia.

“There were a lot more mountain bikes being sold than road bikes and I was like, ‘What is the go with this? Why have I never been introduced to this sport before?’”

Her first ride on a mountain bike sparked a newfound passion in two wheels. She didn’t have a power meter, she didn’t have a race calendar; she would just ride.

“Being in high level road and track cycling for so long, my entire training schedule was sort of evolved around numbers,” she said.

“When I was overseas, I was in Covid. All my training was solo, so I just completely forgot the feeling that I had have like the happiness of just riding my bike, enjoying where I am.

"I was just so focused on the number in my head that I lost that sense of freedom.”

In the off-road discipline however, Nuspan found joy in the challenge of pushing herself, ticking off small achievements or noticing small improvements along the way.

“I would look back on Strava segments and go, ‘Oh, I've gone faster today’. Or if I felt more comfortable on this section than what I did last time or maybe I needed to walk down certain bits of track because it was too difficult for me, and then eventually, once getting up the courage and maybe gaining some extra skills, I could ride down instead of walking down it.

“I just wanted to keep challenging myself so that I could become better in my own riding. I thought that if I get to a level that I'm comfortable and confident that I do want to race mountain biking again, it's not like it's a completely different sport.”

It wasn’t long before Peta Mullens from Australian UCI Women’s Continental Team Roxsolt Liv SRAM asked Nuspan to join the team and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Now I just love getting out every day.”

A learning curve

At the beginning of last year, Nuspan started mountain bike racing. She conquered and won the 2023 Cape to Cape with Caitlyn Brazier, tackled the Dwellingup 100, and won the 2023 Otway Odyssey 50km.

She also came away with a bronze medal at the 2023 AusCycling MTB Marathon National Championships.

“I didn't know that I had five and a half hours in me, but apparently I do,” Nuspan said.

2023 Elite Women's Marathon National Championships podium: Katherine Hosking (2nd), Peta Mullens (1st), and Elizabeth Nuspan (3rd). Picture: AusCycling

She revealed that one of the most challenging aspects of transitioning into MTB had been how to be efficient on the bike.

“I feel quite comfortable in a bunch on the road and then going across to mountain biking, there's no bunch like when you're in the single track; you have to be efficient in your own riding.

“My first couple of races, I was wasting so much energy because I would be sprinting to get back onto the wheel and braking so hard because I wouldn't trust how my tyres would react or how my bike would react for a certain section of trail.

“That was a huge learning curve for me.”

Her own mentality toward racing has shifted too since taking up MTB.

“If I'm not winning, I don't care because I know that I gave it everything that I possibly had. I think that sense of fulfillment is really nice.”

MTB and road go hand-in-hand

While Nuspan is now focussed on the off-road discipline, she admitted mountain biking had reignited her love for road cycling.

“I don't love one more than the other, but there are bits and pieces that I enjoy from each discipline. I just really believe that they complement each other very nicely and it makes me a better all-round cyclist and that's what I want at the end of the day,” she said.

“It's just a slightly different approach for now because it's what I enjoy the most. But in saying that I still train on the road, I still love bunch rides, I love talking to people.”

For now, while she juggles two jobs, and university studies to become a secondary teacher, she is relishing every chance to race, ride and have fun in whatever form of cycling that might be.

2024 Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships

Location: Pomingalarna Reserve, Wagga Wagga, NSW
Dates: May 4-5, 2024
More information: 2024 Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships

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The 2024 Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships are proudly supported by City of Wagga Wagga.

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