Nervana Athletes

I have been racing motocross for the past 17 years, it was my whole entire life and still is. Throughout my career I managed to achieve 52 national championships, 3 being at Loretta Lynn’s. At age 15 I was the first girl to be signed onto the KTM Orange Brigade team, shortly after that I raced Monster cup in the supermini Allstate making my debut for the KTM team. I love anything outdoors… mountain biking, snowboarding, sunsets etc. Racing will forever be a huge part of me, when I was 10 years old I had lost my best friend Tyce Olsen due to a racing accident, that is what kept me to drive myself more and more to succeed as much as I could that way I could accomplish for him what he was unable to! Now that I am not racing full time, I am currently working as a dental hygiene assistant and will be starting school in January to become a Dental Hygienist! I also have taken on the world of marketing and public relations with Nervana and only continue to learn more about their mission and vision and absolutely love what they are about! I am beyond grateful to have such an amazing opportunity to work with these amazing people!

Australian raised in Switzerland, I’ve consistently found my passion in the realm of extreme sports. Relocating to the United States in 2019 fueled my fascination with powersports, particularly dirt biking and snowmobiling. Yet, my enthusiasm was tempered by the noticeable absence of female riders within the sport’s landscape. I quickly realized that it wasn’t due to a lack of interest among women; rather, it stemmed from a lack of confidence. This realization served as the spark that ignited the inception of my vision for Shredgal. The main goal being to make extreme sports accessible to girls and women of any age and background.

I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and moved to the USA when I was 16 years old. I was interested in competitive sports at a young age. My early competitions were shared with my younger brother in a swimming pool. We were both very dedicated, determined swimmers and dreamed one day to go to the Olympics. My brother went on to win several medals at the Brasilian Para-nationals and qualified for the Olympic Games in Athens. I suffered severe tendinitis in both shoulders and was forced to retire from competitive swimming. But the Olympic dream remained.

The tendinitis in my shoulders insisted that I try something that would draw on lower body strength. After moving to the USA, I took up soccer during my senior year of high school. My soccer success provided for an athletic scholarship at Fresno State in 2000. However, the burden of being a student-athlete affected my academics. I stopped my pursuit of soccer in favor of my studies.

I then transferred to Fresno City College where I pursued a degree in Physical Education. Still, I could not stay away from sports. Employing lessons learned, I entered another soccer season with the college team. Our squad won the 2002 conference, and I also enjoyed competing in track and field.

Following my residence in Fresno, I moved to Monterey, California. I was surrounded by a very different environment. I was shown many new things, one of which was the triathlon.

In 2005, I did my first event as a triathlete. It was the Wildflower Olympic Distance Triathlon. I finished 5th and I was thrilled! I improved from there and celebrated many podium finishes including a 1st place at Treasure Island.

At the end of 2005, I was introduced to the famous Italian cycling coach, Dr. Massimo Testa. He convinced me to focus on bike racing. So, in January 2006, I competed in my very first bike race. I won it! I also totally fell in love with the sport of cycling. I quickly called Dr. Testa to thank him for pointing me in the right direction.

I started at the lowest level (Category 5) and upgraded rapidly. The following year, I became a Category 1 (professional). In 2008, I won the Cal Cup and the California State Championships for climbing. In 2009, I was invited to race with the Italian team Michela Fanini; the longest-standing professional women’s cycling team in Italy. In January 2009, I moved to Lucca to race full-time in Europe.

I excelled in the European Stage races. At the end of my first season in Europe, I was the highest-ranked Brasilian female cyclist in the world. My success with Michela Fanini gave me an opportunity to make myself known to the Brasilian Cycling Federation, and opened many doors and possibilities that I never imagined possible. The South American Games, Pan American Games, World Championships, and the Olympics are all now possibilities. It is a dream come true. The dream that I had as a child growing up in Brasil has become a reality.

I truly love fitness and sport and delight in sharing this love with others. I believe that you can achieve what you put your mind to and then some. For me, I have found that it is the journey that is most important.