Out of the Blue | Rose Lantaigne | Brought to You by Schrader’s

Out of the Blue | Rose Lantaigne | Brought to You by Schrader’s

By Jensen Amyotte

Name: Rose Lantaigne

Date of Birth: October 4th, 1987

Hometown: Noëlville, Ontario, Canada

Occupation: Mining Technologist 

Race Number: 987

Bike: 2022 Sherco 250 SE Factory 

When not on a dirtbike, how do you keep yourself busy? Are you involved in any other sports or extracurricular activities?

When I’m not out riding, a lot of my spare time is spent working on my health, which remains my number one priority and luckily, also happens to be a huge passion of mine! Striving towards becoming a better version of myself every day has become a lifestyle and habit that I truly enjoy. Just to give some context, I started riding in 2006. Then, from 2010-2014, I raced mostly cross-country with some occasional motocross. I also started cross-training on a trials bike and attending competitive trials events.

In 2014, I fell chronically ill after a serious bout of mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus). Unfortunately, I had to stop dirt biking entirely due to fatigue and weakness. This shattered me. It took many years of healing to not only overcome the physical challenges, but the emotional burden this illness left me with. During that time, I experimented with a variety of health protocols and consumed a lot of self-help content, such as books, podcasts, and workshops.

In 2020, something miraculous happened. I decided that I wanted to start riding again. I had no clue how I was going to make it happen, but I knew that I needed to do it.

Fast forward now to 2023, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision! Rebuilding my fitness from the ground up, as well as my confidence and mindset, was, and still can be, quite challenging, but I’ve grown so much from having to overcome all these physical, mental and emotional barriers! I wouldn’t change a thing! I feel stronger now and have a greater appreciation for life. I have big goals and dreams and I love the daily grind that comes with the sport.  

From your first ride to where you are now, what is something you never thought you would be able to overcome but have?

Learning how to wheelie has always been a huge mental block of mine. For the most part, I preferred to keep my front tire on the ground and focused heavily on foundational techniques, such as clutch slip, balance and bar-lock turns. However, as I started riding harder terrain, I realized that I could no longer stay in my comfort zone and that I needed to learn how to bring my front wheel up in a precise and controlled manner. Being able to do this facilitates quick directional changes on the trail. This is often referred to as the step-pivot technique.

In other situations, a simple front wheel lift is often needed to get over larger obstacles such as logs and rock faces. Being able to safely execute these techniques unlocks new, harder terrain. Learning this is a lengthy process, but I’ve already made massive progress and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! It has been quite frustrating at times! My patience tested! I’m so proud that I persevered and pushed past those frustrations and fears. 

What event do you look forward to most every year, one you don’t ever want to miss?

My focus post-illness has shifted away from racing as I’ve been putting more emphasis on skill building and drills. However, there is one event that I like to attend every year, and that’s the Corduroy Enduro. This is Ontario’s biggest off-road race, which attracts riders from all over Canada, the United States and even beyond. The course consists of over 300 kilometres of rugged terrain split into two full days of racing. There are special tests which are timed sections. These tests are connected by non-timed transits. Scoring is based on the total time spent to complete all special test sections. This format is often referred to as a classic enduro.

In 2021, I fell a tad short of receiving my finisher’s medal. Last year in 2022, however, I managed to finish on time and received my very first Women’s Pro finisher’s medal! I’m really stoked about this achievement! I’m looking forward to challenging myself again this year, and hopefully improve my test times. This is the only race I currently have on my radar. The rest of the events I generally attend are non-competitive in nature, such as organized group rides.

Committing to racing the Corduroy Enduro every year is a great way to keep my fitness and mental grit in check. Just this one race requires a lot of training and preparation. After all, it is known to be one of Canada’s toughest races! 

What is your biggest accomplishment to date?

As previously mentioned, receiving my very first finisher’s medal in the Women’s Pro class at last year’s Corduroy Enduro is definitely my biggest accomplishment to date, on paper. However, I would say that the process behind recovering from chronic fatigue exceeds that by several orders of magnitude. My finisher’s medal is simply a tangible result of all the hard work I did to overcome my illness and not succumb to the negative mindset and depression, which had a solid grip on me.

Curiosity, discipline and patience have been, and still are, my three pillars. For anyone struggling with health issues, it’s important to remain curious and open to different healing modalities and concepts. Educate yourself, try new things, etc.. Show up for yourself everyday, in both small and big ways. Practice discipline. However, don’t beat yourself up if you fail from time to time, as long as you keep going. Lastly, be patient. Good things take time. Things that require hard work are usually worthwhile.

What do you like to do in the off season?

For the last three winters, backcountry snowmobiling has been keeping me active. When I originally purchased my snowmobile back in 2020, I wasn’t sure how well I would adapt. I felt very comfortable on two wheels, and knew darn well that I had a steep learning curve ahead of me. During my first season of backcountry snowmobiling, I was overwhelmed by the size of my machine, as well as the horsepower. I also quickly realized that getting stuck isn’t a joke. Digging out a 500-pound machine that is trenched all the way down to bedrock is hard work, especially while wearing an insulated monosuit! I definitely experienced several moments of doubt and defeat. Being a newbie all over again can feel quite frustrating… But I persisted.

Fast forward three seasons later and I’m hooked! I can honestly say that I love backcountry snowmobiling just as much as enduro riding. As for actual downtime, I typically get about a month of transition in the fall, where the weather and conditions don’t allow for either enduro or snowmobiling. Same thing in the spring. This only leaves me with a few months of quiet time. During these transition periods, I typically catch up on chores at home, and focus more on my fitness to keep the momentum going. Small daily actions, over time, create big momentum!