The Elena Martinello interview

The MERIDA family is a large one that brings together riders from all over the world - and all disciplines of cycling. We've caught up with Elena Martinello, one of our ambassadors and a regular feature in our video shoots for a quick interview to talk about 2021 plans, her favourite places to ride and more.

1. Who is Elena Martinello and where are you from?
I’m Italian but I define myself as a world citizen. In the past years, I lived in different places and countries like Australia, but now I found my special spot in Liguria, between Finale Ligure and the Alps. For me is a dream come true ‘cause now I just can jump on my bike and I’m right on the trails. I’m a social media manager and the co-founder of Ride Like a Girl project.

2. What is the thing you love most about riding bicycles?
The thing that I most love is that every ride is for me a new adventure. I always love to explore and take a different road or track, some times I find the best ride ever but sometimes I get lost so I have to go back the way I came! Riding with friends, especially the girls, is something very special for me and I hope I can give a bit of my experience and passion to all of them.

3. Favourite MERIDA bike?
I love to ride any kind of bikes so it’s hard for me to decide which is the best. I can say that the fully suspended MERIDAs are my favourite ones for sure. I love mountain biking.

4. Favourite place to ride?
Any place is special but I would love to suggest one particular spot that I love probably more than the others: the White Roads in Tuscany. You can have a little taste of them in my last eSilex video. You’ll be amazed, I’m sure!

5. Most important cycling tip you wish you had known when you started riding?
Luckily, I’ve done sports since I was three years old, so new sports have been always pretty easy to learn. I think that starting with a good riding technique would have avoided some of the risks that I took and crashes that I had. I think that having a few skills lessons on the mountain bike would be a great start.

6. What are your plans for 2021?
For 2021 I’m hoping to ride more with the girls. We are planning some Ride Like a Girl events around Italy to inspire and involve more women to ride.

You can check out the MERIDA full suspension mountain bike range here.

To keep up with Elena and her latest adventures, follow her on:

Instagram: @elena.martinello

Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/2124303

Website: www.elenamartinello.com