FEATURE - Bond on a bike

Mountain biking has turned Emma Bond into a powerful, competent athlete, and she plans to keep competing and keep winning!

Travis Earsman

Sitting down with Emma Bond I was immediately taken by how much she has grown into herself. I’ve known Emma since she was seven or eight, as I used to be her school bus driver. Every morning she and her sister Sarah would climb onto my rainbow bus, and they would always light up my day. 

Time has passed and Emma is now a young adult. There is a disarming solidarity about her that I could never have predicted when I knew her as a kid. She may have matured a lot, but I note with a smile that her laugh is still the same as I remember from those happy mornings in my memory.

Emma was brought up riding bikes, and following in the footsteps (or is that wheel ruts) of her dad Chris she got into mountain bike racing at a young age. The defining moment came when, aged 12, she went along to watch her dad competing in a downhill mountain bike race in Kandanga. This proved to be an experience that would forever change her life. 

“I walked all the way up to the top of the hill and back down. It was really cool because I got to see what downhill was for the first time. I don't think I'd ever experienced it before that race. And it was just people going really, really fast. Downhill, doing jumps, and I was like, ‘This is so cool’.”

Emma was already a keen cyclist, riding her bike on tracks in and around Maleny, but seeing the intensity of the downhill racing had really ignited a fire in her. She started riding more challenging herself with more difficult trails. 

Over the next few years she bought her first eBike, and not long after that, her first downhill bike. Emma soon started to tear up the more advanced and technical downhill tracks as her skills and confidence built, and then in 2025 when she was 15, she started racing competitively.

“I feel like when you enter competitions, it's not so much I want to win first up. I wanted to meet other people who also enjoy the sport as much as I do. I ended up being pretty good, which is fun,” Emma shared.

Emma won her first race in 2025, and then went on to compete in many events that year.  She achieved an impressive streak of wins, including placing 2nd in the South-East Queensland ‘Outlaw Series.’ 

Most significantly, she competed in the Under-17 Women’s Downhill event at the 2025 AusCycling MTB Downhill State Championships.

“Every single time I went down that hill, I fell off my bike or something went wrong,” Emma said. “During the qualifying race my pedal fell off and I bent the pedal crank so that it ended up touching the frame. We had to bend it back with a hammer. So I didn't even do a qualifying run.” 

Despite this setback, Emma not only managed to complete the race, but she came in first place by a massive 15-second margin, making her the 2025 Under-17 Women’s Queensland Downhill State Champion. This is a truly remarkable achievement and testament to her talent and hard work. 

So what comes next for Emma Bond, after such a successful 2025?

Currently she is nursing a broken arm, courtesy of - you guessed it -  falling off her bike. Despite this, Emma is still training in the gym and building up her strength and fitness. As soon as her arm heals, she has her sights set on the Under-19 category of the 2026 State Championships, and beyond that, the National Championships.

In terms of pursuing bike racing as a career, the fact is it is difficult to make a living from it. Emma plans to continue to ride and compete chiefly because she loves it, and if a career grows from that then she will see that as a bonus. She has a broader perspective when it comes to her future career.

“I want to do sports coaching. I want to teach people how to mountain bike. I’d like to go somewhere like Theadbo, learn to ski and then do skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. Be a sports coach and teach people how to do it.”

Whatever Emma’s future may hold, I am certain that she will continue to surprise and inspire. Her energy and enthusiasm is contagious, and it is so rewarding to see her blooming into a powerful and competent athlete. 

Watch out, because as soon as her arm heals, Emma is going to be back on the tracks with more vigour and determination than ever. She's going to continue to compete and she's going to continue to win. 

Most importantly, she is going to continue to ride because it is her passion, and it is a way of life to her.