Rider profile - Vanessa Johnson

After a hiatus, our Rider Profiles series has returned!

This week we’re chatting to Vanessa Johnson, a highly accomplished rider from Western Australia.

Rider name 
Vanessa Johnson

Instagram handle
@vanessaejohnson

Team or worthy cause
4Five+ Athlete Collective - inspiring women to be active through midlife & beyond.

Tell us about your bike!
Flanders Forte - she's done 6 seasons of cross, including national & world champs, as well as the SeVen gravel race. My favourite bike - jump on & ride, nothing to charge. Lost count of how many bottom brackets [it’s gone through!]

You'll find me riding or racing in...
Perth or Nannup, shifted from elite into Masters A this season.

My riding/racing is supported by...
My family who lets me do whatever I want, especially super soigneur husband Julian. Also thankful to Paul [Redenbach] at Flanders for his help over the years.

In my day job I'm...
Data Librarian, working toward something new in Nannup.

An interest I have outside of cycling is...
Cooking.

What brought you to cyclocross?
Someone stole my commuter bike & I replaced it with a second hand [Specialized] Crux, then it was a quick & slippery slope to racing with a goal.of improving my bike handling skills.

What riding do you do aside from CX?
Gravel mostly. I've also competed at Nationals across all road disciplines.

Tell us about your first CX race!
Party in the Park. Won some Biscoff spread & I was hooked.

What's your proudest achievement in CX?
Winning the Numbat Plate in 2021. Maybe the WMAS5 [Women’s Masters 5, for riders with a racing age of 50-54] National Champs in 2019 too.

How do we spot you on course?
Coral & blue 4F kit.

Should we offer you handups, and if so, when?
Champagne on ladies day thanks!