Sandra Jordà: passion and success in mountain biking and road cycling
European Ultramarathon Champion (2017) and Spanish Enduro Champion (2017, 2018). Ambassador of Enduro and Orbea, Sandra Jordà is one of the most well-known female mountain bike cyclists. She is an ambassador for Orbea and a hugely popular biker on social networks such as Instagram. Her father instilled in her a passion for the motor world, but Sandra tried cycling and never looked back.
From the road to the mountain: combining ultramarathon and enduro
Her beginnings were on the track and with a road bike, but she always knew that her thing was MTB. Is it easy for you to combine two such different MTB disciplines as ultramarathon and enduro? It's almost more difficult for a coach: you tell him you want to do both things, but he needs to know which one you want to compete in. For me, it's simple. I like to ride my bike and I race in whatever I feel like. Enduro and ultramarathon have nothing in common, but I've managed to combine them. In ultramarathon, you set your own pace and you have to forget about your rivals for 10 or 12 hours. You ride alone for a long time. In enduro, you do your stage, but then you meet up with other teammates until the next descent comes, you talk about your feelings, etc. In both disciplines I have made good friends.
The growth of women's cycling
How do you experience the rise of women's cycling? There are more and more girls, and brands are much more concerned about offering products that we like. The clearest example is clothing. Twenty years ago, there were hardly any kits for girls; they simply didn't fit our body types. There are still some differences, which are more noticeable in road cycling than in MTB. You can tell they invest more resources for men than for women. The aim is to make it equal, although I wish it would happen a bit faster. As for the number of cyclists, I do see more girls practicing road and gravel than MTB, and I don't know why…
You often talk about the importance that cycling has in your life… Cycling for me is a way of life and a passion. If you like it, you like it for your whole life, no matter how old you are. I've reached a point where I don't want to try more bikes; every bike I try, I love and want to get the most out of. Same with mountain, road, urban, or fixie … How do you organize your training? How do you balance your work in banking with cycling practice? Of course, it depends on my work schedule. Normally, I make the most of the weekends, so I rest on Mondays. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I do quality training sessions. On Thursday, I do a bit more endurance riding and from Friday on, I push hard again. That's the general rule, although it then depends on the race calendar. I always train in the afternoons. In winter it's tough because training at night is really hard. That's why I try to go out in a group; it's much easier to stick to it when your strength is failing. In summer it's different because I have from 5 to 10 at night to train. That's why my peak fitness is in September-October. Anyway, when you have carrera coming up, you have to go alone frequently because you need to focus on very specific training sessions.
Favorite bikes: from the Orbea Alma to the Orca
What are your bikes? Since you are an ambassador for Orbea… Indeed, they are all Orbea. The one I use the most is the Orbea Alma, the hardtail mountain bike: for the feel, the lightness… You really feel the bike, which is very cool. On descents you have to work your body much more, going uphill it feels very agile… I have it set up with a 34-tooth chainring. I also use the Oiz (full suspension) quite a lot, especially in stage races, where your back gets more loaded. I also use it a lot for training in the Collserola area (Barcelona), which is full of technical sections. Also, with the 120 mm of travel it has, it is very versatile for me. Any other bikes? Of course! For enduro, I use the Orbea Rallon, with a 32-tooth chainring. On the road, I always ride the Orbea Orca. I have it set up with a 39-52, but I want to go back to the compact. As for the Terra (the gravel model from Orbea), I use it for some gravel riding, but I still haven’t fully enjoyed it. I want to get more into the world of gravel. Maybe soon I’ll go on a trip around Girona, which is one of the best areas for this discipline. Oh, and for work, I use a Katu, with a motor.
Memorable routes and challenges
Speaking of competition, which races do you remember most fondly? The first times are always special. I have an amazing memory of my victory in the Spanish Track Championship when I was 15 or 16 years old. I also remember a lot the Spanish Road Championship in 1997, where I was second behind Merche Cagigas. There were several laps around a circuit, but not It was clear whether we were going to give three or four. I said to myself: "if it's three, I win." But in the end it was four and Merche won.
I also have a spectacular memory of the European Ultramarathon Championship that I won. It was 215 km and 6,000 m of elevation gain. I was very scared and it rained from the very first kilometer. On top of that, I broke the seatpost. There were a lot of adversities, but I felt so physically strong that I managed everything very well. And any recent challenge that has impacted you especially? Of the most recent ones, without a doubt, the Camí de Cavalls 360º Non-Stop, in 2021. A complete lap around the island of Menorca on one of the most beautiful, and most technical, routes I have ever done on MTB in my life. I was alone with the GPS, with the sea in sight the whole time... An amazing memory.
In this video, you can see a summary of the incredible experience lived by Sandra Jordà in Menorca.
When you get off the bike, would you define yourself as a bike geek? As a geek, I love car documentaries. As for bikes, I prefer riding to knowing everything about cycling. Sometimes people start explaining things to me, even things I’ve asked about, and I end up tuning out. The feeling of pedaling is one of the things that makes me happiest. I can be sad or angry, but riding a bike changes my mood. I would spend the whole day on the bike; I wish the day had more hours so I could ride more and more.
Innovations in cycling: the dropper seatpost
And are you a big fan of the innovations introduced in the world of cycling? The dropper seatpost! As a cyclist, I am technically better than physically. That is, I descend better than I climb and I always resisted the dropper seatpost. Partly to save a bit of weight, which does obsess me. But when I did the Camí de Cavalls I realized that it was crazy not to use it. I tried the seatpost and now I never plan to take it off. You need a couple of weeks to adapt, but once you try it you never go back.