Map reading mountainbiker wins bronze

When UQ student Anna Sheldon failed to make the national orienteering team she took up a new challenge – to read maps from the seat of her mountain bike.

Ms Sheldon, Queensland’s top ranked female orienteer, has returned from her first World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships with a bronze medal.

Mountain bike orienteering combines the skill of bike riding in rough terrain with map reading and navigational skills.

“It’s pretty much like driving a car while reading a refidex,” the 23-year-old from St Lucia explained.

Ms Sheldon, a PhD student in soil science and UQ sporting scholarship winner, was one of a dozen men and women who represented Australia at the championships.

Competitors raced 17 to 30 kilometre tracks in bush outside Ballarat on their bikes while reading a swiveling map attached to their handlebars.

Ms Sheldon said racers were given maps a minute before the race to work out the best routes between checkpoints, considering distance, climb and track difficulty. After that, all map reading is done on the ride.

Out of 52 competitors, she placed 19th in the long distance race, 21st in the middle distance race and pedaled the second fastest time of the day for her relay race bronze.

Anna is a three-time Australian representative at the Junior World Orienteering Championships but narrowly missed selection for the Australian team for the World Orienteering Championships earlier this year.

Media: contact Ms Sheldon on (phone: 0407 574 878, 3346 9546 or email: a.sheldon@uq.edu.au) or Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (phone: 3365 2619, email: m.holland@uq.edu.au)