Laurel Rathbun has been a bike racer for only five years, but the 14-year-old Palmer Ridge High School freshman is among the top young road riders in the country. And that's not easy to do. It takes courage and determination ... an attitude.

"I remember races where I was the only girl and when the medal ceremony took place, the promoter would say to me, 'Sorry, we didn’t think any girls would show up, so we don’t have a medal for you.' It’s a good thing that I was not motivated by medals."

Rathbun stamped her name on the 2010 Junior National Championships, winning two silver medals and a bronze. She also won the Senior Women Cat 4 title at the Salida Omnium.

On the road, Rathbun rides for Garmin Cervelo’s Chipotle Junior Development Team. She is sponsored by Team Fuji in cyclocross, and for the local Front Rangers team in mountain bike races.

We fired off a few questions to her and she responded with some excellent answers.

There aren't many 15-year-old girls racing bikes, and the word is that you love bicycle racing. What attracts you to the sport?
It all started when I was 7 and did a triathlon because my older brother and some of his friends were racing the IronKids Triathlon series. I loved it! Although at the time I was a terrible swimmer, I could ride my little mountain bike pretty fast, and was a strong runner. In fact, I ended up winning the IronKids National Triathlon Championship for my age group that summer.

Over time, I recognized that my passion was cycling. I would ride my cute, little, purple Gary Fisher mountain bike all around the neighborhood. (I still have this bike; I won’t let my parents get rid of it.)
Eventually, my parents discovered the American Cycling Association (ACA) junior program. My brother outgrew his road bike, so I took it and started showing up at the Front Range races. I remember races where I was the only girl and when the medal ceremony took place, the promoter would say to me, “Sorry, we didn’t think any girls would show up, so we don’t have a medal for you.” It’s a good thing that I was not motivated by medals. I just loved going out there and trying to keep up with whoever was racing.

There was this one older girl, Danielle Haulman, who was just an awesome national-level racer. I watched her in awe and wanted to grow up to be fast just like her. She was always so sweet to me and would give me little tips to help me get better. Having a role model like her let me know that you could grow up to be a girl bike racer.

As I aged up, more and more junior boys and girls started showing up to race. These days, there are tons of little 8- and 9-year-olds racing and it just makes me so happy! I remember being that small and it brings back wonderful memories. There still are not a lot of girls my age racing here in Colorado, but the girls that do race consistently are awesome and push me to be better and better each race.

I truly love racing, cheering on my friends and everyone else. My parents are totally the best. They’ve supported me in all of the activities and sports that I have tried. I did gymnastics (not very well), skiing, soccer, swimming, biking, cross country, track, and triathlons. Biking just makes me happy, despite some pretty rough crashes. Riding my bike makes me feel free and independent, a wonderful feeling that I wouldn’t trade for anything else in the world.

Can you tell us about the time or moment when you realized you wanted to race bicycles?

I really wanted to concentrate on cycling when I realized that nothing else made me as happy. I’d come back from riding my bike with my dad and brother and know that I didn’t feel this way when finishing any other sport. I love lots of sports and there was never one deciding moment. That decision came over time. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of riding, though I definitely need breaks sometimes.

What was your favorite race this year - or best finish, the one you're most proud of - why, and what happened?

My best race of the cyclocross season was definitely the USGP New Belgium Cup, a UCI race. Everything went right and I won the SW 1-4. USAC Junior Nationals were also really good for me. I had two second-place finishes and a third.  I’ll be working hard to improve for nationals this summer, but I have a lot of work to do because I’ll be at the bottom of the JW 15-16 age group.

When you are in the middle of racing season, what does your training schedule look like? Because I’m still so young, I’ve been advised to keep it fun, so I do not have any set training plan. I usually get in a rhythm and just go with it. I love riding with my dad and my brother - if he goes slow. I do keep track of hours and try to limit riding to 10-12 hours per week. So, I usually take two off days during the week. I race a lot of weekends, but not every weekend. Racing is so fun though that it is sometimes hard for me to convince myself that I need to take a weekend off from it!

Tell us about your bikes, what do you ride?

I am pretty tall so I ride a 56 cm road bike. It is a wonderful Felt road bike with the custom paint job of the 2008 Garmin Pro Tour team.  My time trial, cyclocross, and track bikes are also Felt. My mountain bike is a $150, no name garage sale bike, but I’ve logged some really good races on it. I also have single speed mountain bike.

What advice would you give to young folks who want to try bicycle racing?

The key to finding out if you like something is definitely just trying it. It sounds a little scary, but just grab your bike, put on your helmet and go try a race. It’s not all about racing and winning - although that is fun. It’s about going out and having fun riding by yourself or with friends. Not everybody is going to be the next Lance Armstrong and that’s OK. You want to stick with the sport because you like it, not because you have to, or only like it because you win. I didn’t start biking because I thought I could get medals, but did it because I liked it.

What are your racing goals for 2011?

My top priority races for 2011 are the road race, time trial, and criterium at the USAC Junior Nationals in Augusta, Ga., this summer. I plan to talk to our team director soon to discuss what other races will help me improve as a rider, so I’ll keep you posted on that.