Riding Her Way: Harriet Burbidge-Smith

For Harriet Burbidge-Smith, spending her life on the bike has brought her more than she could have ever dreamed of.

The Canberra-born BMX rider turned mountain biker is currently training in Canada ahead of the Red Bull Formation Event in Utah, United States next month and described it as one of her toughest assignments to date.

Harriet Burbidge-Smith.

"It's definitely one that's hard to train for compared to anywhere else in the world," she told SPORTbible Australia.

It's been a long journey from Canberra to Utah - and everywhere in between - for the Red Bull Athlete, crediting her Dad for starting her on the path she's been riding on her entire life.

"I was around four years old when my Dad took me to a local BMX track in Canberra and I just fell in-love with riding.

"I stuck with it and did a lot of racing until I was 22."

It was then, following multiple world and Australian championships that the 25-year-old decided to make the switch to mountain biking.

"I did a few mountain bike events after being invited by friends and I fell in-love with that form of riding.

"It was just a different kind of scene, different way to ride and after that (initial switch), I made the move full-time and left the BMX behind and all the support I had in that. It was a pretty big fresh start, but it was really exciting for me"

While she admits there were some nerves on making the switch, it was one looking back on now that allowed her to re-discover her passion for being on the bike.

"I was losing a bit of the drive I once had in BMX racing, but I was very confused because I still loved being on the bike so when I did some mountain bike events, I discovered that passion for racing again," she said from training camp in Canada.

"Definitely nerves in terms of being able to get the support I had in BMX, but I knew I had the drive and the passion to be able to achieve what I wanted in mountain biking.

"The unknown of it was exciting and fresh but having the base level of skills on the bike made it that much more exciting."

Another side of the sport she really enjoys is the ability to bring her passion for content creation and filming to the forefront, as seen by her heavy presence on Instagram and YouTube.

"I like creating content and filming, but I don't want it to be fake at all. I want it to be genuine and show me having a good time but also showing that it's not all clean and polished.

"I want it to be a good vibe for people to watch and get them excited and interested to ride their bike.

"The filming aspect is a creative aspect for me that is really enjoyable. It really chills me out between riding."

Now entering her fourth full season of mountain biking, Burbidge-Smith says she's finally feeling like the switch is paying off.

"I was clearly very hungry to prove myself but that didn't happen straight away, that only really came sort of last year. My first season I had some pretty mediocre results and the second I had a massive injury and was in hospital for a month or so and missed a lot of events so it only really sort of felt like I was reaching my potential last year, so it makes this year very exciting for me."

Despite being "consistently on the road" for the past year, Burbidge-Smith is looking forward to what the rest of 2022 has in store. After the Red Bull Formation Event in May, she will compete in several free ride events later in the year before returning to home soil at the backend of 2022.

"Joining Reb Bull Mountain Biking was a massive goal for me and it's definitely a career highlight along with getting the invite to go to Red Bull Formation in Utah."

While still only four-years into her mountain biking career, Burbidge-Smith still has plenty she wants to achieve in the sport.

"I really want to maximise the events I go to and the experiences I get to have.

"I'd love to do more video projects and really push my riding to put out those projects.

"I'd love to be involved in creating events on my own or collaborating with other riders to make the sport bigger and better."

Topics: Australia

Ryan Rosendale

Ryan Rosendale is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. A self-professed sports-tragic, Ryan grew up loving all things Aussie sport. While that's still the case, Ryan also keeps a close eye on all things American sports, including his die-hard love for pro wrestling. While he played sport when he was younger, Ryan well and truly believes he is better covering the professionals.

@RosendaleRyan