Not many people choose a 4-day mountain bike stage race as their first racing experience, but Deanna Mayles did. Deanna started cycling with her dad when she was in college, and fell in love with the sport. Her job as an engineer took her to Tucson and Colorado Springs, two cycling meccas that helped to foster her development in the sport. In 2023 Deanna burst onto the racing scene with a top 10 finish in the Lifetime Grand Prix. She talks about how she gained confidence as a “new” racer amongst the deep women’s field, and how she plans to take that confidence with her into the 2024 season. Aside from training and racing, Deanna also works full time at SRAM as a reliability engineer. She shares what that role entails, and how she is using her experience as a woman in the industry to help encourage better product development for women.

Follow Deanna on Instagram @deanna.mayles

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