Rachel Atherton was born December 6, 1987, in the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. She began riding BMX in 1995 at the age of eight, and three years later crossed over to mountain biking. In 2005, Rachel Atherton was selected as BBC Midlands’ Junior Sportswoman of the Year and The Sunday Times’ Sportswoman of the year. Two years later, Rachel joined the Animal Commencal race team. In 2008, Rachel earned the honor of being the first British woman to win the Elite UCI Downhill World Championship in 10 years.

She has had over a dozen major wins in her illustrious career. But in January, 2009, Rachel Atherton was involved in a vehicle accident while on a time trial training ride in Santa Cruz, California. She sustained a dislocated shoulder and multiple abrasions which prevented her from racing the 2009 season. Rachel is being sponsored by Oakley, Red Bull, Nissan, and Shimano and is looking forward to a comeback season in 2010.