Woman Racer Spotlight: Gina van Rossum

Name: Gina van Rossum

Hometown: Hulsberg (Amstel Gold Race region! The race even comes past my house, well almost…) 

How did you get into cycling? My dad has been my inspiration always! He used to be an amateur mountain biker himself, meaning it wouldn’t surprise me if I cycled even before I could walk. Guess my dad is also where I get my love for mud! Although I do prefer a gravel bike to a mountain bike. 

How many years have you been racing on Zwift? I got into it during Covid times! I used to only do spinning in the winter, but didn’t take long before I was hooked. 

Are you part of a virtual team? Yes I am. 3 actually . This crazy thing started when I was training to go up Mont Ventoux 3x in one day! I needed more motivation to do tough trainings. So I already rode with the Dutch Team NL and then I started looking for an APAC team and ended up in HERD. Recently I decided I wanted something different than ZRL for a season which is how I ended up riding for DIRT as well in DRS. 

What do you love most about racing? The teamwork it brings and how it’s brought me so many friends from all over the world! Next to that I love how it pushes me further then I would be able to push myself in any workout. 

What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? Hmmm… this one I really have to think about. I just did amazingly well on a points race today when writing this so I was inclined to say points. However I think my all time favourite is something DRS brings in their racing! It’s called TTR and it’s a normal scratch race with draft, but in this race your 4th rider over the finish is the one that counts. This requires good communication skills and it’s just amazing for teamwork.

What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? I’d have to say Boudicca! It brought so many amazingly talented riders together! It had me in such a high the whole weekend! 

What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? Another tough one! I think the most memorable race experience was actually quite recent! Each year Team NL does club Championships. So last year it was a hilly race in Yorkshire and this year they went for tiny races. I knew my competition well, they are my team mates after all! So I had a plan in mind: surprise them on the first out of 4 races! Good I came second, but I did surprise my biggest competitor! She ended up taking race 2 and 3, but I could secure second place in both. Final one, uphill finish! My time to shine bottom to top! I caught her just on the line! We were gonna be close and we each started counting our own points. Unbelievable, but over 4 races we ended up tied for first! Race control did not think this could happen and we had no idea how to deal with it so the only logical thing to do was share the tittle! 

What is your favourite food to eat post race? Oh I usually just have whatever high protein stuff is in reach, but a snack I really like is actually very simple and I recommend it to everyone. Slice up some cucumber. Mix a can of tuna on water base with some mayo and sriracha sauce. Viola an easy high-protein snack that is great whenever.

What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Even if you think you can’t sprint for the points, sprint anyway! Turns out it takes a lot more effort trying to catch back on than to sprint with all you have in you (at least it does for me). Oh and dare to draft since you can save so many watts!