© 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.

© Bartek Wolinski

Last year, American cross country mountain biker Kate Courtney took her first elite world title, overtaking Annika Langvad on the rooty closing stages of the women’s elite cross country race to win gold at the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It was her debut season as an elite athlete and her win (by 47 seconds!) marked America’s first gold medal in the event for 17 years.

I’m massively excited to have Kate (who is also the US national champion) on Lessons in Badassery today. She may have only stepped up from U23 racing last year, but with 9 wins in 2017 alone she’s already the consummate pro – helpful, humble and a dream guest. Enjoy the read.

© 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: 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.