At home with XCE World Champion Gaia Tormena

When MTB legend José Hermida had the chance to catch up with the recently 're-crowned' UCI XCE (Mountain Bike Eliminator) World Champion Gaia Tormena after her successful World Cup win in Barcelona, which secured her the overall World Cup lead, he was delighted to accompany her to her home town of Aosta in the Aosta Valley, Italy, to find out a little more about this dominant force in XCE racing.

Nestled between the French border to the west and the Swiss border to the north, the Aosta Valley has been the stomping ground of Gaia and her family for many years and continues to play an important role in her life.

Growing up as the daughter of a successful ultra-marathon runner, Gaia was introduced to a life of sport, competition and enjoying nature from an early age and has been able to enjoy the beautiful hills and valleys surrounding her home ever since she started mountain biking.

With strong support from her parents at the races and a dedicated mechanic, fitness coach and sports phycologist at her side, Gaia has the perfect team around her to deliver race win after race win, including the recent WCI XCE World Championships in Aalen, Germany. Here the young Italian was in control from start to finish, riding her BIG.NINE hardtail to the fastest time in qualifying and controlling each of her races from the front of the field, including the final, which she won once again to secure her fourth consecutive XCE World Championship title.

When she is not conquering the hills on her challenging training rides around the Aosta Valley or sessioning enduro tracks to hone her technical riding skills, Gaia finds refuge at her brother's animal farm, where she spends countless hours with the alpacas, ponies or the minute donkey.

Towards the end of our stay, José had the chance to stroll through the historic centre of Aosta, full of beautiful buildings and breathtaking views, and he reflected on his enjoyable time with her and her family, and the lingering thought of how mature and focused 22-year-old Gaia is, setting her up well for the future, in racing and in life itself.

Join us on our visit and find out how it all started, how long ago her first win was and how animals help her to relax from her busy schedule. 

Follow Gaia on Instagram.