🚵♀️ From Rugby Fields to Mountain Trails 🏉
After 71 caps representing her country and tasting victory at the 2014 World Rugby Championship, Sophie Halhead embarked on a new chapter. She found herself drawn to the thrill of mountain biking, sharing the passion with her husband and exploring new horizons.
🔙 Returning to the Appenninica MTB Stage Race after five years, Sophie witnessed the event’s growth and evolution, yet it retained its unique charm.
🇮🇹 🚵♀️ Dai Campi di Rugby ai Sentieri di Montagna 🏉
Dopo aver indossato la maglia della sua nazionale per ben 71 volte e aver assaporato la vittoria al Campionato Mondiale di Rugby del 2014, Sophie Halhead ha intrapreso un nuovo capitolo della sua vita. Si è lasciata conquistare dall’emozione della mountain bike, condividendo la passione con suo marito ed esplorando nuovi orizzonti.
🔙 Tornando alla Appenninica MTB Stage Race dopo cinque anni, Sophie ha potuto osservare la crescita e l’evoluzione dell’evento, pur mantenendo il suo fascino unico.
This is my second time racing in Appeninnica. I was fortunate enough to race here in 2019, in the first year that the event was run. And I actually had an entry in 2020, but there was some world event that happened and it stopped me from coming over here.
And each year I’ve been wanting to come back, wanting to come back and be part of the Appaninnica family again. And I’m just over the moon to be here in this amazing town and meet new people and see some old friends as well. I think I love Italy. There’s so much to love.
The scenery, the panoramas, the ice cream, the pizza, the people, the organisers of Appeninnica, the volunteers, everyone always has a smile on their face. And all of the riders, this event seems to attract a different type of racer that just wants to chat to people, and the riding is amazing.
So technical, big climbs. It’s just brilliant to be here. I think to start with, I liked the Apennine region because my husband’s parents used to live in Emilia Romagna. And so when I first came across Appenninica before the the first year it was run, it was really close to where they lived.
And I just thought, Oh, this could be good. It could be ideal childcare for my son. And we could come over here, we could race. And I knew that the area was beautiful and that there’d be some amazing riding.
And then more and more that I saw the the the teaser videos with some little clips of the taste of what was to I just got more and more excited. So, yeah, it’s an amazing region where I think a lot of people don’t realise how good the mountain biking is here.
The difference is between rugby and mountain biking. So I used to play rugby for England, and it now feels like a different chapter of my life. So I played rugby from about the year 2000 through to 2015. And for, I think, eight years of that, I played for England and won 71 caps.
So I represented my country 71 times. And the last time that I pulled on the white jersey of England was to face Canada in the World Cup final, which was in 2014, which we were triumphant. So we won the World Cup, and it was an amazing, amazing experience, particularly because
I played in two World Cup finals, the first of which we lost to New Zealand. So to get our hands on the World Cup trophy in 2014 was magnificent. And people often think, oh, rugby to mountain biking, it seems a strange jump. And to start with, I did a bit of enduro
Racing, and I think I was lured by mud and power, I think. And I think the more and more that I’ve ridden, the races have got longer and longer. Although my fellow racers are always much, much lighter and smaller than me,
Although my rugby friends think that I am now tiny, but compared to the other riders I race against, I’m still rugby physique, I think.