Meet Sacha Earnest, Trek Factory Racing DH’s newest rider!

Sacha Earnest knew there were eyes on her when she took the starting platform in Val di Sole last season. She had taken second as an elite rider at New Zealand national championships, and fourth at Crankworx Rotorua. Trek Factory Racing staff approached her the week before in Leogang to let her know that they’d be paying attention to her performance.

“It was crazy. I remember showing my dad like, ‘Hey, look, Trek wants to actually have a look at me.’ We were both freaking out,” Earnest said. “And this was only a week before the Val di Sole race, so it would be my first actual World Cup. It was a lot of pressure but I was like, ‘I might as well just do my best and show them what I can do.'”

Earnest won the women’s junior event. On one of the steepest and rockiest tracks on the World Cup circuit. On the first World Cup finals run she had ever completed in her career.

In just four whirlwind weeks, TFR called Earnest, prepped her brand new Session, and got her riding on it ahead of World Championships in Fort William. She raced out of the TFR pits for the rest of the 2023 season. And beginning this coming Feb. 24 at New Zealand National Championships, she’ll be racing as Trek Factory Racing DH’s newest full-time rider. 

Earnest is still just 17 years old. Her rapid ascension up the DH ranks illustrates the whiplash life of promising young athletes everywhere. But if she was having any trouble dealing with the newfound pressures of factory team racing, it didn’t show. Earnest very quickly validated her Val di Sole run with a bronze medal at Worlds — completing an all-Kiwi podium — and winning her second World Cup race in Loudenvielle.

One moment, she was a kid snagging podiums on her local circuit. Next, she was bumping shoulders with the best riders in the world and proving she belonged on the sport’s biggest stages.

“Transitioning over to Trek was such a great opportunity, much bigger than I ever thought,” Earnest said. “I was really aiming just for a small team this year and next year, because that’s really all that I thought I could get. But to be on Trek is insane. Like one of my biggest dreams.”

Earnest is taking a lot of new experiences in stride. She soaked up as much knowledge as she could from team staff and her new teammates last season, often by simply listening to the conversations that were happening around her in the pits. This past January, she did her first team camp with the squad in Laguna Beach, and got to know her new team outside of racing through surfing and long days of photo and video shoots.

Earnest is accustomed to trials by fire. Nothing seems to have phased her yet, and with one more year in the junior ranks, she’s eager to establish herself as one of the fastest riders in the world. She knows as well as anyone that it pays to be bold. Wherever her next step leads, she’ll be ready.

Sacha spoke with the Trek Race Shop about her breakout 2023, what it was like joining Trek, and what she’s looking forward to the most in her first official year as a member of Trek Factory Racing. The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

How did you come to join Trek Factory Racing?

Sache Earnest: I was just on a little privateer project from New Zealand, and my expectations this year were to just put myself out there, and try my best to promote myself. But unfortunately, I crashed at that first race even before qualifying, so no one knew who I was. And I remember at Leogang, [TFR DH support manager] Ryan [Gaul] came up to me and he’s like ‘I’m from Trek, blah, blah, blah.’ But since I had my concussion, I didn’t really think much of it. I was just like ‘Oh, cool, nice to meet you.’ But I remember a week before Val di Sole, [C3 Project rider] Casey Brown reached out to me to come meet with the team, introduce myself, and say who I am, so that they can watch me.

Transitioning over to Trek was such a great opportunity, like much bigger than I ever thought. I was really aiming just for a small team this year and next year, because that’s really all that I thought I could get. But to be on Trek is insane. Like one of my biggest dreams. It’s such a cool team.

Before Val di Sole, what had Trek staff seen of you? Had they spotted you during practice runs?

Earnest: Yeah, that’s all that they saw, or that’s all that they could really see. And at first, seeing me practicing and seeing how I ride, and how my speed was and how much they thought I could progress with being on the team.

What was your reaction to getting that sort of interest from the team?

Earnest: It was crazy. I remember showing my dad like, ‘Hey, look, they want to actually have a look at me.’ We’re both freaking out. And this was only a week before the Val di Sole race, so it would be my first actual World Cup. So it was a lot of pressure but I was like, ‘I might as well just do my best and show them what I can do.’

How quickly did you get on a Session after the team told you they’d like you to join after Val di Sole?

Earnest: At Worlds. I tested the Trek Session on the Friday before we started riding at Glencoe. And to be honest, I didn’t want to like it, but I really did straightaway. And on that track, it was just so much better than my other bikes. So I opted for the Session, and I’m happy that I did because it got me the result that I wanted.

When you say you didn’t want to like the bike, what do you mean?

Earnest: I was almost skeptical about changing onto a new bike that quickly, and I didn’t want it to affect my result. If I didn’t do well, I’d be like, ‘Oh, was it the bike or was it me?’ and I didn’t want to have those doubts. But having the bike be that good, I didn’t have any doubts after that.

It was definitely different, but I liked it straightaway. It was definitely more planted, and a lot smoother through all the rough stuff, which was ideal through Fort William.

Did you have any thought that you might win in Val di Sole in your first attempt at a World Cup finals run?

Earnest: Not at all. I remember for qualis at least, I’d won that one also, five seconds up, and I was just like, ‘No way that just happened.’ Lost for words, really. And everyone from back home in New Zealand was so proud. I was like, ‘I’ve got to do something big tomorrow as well.’ And then at the top, I reckon I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. I didn’t have a trainer. I didn’t have a spin bike. I was up there with my friend Kalani doing warm up stretches for a good 45 minutes, and then onto the track. 

But throughout the track, it was kind of a blur. It was like one of those runs where you knew it was good, but you don’t remember much of it. And when I got to the bottom, I sprinted my ass off, and [fellow New Zealand rider] Erice [van Leuven] was already there waiting to hug me. So that was my first reaction, to hug her back, and I knew almost instantly that I had done a good run. So when I looked back and saw a 12-second gap, I was lost for words. I didn’t know what else to say. I was like, ‘This is the best start to a career that could have ever happened.’

How’d that feel?

Earnest: I was scared the whole time before that that I wouldn’t make it, or I wouldn’t do well, and I wouldn’t prove myself. But this was like, ‘Hey, you can race this well, and you can race at a World Cup level,’ which is sick.

You then went to World Championships and completed a 1-2-3 podium for New Zealand. What is that group of Kiwi women’s riders like and why is it so special?

Earnest: The girls in New Zealand riding mountain bikes, they’re so tight knit and so supportive of each other when we race. It’s really cool to see. That 1-2-3 at Worlds almost changed it all. Like, we finally put our name out there and showed that New Zealand is a world contending country. 

The environment back home is pretty great. We all get along. We all ride together. We train together sometimes. When we race it’s racing, but when we get to the bottom, we’re all happy for each other, and happy that we’ve done well or improved on what we could have done.

That seemed like an incredible celebration. How’d it feel to be a part of that with a bronze medal?

Earnest: Obviously you’re gunning for first every race you’re at, but I was happy to be in third, and I was so happy to be with those girls. It was very emotional. And I was really proud of how Poppy [Lane] got second, because it was her first world class race. And to have Erice get the win I think was very deserving. And to put our name out there, we were just proud that we could have done it. I remember Erice telling us, ‘Hey, look, we can be 1-2-3’ earlier in the week and we were like, ‘Oh no, don’t say it, that’s not true.’ But to have that come true, it was like a fairy tale really. Nothing could have been better.

Not long afterwards you won again in Loudenvielle. How did that win feel compared to your first one?

Earnest: That was a good bounce back from the week before in Andorra. I was like, ‘Now, I have to prove myself again. I can’t keep having up and down races.’ And I wanted to achieve better than what I did at Worlds, which was third. I loved the track. It was a mix of what I loved, just loam, steep, technical stuff, and I’m happy that I came away with the win, but obviously sad that we didn’t go ahead with the final race on the day. [Junior finals were canceled in Loudenvielle due to storms.]

What has it been like being on a team so far coming from the privateer lifestyle? What’s been the biggest positive change?

Earnest: Mainly just the support. It was the most I’ve ever gotten ever really. I had a mechanic there, Joe [Krejbich], who is normally Reece [Wilson]’s mechanic. It was great to have him talk me through some of the things that I could change, and also just the support from a manager on the side of the track and at the bottom, going, ‘Hey, you can choose this line,’ or like, ‘I watched you and you should do this.’ It was just easier throughout the weekend to perform at my best, rather than worrying about all these other little things that could go out of control, because the team had already managed it.

Two of your new teammates, Loris Vergier and Reece Wilson, are veteran racers who have won at the highest level of the sport. Have they been a good resource to you?

Earnest: I didn’t really know them too well at the start. I normally just listened to what they’d say, and maybe asked them a couple questions. But even that was really insightful to hear them say, ‘Hey, this line is better than this line,’ and then they’d show me a GoPro run. Or just hearing their feedback about the bike or the track and I could just learn from that. This year was basically just a learning experience for me, and I’m happy that I got the most out of it that I could.

Were you able to get to know everyone better at team camp, and show them more of who you are, too?

Earnest: Yeah, it was a little bit easier since we were all together. It was a bit more laid back than racing. I could kind of show my personality rather than just who you are on a race week when you’re trying to do your job. 

It was fun hanging out with them. And all of them were there this time as well. Luckily, Bodhi [Kuhn] was able to come while he was recovering from injury. And yeah, it was just a good time doing what we love, which is riding our bikes and just hanging out.

You did BMX as a kid, then picked up downhill around age 13 or 14. Did you always have it in your mind that you might get to the World Cup level?

Earnest: I think at that point, I was just doing what I liked, because before that I thought my future would be racing BMX. And when I kind of deviated away from that sport, I was like, ‘I just want to have fun and enjoy what I love.’ I liked watching the downhill races and World Cups and stuff like that, but I never really saw myself at this stage until about last year.

In saying that, does it feel surreal to now be having these conversations and to be in this position?

Earnest: Yeah, it’s definitely surreal. I’m obviously so grateful to be here, because it’s not anything normal. From performing well in New Zealand since I was 13-14 in the sport, to being overseas, it’s such a big jump, but it was almost natural in my path since that happened similarly in BMX. The difference is I just love this sport, and I love the people, and I’m happy with the direction I’m going. And yeah, it’s been hectic, but I’m glad that it’s worked out the way that it has, even if it has been a crazy journey.