KIRCHMANN Leah

General
EXPECTATIONS FOR 2024
She hopes that the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will see an equal number of male and female riders competing in the road race. There are 130 male cyclist competing in the road race at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, but only 67 in the women's event. "I think it's about time that they change that. There should be equal spots for men and women. My dream is that the next Olympic cycle sees an equal number of spots. They promote themselves on equality so that how's it should be reflected. Women's cycling has grown so much in the last few years, and we have more and more riders joining the team. There are more teams and more races." (cyclingnews.com, 31 Dec 2019)

RACING IN NORTH AMERICA V EUROPE
She believes competing in Europe is tactically very different to racing in North America. "The way the roads and environment are structured, and the size and depth of the peloton, create these main differences. The level of fitness needs to be very high to be competitive in both, but what changes is how you expend energy during the course of a race. Big wide roads and not many obstacles mean that it is easier to position for climbs and other key moments in North America. In Europe, very narrow roads and a lot of technical features such as roundabouts, medians, poles and curbs mean that you need expend a lot of energy already in the lead in to important moments in the race, to remain in contention and execute your team plan. It is a bit ironic that the infrastructure that makes it safe as a rider in many European countries can create additional hazards for racing. I would quickly accept more road furniture in North America if it resulted in a safer and more inviting environment for cyclists." (voxwomen.com, 23 May 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She is a certified cross-country skiing instructor. She is also an ambassador for Fast and Female, an organisation that aims to empower young girls through involvement in sport. (Facebook page, 01 Feb 2020; optumprocycling.com, 2013; teamcolavita.com, 08 Jan 2011)