Markella Mildenberger was fit and active before a routine surgery went wrong in 2011, affecting her ability to walk and leaving her with chronic pain. Life, as she knew it, changed forever and for the next five years, she watched her world unravel. The turning point came in 2016 when Markella learned that her pain was permanent, and she made the decision to start ‘living life again’.

Three years later, whilst looking for a new challenge, and with no mountain bike experience (but a huge amount of pain just sitting on the saddle), Markella, a mountain bike newbie, signed up for one of the world’s most gruelling multi-day MTB events, the BC Bike Race in British Columbia – 7 days, 300km and 10,000m of elevation along some of the sport’s most technical trails – and made a film of her experience: “It’s Just Like Riding A Bike”.

Ahead of the UK premiere on Monday 16 March, which kicks off a week of adventure, wildlife and environmental films at the annual Four Seasons Film Festival, I caught up Markella via email to hear more about her experience.

© Stefan Voitl / Red Bull

Freeride mountain biker Casey Brown has had her fair share of injuries – from smashed teeth to a lacerated liver – but that comes with pushing boundaries in a sport that can see you soar 50ft into the air on a bike.

The 28-year-old rider, who has also competed successfully in downhill mountain biking and the Enduro World Series, grew-up in remote New Zealand where the next town was an eight-hour hike away. Aged 11, Casey moved with her family to British Columbia where she later honed her MTB skills and would go on to be crowned Queen of Crankworx, the world-wide circuit where riders accumulate points in a variety of MTB disciplines, and Whip-off World Champion multiple times.

This weekend, Casey will take part in the qualifiers for Red Bull Rampage, an event considered the pinnacle of big mountain freeriding, where the world’s best freeride athletes launch themselves down 65-ft high cliffs in Utah following impossible lines and performing insane tricks (yep, it’s as high risk as it sounds). This year sees the first-ever qualifying event and Casey is making history as the first and only woman to be invited. Go, Casey. We’re rooting for you.

© Pete Scullion

Guiding riders across some of the Europe’s best mountain bike trails is all in a day’s work for Julia Hobson, who has spent the last six years working as a mountain bike guide. No stranger to racing either, Julia has completed seriously testing MTB and enduro events such as the Megavalanche, Nepal’s Yak Attack and the Andes-Pacifico, where she came third.

Julia, who recently launched her own guiding business, Endless Trails, first fell in love with mountain biking while living in Sheffield as a student and continues to support the area as an ambassador for Ride Sheffield who maintain and build local and Peak District trails.

Photo: Matt DeLorme

She dominated the downhill mountain bike scene for years before switching to riding enduro MTB and carving out an equally successful enduro career. So who better than Tracy Moseley to share tips on tackling descents on a mountain bike?

Between looking after her baby and squeezing in rides, Trek athlete Tracy very kindly took time out to relay her tips on tackling downhill rides on the mountain bike. This one’s for beginners – enjoy!

Photo: Dave Mackison

Downhill mountain bike racer Tahnée Seagrave grew up in Morzine watching the pro riders hang out at her parents’ chalet. Little did she know she’d end up joining the MTB scene professionally one day too. Fast-forward to last year, and the Red Bull rider took three World Cup wins, signing off 2017 as second in the overall rankings.

With the 2018 season underway, including a World Cup win at Fort William and a disappointing DQ last weekend, the almost-23-year-old (it’s her birthday on Friday) is fired up. Here, Tahnée answers my questions on everything from fear and training to her goals for this year.

Photo Credit: Dave Trumpore

Enduro mountain bike racer Isabeau Courdurier learned to ride when she was three and by the age of five had completed her first MTB race. Now 24, the diminutive French rider heads into 2018 with a successful year of podiums, a Megavalanche win, and second place overall ranking in the Enduro World Series to her name – all while juggling training and racing with studying for her Masters degree.

Here, she shares her thoughts on 2017, her favourite places to ride and her goals for the coming season.

Photo Credit: Callum Wood

Australian downhill mountain biker, Tracey Hannah, grew up riding bikes. At the age of four she competed in her first BMX competition and by 14 she was racing elite downhill MTB events. In 2017, she narrowly missed out on realising her dream to become Downhill World Champion when a spill in Cairns knocked her unconscious. Incredibly, she still took third place.

Here, the Polygon UR team rider chats about her love of speed, crashing in Cairns, and how a childhood spent on bikes kick-started her love of mountain biking.