Bianka Beaudet 09-16-08

It seems you’ve been pretty busy building a name for yourself in the ATV industry since the last time I saw you at our Maxxis 6 Hours of ATV America event in New Hampshire.
Yes ATV racing is a big part of my life. That 6 Hour was a great race and a lot of fun. I wish you guys were having it again. I am typically a motocross rider, but I really love team endurance races. I think it’s really great to be on a team and work together to win. I’ve done all seven of the 12 Hours of La Tuque (Quebec) events since the very first one. I love it!

How many years have you been the Canadian Women’s champion?
Before 2006, there were women’s class races and I often won, but not always. The CMRC Women’s Championship started in 2006, but that year I broke my collar bone, so I couldn’t compete like I wanted to, but I made up for it in 2007 by winning the Championship. This year, 2008, I’m currently in first, but the season is still not finished.

Tell us more about Canadian ATV racing.
The Canadian National Championship is called the CMRC National Championship, but it’s only for the pro class. For all others, there is the Provincial Championship. As of right now, ATV racing is mostly popular in Quebec. There are some races in Ontario but not like Quebec. For the rest of Canada, dirt bike racing is mostly all you see. In Quebec, we have races every weekend, because we also have the Courses VTT who promote quad events. This is all motocross, but we also have the FMSQ, which is cross country racing. In Winter we also have the Ice National Championships as well.

Rumor has it you race in the Pro class on the ice.
Yes I do and I have a funny story for you about that. The front wheels I use at the ice races used to be Travis Spader’s. Susan Parker ended up with the wheels and she gave them to me in 2003 when I wanted to try TT racing for the first time. Then, I used them for an Ice race that Winter and I’ve used them ever since. (Laughing) They’re my lucky rims.

Did you get to meet Travis? He was teamed up with Doug Eichner and Dana Creech.
Oh yes, we hung out with them a lot and had a great time together. I met Dana at the 12 Hours of Pont de Vaux in 2005 and helped each other communicate, since I speak French well and he speaks English well. He’s a really great guy and I was glad to see him again at this year’s PDV. And I did get to meet Travis and Doug as well, but I forgot to tell him about my lucky wheels. He would have probably gotten a kick out of that.

Speaking of PDV, why don’t you share your good news with our readers…
I teamed up with two very fast women; Bérengère Debod and Mélanie Perret. Our manager was Jean-Michel Abfalter. We had a great team and a really good chance of winning. We all wanted to win really bad, so we worked extra hard to make sure we did. When it was over we did it. We won! Thanks to Jean-Michel we were ready for every little problem that came up. We had so much fun together. I’ll never forget it.

How many Women’s teams were there at this year’s PDV?
I’m not positive, but I think around 7 or 8.

What quad did you ride?
We rode a Suzuki LT-R 450R Mathieu Bonnard #2 of the PDV 2007 (Bérengère’s boyfriend) got it ready for us. Thanks to him it was in excellent shape and ready for the long race.

You’re a Honda rider. Did you adapt to the Suzuki okay?
I did. I really felt comfortable on the quad. The brakes were outstanding. The quad was equipped with the Beringer break system. They worked really well and this helped us a lot.

You mentioned problems. What did you guys have to overcome in order to win?
We had some problems with the suspension and a gas line. We also had a penalty for the rear light. We were 3rd after 8 hours. At the third session, on Sunday, we worked hard and reeled the leaders in to move into first. It was so exciting! All the women’s teams were very good riders. The competition made it the best ever!

Bianka Beaudet Bio:

Name: Bianka Beaudet Nickname: Bi, Bibi or La Petite or Little Bianka Age: 24 Birthdate: March 13, 1984 Home: Victoriaville, Québec, Canada Born in: Sorel, Quebec Occupation: Primary (elementary) school teacher Education: Bachelor’s degree in education 1st Language: French (Quebec french!!) 2nd Language: English Racing #: 81 (Because 81 looks like BI for Bianka) Current Quad: Honda TRX450R Sponsors: Elka Suspension, Kimpex : Shark, Shot, Ipone, Smith, TCX, XFR, Motosport 116, Lettrage Guy Mélançon,  Must have ATV bolt on: Elka Suspension, Elka Stabilizer, handlebars that fit my short arms and it must have my custom graphics from Guy Melancon  Cell phone and carrier: Samsung, Bell Magazine: Le Monde du VTT and Dirt Wheels Movie: Comedy TV Show: I don’t watch television often Vehicle:  2005 Black Volvo S40 Food: Pastas, especially with chicken salsa rosa sauce! Restaurant: Angéline, in Trois-Rivières, Québec Pets: My lovely Beagle Betsie Hottest Guy on Earth: To me, the hottest guy is simply the one I love Favorite Place on Earth: On a podium!  Or somewhere in the Virgin Islands Worst Place on Earth: In jail I suppose Coolest thing you’ve won: The Women’s class at this year’s PDV! Website: bianka81.com Facebook: keyword: Bianka Beaudet

HDid you think you would finish up in front of over half the entire field of 120?
Not at all! I had no idea we could do this well against the men, especially since a lot of them were very talented pro riders. When I left home, I didn’t even know my teammates. And I had heard that there were very good riders up there, so to end up first in class and 46th overall is incredible. I’m really proud of us women, we don’t have the same muscles, strength and endurance as the men. We were just three 115-120 pound little women with a lot of heart. Like I said I’ll never forget Mélanie and Bérengère. We made for a great team.

For those that have never experienced the incredible 12 Hours of Pont de Vaux, try to explain what it’s like to race it.
It is the fastest endurance race I’ve ever done. Ice racing is very fast in Canada, but PDV is insanely fast! Most of the time you’re pinned wide-open on the hard-packed track! If you’re in shape you don’t really get physically tired much, but you do get mentally tired though. If you like to really go fast like me you’ll love the race. If you’re a technical rider that isn’t into speed you won’t like it.

So was this year’s PDV your biggest accomplishment in ATV racing?
I would say yes. It feels really good to realize your dream. When you dream, you can do whatever you want, but to go out and do it is another story. My dreams are what wakes me up in the morning and gives me a reason to live. I always say follow your dreams, you’ll have fun and you’ll have a happy life.

Well said. What do you do for a living? What’s a typical week for you?
I’m working as an elementary school teacher. During the week, I get my stuff ready for the races, I work, I hang out with my friends, I take care of my dog, I take care of me (hair, nails, shopping, everything a woman does) and more. I practice on my quad when it is possible, I see or call my family, I snowboard in Winter, and during the weekends I go to the races.

Are you married? Kids?
I’m not married yet and no kids, but these are important things for me and I hope I’ll get married one day and have children. I have my Summers off so I want to teach them to ride of course. My dream would be to have my husband, children and myself racing and all of us having fun together.

I understand you and I share a common paragliding interest. I’ve been wanting to do that for many years. Tell us more about what it’s like to paraglide and how you got into that.
I saw that you mentioned that in your new year’s resolution. This is an awesome coincidence we have! When I was young, I often dreamed I was flying. I dreamed that I was running very fast then just took off into the air. I remember the feeling of being so free even though I was just a little girl. Well, it’s exactly the same thing when you do it for real. You run, then give it throttle and take off. It is very exciting. If you come to Quebec I’ll get you a ride. One of my friends is an instructor and has a tandem paraglider to train on.

HIs that how you got started with the sport?
No my daddy was into it. He had the same dream that I had a long time ago. I probably inherited my dream from him (laughing). He met people from the sport 10-15 years ago. He became a well-known mechanic in the sport. Anyway, he got me into it and hooked me up with a 3-day lesson. After the lessons I made my first solo flight.

I would think it’s a blast going slow close to the ground rather than flying way up in the sky. Is that true?
Some people like going high. I didn’t think it was that much fun to go too high up. I liked going close to the ground, watching for animals, looking at the fields, and doing tricks in the air. It’s like being on a huge swing!

How often do you paraglide?
With my racing I haven’t had much time for paragliding, but I want to get back in the air more often next year.

I remember you being pretty linked up with Elka Suspension. Are you still friends with the boys at Elka?
Of course YES! They have been my main sponsors since 2005 and they are very good friends too. I sometimes go to the shop only to say hi. I also go to the races with one of them; Pierre-Yves Deneault aka: PY. He helps me a lot. We also went to PDV together. He raced there too. Yann and Sebastien are very important to me also! Yann knows everyone and he helps me a lot with many things. They’re all a good bunch of guys.

 

How about some fun stuff to help us get to know you a little better?
Has Bianka ever…
Ate sushi
Oooo that’s disgusting! Never!

Fished
Yes of course, I live in Canada, but I can’t put the worm on the fishing line. Anyway, there is always a few of us with beer when we go fishing so that’s not a problem! There is always someone to give me a hand!

Shoplifted
No, honesty is too important for me.

Been to Las Vegas
No, but it shall come soon.

Killed something
A worm when we go fishing.

Ran a marathon
The marathon of a 12 hour quad race is enough. Racing without an engine doesn’t sound appealing to me!

Jumped from an airplane
Not yet.

Played strip poker
Na, showing some parts of our body is not a game, it doesn’t mean I don’t like to wear my Bikini on the beach but some parts of my body are for my lover only!

Ran from the cops
Yes, actually I have on my quad. In Quebec, we aren’t allowed to ride on the streets with our quads so I had to run a few times.

Been in jail
No, I’m a good girl. I would get crazy staying at the same place for more than a couple hours. I don’t want to ever go to jail for sure.

Mountain biked
No, it doesn’t have a engine. I don’t have much talent driving only two wheels.

Shoveled snow
I live in Canada, so of course I have. It’s actually good training before going to work in the Winter. I even get blisters sometimes.

Which do you prefer…
Beavis & Butthead, Family Guy, The Simpsons, King of the Hill or South Park?
The Simpsons

Toronto Blue Jays or Cleveland Indians: Let’s say Montreal Canadien or Toronto Maple Leafs! Go Habs! I’m not really into baseball.

A salad or burger
Burger

What do these years bring to mind?
1976
The Montreal Olympics, I wasn’t born yet.

1980
My mom and Dad got married.

1984
I was born.

1988
My house burned down. My dad got his ATV and snowmobile shop started. And it is one of the reasons I now ride. It was also the year I received my first little snowmobile at Christmas!

1995
I was figure skating, wearing little dresses and had my hair done every weekend!

1999
I quit figure skating and did my first motorized paraglider flight.

2000 I bought my first quad, a ’98 TRX 300EX. I was afraid of riding with my friends because I thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them in the trails. One month later I found out they couldn’t keep up with me!

2001
I realized biggest dream, I raced my 300EX on a real race track! I was the only woman there. There were over 63 guys, most with 400EX’s, Banshees, 250R’s etc. It was a two hour race. I picked the 6th place on the starting grid, flipped over in the first turn but still ended up 23rd overall! I was surprised to do so well.

2003
I went to PDV for the first time, met awesome people, and had a lot of fun with Jasmin Plante, Dana Creech and Wes Miller.

2004
I was 20 and trying to fit full time University studies, work, races, training, friends, boyfriend, family, eating and sleep in all at the same time. It wasn’t’ easy, but I did it, even though my teachers had told me I was going to fail if I tried to take on that much in my life.

2005
I went to Florida for my Summer vacation with Susan Parker. She’s great and we had a blast that year.

2006
I broke my collar bone and raced the 12 hours of La Tuque three and a half weeks later. That wasn’t too smart.

2007
I won the Women’s Championship and the Amateur’s Ice Racing Championship. I was the only women rider in the Championship.

2008
I upgraded to the Pro class in Ice Racing. I went to the 12 hours of Pont de Vaux and had a great race and memorable time with wonderful people.

How about these future years?
2009
I’ll still be racing and I’ll be teaching my students to seek their passions in life like I have. I also plan to travel a little with friends and be happy!

2010
I hope I’ll have someone I love, maybe think about buying a house and continue going to the races.

2020
I hope I’ll have children, a house, a husband I love, and if possible I hope I still go to the races with them. Or at least, have a sport we can share. Hopefully something that keeps us in a good shape, but I’ll be happy with whatever activity we do as a family as long as it’s fun and keeps us together.

Quick, what comes to mind…
The best rider ever
Everyone has some sort of talent in something. You only have to find it and work hard on what’s difficult for you to be better.

Angela Butler
Angela is someone who has inspired me a lot. We don’t know much of each other but I have been paying attention to her over the years. What’s she’s demonstrated and accomplished has helped me to be confident that I should also go to the races and try to compete. At that time, no women were racing the Canadian MX Championship here. I was afraid of being the first and only one. Angela showed me that women could do it just as well as the guys. That’s why she is someone important in my eyes.

Jasmin Plante
Jasmin is a rider I admire a lot. I like the way he rides, I’m proud of what he has done. There haven’t been too many Canadian riders that have competed in the US and done well like he has. He’s also a good friend to me and has helped me a lot over the years.

America
North America comes to mind. I am proud the say I come from America. I wouldn’t mind if Canada and the US merged into one country.

France
The have very good souvenirs.

Dana Creech
One of the coolest guys I’ve ever met.

ATV Scene
John Pellan! It’s also the best ATV website.

Sports
ATV racing, ATV racing, ATV racing and snowboarding too!

Lakes
Sea-Doo

13
My birth date and also my lucky number.

Quad
Honda

Golf
It’s not extreme enough for me.

Vacation
On the beach with someone I love, and hanging out with my friends.

Paris Hilton
I certainly never want to be like her.

Weddings
If I get married one day, I want to do it on a quad like Cyril Lamet did with his wife Anabelle, one of France’s ATV Champions.

PlayStation
No engine, too much sitting – not good.

Well let’s call it a wrap. Thanks for a really cool interview and for being such a great role model to up and comers in our sport and beyond. Go get another championship. We wish you all the luck in the world. Any last words?
Live your dreams and never give up. And thank you for doing the interview with me. It was a lot of fun.

 

Tags:

Comments

comments