She had seemingly stepped back from cross-country racing after the home Island Games, focusing on various other sporting disciplines – even swapping out the pushbike for trials and motocross riding – before being hit hard by lung infections earlier this year.
But the 21-year-old stepped right back up to compete at this month’s National Mountain Bike Cross-Country Championships, taking place at the testing Woody’s Bike Park in Cornwall, and was rewarded with eighth in the U23 race.
Olympian Ella Maclean-Howell dominated the 13-strong field, finishing a clear first in 1hr 16min. 54sec.
Yet it had been a commendable comeback for Vaudin, who clocked 1-32-54 for a tough 21.3km of riding.
‘Coming into the race, my plan was to just have fun after not racing cross-country since the 2023 Island Games,’ she said.
‘I only got four weeks of training in beforehand so to place eighth was a surprise, especially racing alongside the likes of Olympians and world champions.
‘To be honest, I didn’t think about the result, I just wanted to enjoy the downhills and put my new skills to the test.
‘Woody’s Bike Park is a very technical course with features such as berms, jumps, rock gardens and two long uphill climbs, so I think competing in the 2024 National Enduro Championships and National Downhill Championships helped with that.’
Vaudin enjoys a huge variety of sports.
She joined the Guernsey Athletics Club earlier this year and has already reaped the rewards, including a 5,000m personal best of 19-32.16.
And, just the day after her ‘Nationals’ experience, she was testing out the renowned trials grounds of Hookwood.
‘I think doing trials and motocross has really developed my technical skills as a mountain bike rider,’ she added.
‘I had lung infections at the start of the year and I was in a really bad place so taking up running recently helped me to get over that hurdle, along with the many other sports I do, which all help each other in one way or another.’
In the younger age groups, both Zach Smith and Remi Le Compte went in the youth open race.
Having been in and around the top 10 in national events this season, Smith placed 11th, while Le Compte snuck into the first 30 across the line.
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