Meet Emily Carrick-Anderson, the newest addition to Trek Factory Racing Enduro!

Emily Carrick-Anderson is joining Trek Factory Racing Enduro! If that name doesn’t sound familiar, then the lineage should. Carrick-Anderson comes from a long line of Tracy Moseley acolytes, joining Evie Richards and new teammate Hattie Harnden as former T-Mo Racing athletes who have stepped up to TFR.

“It’s super cool because [Moseley’s] not just a team manager, she is our family friend now,” Carrick-Anderson says. “And she helps in more ways than just racing. She helps in all aspects of your life. She’s almost been like a personal manager for me. If I have any questions about anything, I can just ask her.”

Carrick-Anderson is just 19 years old, but she’s an experienced racer. Her father is a former Downhill World Cup rider who has been one of Carrick-Anderson’s biggest sources of teaching and encouragement. Like Harnden, she brings a multi-discipline background to enduro, racing cross country and downhill as well.

Enduro synthesizes her skill set, and she had an excellent 2023 as a result, despite being relatively new to the sport. In her only two Enduro World Cup appearances, she took second place by whisper-thin margins — 0.520 seconds in Loudenvielle, and 0.110 seconds in Châtel — in the U21 category. 

“I’ve always just loved going downhill fast,” Carrick-Anderson says. “Like whenever I do cross country races, my favorite part is always the downhills. And I think coming from cross country as well, I have the fitness. So I think enduro manages to complement both.” 

Carrick-Anderson is embarking on a grand adventure as a pro athlete, but fortunately she’s very familiar with her new team. Last year, she raced out of the TFR Enduro pits on a Trek Slash, and received technical support from team manager Andy Lund. She should have no problem getting stuck in, especially as she ups her race slate to five Enduro World Cup events in full TFR kit — Finale Ligure, Leogang, Aletsch Arena, Loudenvielle and Haute-Savoie — plus Enduro World Championships.

With TFR, Carrick-Anderson will be able to take the next step in her development as a pro. But more importantly, she’ll get a ton of reps doing what she loves. Although she has only been doing the sport a short while, enduro feels like her calling.

“When I was just racing full-on cross country, I was loving it obviously, but I didn’t really know how I would do as an elite athlete, or even as a U23 athlete. And then I started doing more enduro, and I figured out, ‘Wow, I’m actually quite good at this,'” Carrick-Anderson says. “I feel like all the enduro races are just a fun day on the bike. Like, you’re out for the whole day just riding around these beautiful places, and then getting to race down the hills and just chill out. I feel like everything about it’s just perfect.”

Carrick-Anderson spoke with the Race Shop about joining TFR, how her best memory on a bike involved crashing out of the competition, and painting cycling’s superstars in her spare time. The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

When did Trek reach out to you about joining the team?

Emily Carrick-Anderson: It was quite a smooth process. It wasn’t very sudden. I was on T-Mo Racing, and obviously, it’s Tracy Moseley who owns that team, and she’s got the Trek contacts and everything. So that’s how I started racing on Trek bikes. 

She was the one who got me more into enduro, and I think she saw some potential and she basically managed to get me going to some European races with the Trek team. And I did one Enduro World Series at the time in 2022. I was being helped by the Trek teams. I was staying with my dad, but Andy [Lund] the mechanic was like, ‘If you need anything, we will help you.’

And then the year after, I went out with the Trek team and did Châtel with them. And I guess I got some pretty good results there [2nd U21 women], and I think after that they were pretty keen to have me on the team more often.

The Trek lineage with T-Mo Racing is strong. What’s it like getting mentored by Tracy Moseley?

Carrick-Anderson: It’s super cool because she’s not just a team manager. She is our family friend now. And she helps in more ways than just racing. She helps in all aspects of your life. She’s almost been like a personal manager for me. If I have any questions about anything, I can just ask her. And yeah, she’s just an all around lovely person.

You mentioned working with Andy. How has he helped you on race days, and how has that experience of being with Trek been the last couple years?

Carrick-Anderson: Yeah, Andy’s just been so helpful. Just super easy. I ask him a lot of questions and everything. And even from when I went to my first Enduro World Series race, and he was there helping me, the team had no idea if I was any good at all, but he was just like, ‘Just come out. If you need any help, just let me know.’ He’s been totally keen to help me in any way possible. So I’d say he’s been a big part of progressing me more onto the professional Trek side of things.

What was your reaction to learning you had a spot on the Factory team?

Carrick-Anderson: I mean, I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t expecting it. I thought I was just having a meeting. And I thought they were just going to say, ‘Oh, we’ll be able to help you again with some races next year.’ And then they were like, ‘We’d love to have you on the team.’ I was like, ‘Oh my god,’ because ever since I’ve been young, I’ve looked up to so many of the riders on all of the Trek Factory Racing teams — XC, enduro and downhill. So it is a bit of a pinch me moment.

Did you celebrate in any way?

Carrick-Anderson: I think I went out for a meal with my parents and my brother, but just a chill thing. We were like, we should probably make a big deal out of it. [Laughs] I don’t think any of us were expecting it.

You race a ton of disciplines. Do you like being that versatile, and do you plan to keep them all up?

Carrick-Anderson: I’d love to do it as long as I can. And it does get tricky because three of the disciplines are in summer — XC, downhill and enduro are all summer disciplines. And especially with the races being in so many different countries. But definitely for this year I’m trying to do as much cross country and as much enduro as I can. For downhill I’ll be first year elite, so I’m just going to try and fit in some nationals here and there. 

I think for me, I’ll see how things go. I’d love to be able to do them all, but I also know that it’s very difficult to do that and I think in the end, it will obviously come down to what I’m enjoying most, but also what I’m doing the best in. I’ll maybe slowly start to narrow them down throughout the year.

Obviously enduro is going very well. What’s the draw to that sport for you and why do you think it suits you?

Carrick-Anderson: I’ve always just loved going downhill fast. Like whenever I do cross country races, my favorite part is always the downhills. My strengths were always the downhills. And I think coming from cross country as well, I have the fitness. So I think enduro manages to complement both. And I feel like all the enduro races are just a fun day on the bike. Like, you’re out for the whole day just riding around these beautiful places, and then getting to race down the hills and just chill out. I feel like everything about it’s just perfect.

You’re just embarking on your professional career. Has there been a moment when it clicked for you that racing as a pro was a possibility?

Carrick-Anderson: To be honest, I don’t think there’s ever been a specific moment because I’ve been racing since I was like five years old. So honestly, as long as I can remember, I’ve just thought I’m going to be a bike racer. I haven’t ever really thought about any other things. Obviously, there’s been options of uni, and obviously if cycling didn’t go well then I could do stuff like that. But there’s never been a time I didn’t think I wanted to be a professional cyclist, so I knew if I could make it, that’s what I was gonna do. 

If you weren’t a professional cyclist, what do you think you’d be pursuing?

Carrick-Anderson: I feel like I’d just be doing another sport. I liked school to be fair, and I liked lots of subjects at school. But I feel like I just love competition. I used to be a gymnast when I was really young, and so I feel like I would always choose gymnastics if anyone asked me what else I’d be doing. I just think it looks so cool. Unfortunately cycling and gymnastics don’t go very well together.

Do you have a favorite moment ever on a bike, or a favorite race?

Carrick-Anderson: When I went to Finale Ligure for the first time to do the Trophy of Nations [in 2022], I think that whole experience was one of my best weekends of riding a bike. 

But actually, I tell this to everyone, my most fun I’ve ever had on a bike was racing Les Gets on the Downhill World Cup. I didn’t even race. I crashed in practice, so I didn’t even make it to the race. But I was just having so much fun, and I hadn’t even gotten a result. I just enjoyed going down the track so much. And at the bottom of every run, my mom was standing there just so stressed, waiting for me to come down every time and I was just like, ‘Oh my god, that was amazing.’ I hadn’t really ever done anything like that, nothing that technical. That was a pretty cool experience.

You mentioned Finale Ligure, that’s one of the famous venues for enduro. What was that like?

Carrick-Anderson: I’d raced the Loudenvielle Enduro World Series the weekend before, so that was my first proper enduro experience, but it was a super wet weekend. I like the rain and everything, but it was quite hectic for my first ever race, and I think I was a bit stressed because I hadn’t done anything like that before. So then having Finale the next weekend, I knew a little bit more of what I was doing, I knew more of the structure, so I was more relaxed. It was beautiful weather as well, so that was great.

And the views there are amazing, and I just took it all in. I was doing a race, but also just having such a great time out. And you’re in a team for the Trophy of Nations, so I was just riding with two of my friends. The views, the trails, just absolutely everything about the weekend was insane. 

How did you get into riding in the first place?

Carrick-Anderson: So my dad used to be a professional downhill racer. And then when my mom met my dad, he got her into cycling. So then me and my older brother, we grew up riding bikes and racing bikes. We moved to Peebles where I live now so we could be closer to biking trails. And then I started racing when I was five at local dirt crit races, just small things like that. And then we just went on to bigger races and bigger things. 

I used to ride with my dad all the time when I was younger, so I feel like it was a family thing we did. We all did it together.

What kind of influence has your dad been on your development as a racer?

Carrick-Anderson: I don’t think I’d be anywhere as near as quick a downhiller as I am now if it wasn’t for him. I feel like I’ve been really lucky to learn basic skills from such a young age from him, and I think that’s helped in a massive way. We used to always ride together and he’d always be pushing me on rides to go quicker. He’s always been such a big part of my racing life. I have definitely benefited from having a former cyclist who has been through it all to help me.

Looking back on where you were maybe two or three years ago, does it feel surreal to be in this position now?

Carrick-Anderson: I’ll be honest, there were definitely times I didn’t think it was possible. I only really started doing enduro properly a few years ago, so when I was just racing full-on cross country, I was loving it obviously, but I didn’t really know how I would do as an elite athlete, or even as a U23 athlete. And then I started doing more enduro, and I figured out, ‘Wow, I’m actually quite good at this.’ And as I’ve done it more and more, it’s been like, ‘Oh, this could be something I could do for my life.’ But yeah, it still feels a little bit weird and surreal.

Are there any venues you are really looking forward to next year, or any particular races that you’re looking forward to?

Carrick-Anderson: I’m definitely looking forward to going to Finale again because that’s a lovely place. I do really like the Loudenvielle trails, I think it’s a really cool place. I really like the stages there. And then I also really like Châtel, but I haven’t done the Swiss one [in Aletsch Arena]. So I’m looking forward to seeing that one and seeing a different place.

Outside of riding, what’s another passion of yours that people might not know?

Carrick-Anderson: I really like art. It’s something I do a lot in my spare time. I think it’s quite a good thing to do because it doesn’t tire you out and you can just sort of do it. I do portraits of professional athletes. So I find a picture from Instagram or something, usually a celebration photo of them winning a race, and then I paint it with acrylic paints.

Any athletes, or do you focus on cyclists?

Carrick-Anderson: Just cyclists. I mean, I could try and do other sports as well. But at the moment I’ve just been doing cyclists because I feel like I watch them. I know what their faces look like, if that makes sense.

Are there any particular portraits that you’re really proud of?

Carrick-Anderson: I did one of Mathieu Van der Poel. I finished it at the Mountain Bike Cross Country World Champs last year just after he won World Champs, so I painted him in his World Champs stripes. I was planning on finding him at MTB XC World Champs to get him to sign it but unfortunately I didn’t have any luck [laughs].

You can follow Carrick-Anderson on Instagram, and be sure to follow Trek Factory Racing Enduro to keep up with everything she and Harnden are doing in 2024!