Myriam
Nicole
France
·
MTB
Date of birth | February 8, 1990 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Montpellier |
Age | 35 |
Nationality | France |
Career start | 2009 |
Disciplines | Mountainbike Downhill |
Myriam 'Pompon' Nicole’s love affair with mountain biking has never wavered, ever since she got the bug for riding from her three older brothers at the age of four. Excelling at downhill, her natural talent was spotted by the well-known French manager Sébastien Chavet in her mid-teens.
Chavet moulded his protégé into a highly technical rider and after a few years in the junior ranks, at 19 years old she joined the Elite field. Her first year here proved eventful, with a fourth-place finish in the World Championship before a fall in Mont-Sainte-Anne in Canada resulted in a broken collarbone and a premature end to her inaugural senior season.
In 2010, Myriam joined Commencal - the brand she she still rides for today – and finished fifth in the World Cup overall ranking. 2011 was a standout year that brought her first World Cup round win in Val di Sole, Italy, a course renowned as the most technically demanding on the circuit.
After another successful year in 2012, with a third overall in the World Cup, Myriam became recognised as the most consistent competition for Britain's dominant force, Rachel Atherton, and although another World Cup win eluded her in 2012 and 2013, she was a regular figure on the podium.
In 2014, Myriam enjoyed three World Cup podiums in Cairns, Fort William and Leogang, then started 2015 with a third-placed finish at the opening World Cup round in Lourdes, but a crash preparing for the Fort William round resulted in another broken collarbone injury that kept her off the racetrack mid-season. More injury followed and in 2016 she only raced twice in the UCI DH season, finishing third on both occasions.
Returning fresh for the 2017 season, Myriam was finally rewarded for all her talent, perseverance and hard work. Pushed all the way by early-season leader Tracey Hannah and the UK's Tahnée Seagrave, she sealed her first overall World Cup title with a second-place finish at the season's final round in Val di Sole, Italy.
Despite a strong start in 2018, where she dominated the opening World Cup race in Croatia and followed that with a pair of second places, a heavy crash during practice in the Val di Sole saw her miss races with a back injury, meaning she wasn't able to properly defend her title.
Unfortunately, Myriam's 2019 World Cup season never even got started as a broken and dislocated foot sustained in a pre-season crash put her out for the entire series. She turned her season into a golden one however, when she came back to racing for the World Championships in Canada and promptly won her first rainbow jersey, a feat she repeated in 2021 in Italy, proving that she remains one of the very best downhill racers in the world.
With six podium finishes in 2022, including big victories in Switzerland and the final in Val di Sole, Myriam just missed out on the overall World Cup title, but proved that she was a fast as ever against the upcoming generation of female riders.
Sadly, a severe and prolonged concussion put Myriam out of action for the entire 2023 season, even putting her racing future in jeopardy. Fortunately for Myriam and race fans around the world, she was able to get back on track in 2024 and despite a rough start to the World Cup, her class shone through and the podium speed came back quickly even against the most stacked Elite Women's field of her career. A first podium in two years at Leogang, Austria, was quickly followed by a silver medal at the 2024 World Championships in Andorra – an incredible eighth World Champs medal for her.
Myriam saved the best to last however with a sensational ride on home soil in rainy Loudenvielle, France, securing an emotional return to the top step of the podium and reminding just how special a rider Myriam Nicole is.