DESPITE standing at just 164cm and weighing 55kg, Albury’s Kristy Gillespie is a goliath in the world of women’s motocross.
She has been going full-throttle in the sport since she was a teenager and has just enjoyed her finest season on two wheels.
Put simply, the diminutive Albury star dominated women’s motocross in Australia last year.
Gillespie won the 2008 Australian and Victorian women’s motocross championships, was nominated for the Victorian female athlete of the year award at the 2008 VicSport Awards and was named female rider of the year in the Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine readers’ choice awards.
The success was made even sweeter after Gillespie endured three years of near misses before her maiden Australian title, finishing third in the championships for three years in a row.
“It’s definitely been the best year I’ve had so far,” Gillespie, 20, said recently.
“Winning the Australian and Victorian titles was brilliant and I guess also winning the female rider of the year in the Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine readers’ choice awards was great.
“And being nominated for the VicSport Awards was amazing too because my sport isn’t mainstream at all, especially female motocross, so to compete with a couple of Olympians was good recognition.”
Gillespie is in no doubt as to how she managed to race her way to the top.
“Probably my fitness and dedication (sets me apart),” she said.
“It’s a tough sport and you can’t ever give up in a race — you might crash three or four times but you just have to get back up and keep going.
“I do work hard on my fitness, I work out about six times a week, I have to squeeze it in with my work (Gillespie works full-time).
“I do a lot to keep fit.”
The GMR Motorex KTM Racer said racing was in her blood.
“I have two brothers who always had bikes and I ended up riding too,” she said.
“I rode for fun for a while and then when I was about 13 I went in my first race and I loved it and decided to stick with it.
“There’s so much pressure in racing but I love it.
“Sometimes there are 40 bikes flying into a corner that is only wide enough to fit five or six through.
“It’s a huge adrenaline rush, it all happens so fast and there’s not enough time to think about it (being scared).”
Despite her success, Gillespie said she was not able to lead a luxurious life like some other top athletes.
“It’s not a cheap sport by any means,” she said.
“Bikes cost about $10,000 each and to be competitive you really need at least two.
“Safety gear is costly too — helmets are about $500 each and its the same for boots and body armour.
“Then there’s travel on top of that and accommodation — we generally race over a weekend so there’s two or three nights you have to pay for.
“I probably spend about 90 per cent of the year in Melbourne — there’s a lot of racing in Victoria — and I also travel to Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory, and throughout NSW.
“Mum and dad have supported me a lot — I wouldn’t be racing without them so I’m really thankful of their support.”
And Gillespie is hungry for more.
“I’d love to race in Europe some day,” she said.
“Motocross is huge there, and in the US, and they have a world championship class there.
“I would love to race there and be able to prove myself — that would be the ultimate.”
If her talent, dedication and passion are anything to go by, Gillespie is a huge chance of achieving her goals — quickly.
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