Race you to the bottom!

It’s the day before Ellie’s next big overseas trip. The 17-year-old is squeezing in just one more workout, before heading out for dinner with her family.

As music pumps through the Adams Centre for High Performance in Mount Maunganui, there’s laughter coming from two bikes in the centre of the gym. 

Ellie and her younger brother Cole are cycling side by side, grinning like kids who’ve snuck out for one last ride before dark. 

It’s a Monday and 16-year-old Cole has arrived at the Adams Centre straight from school. 

The Hulsebosch siblings are sharing the gym with an elite group of young Tauranga athletes who are busy making the most of this world-class facility in their backyard. 

The Adams Centre, situated on the outskirts of Blake Park, has become a one-stop shop for individual athletes and professional sports teams preparing for competition at the highest level, including several Olympians and household names. 

“It’s a place where hard work is our common ground,” Ellie says. “It’s a completely safe environment where you’re surrounded by other athletes my age. As soon as I come here, I feel like myself.” 

Ellie turned pro last year and now competes full-time on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series circuit. Her brother is quickly catching up and is right behind her – one chasing the other, just like the old days. 

They’ve both been mountain biking since they were in primary school. The whole Hulsebosch family – Ellie, Cole, Mum Kat, Dad Shay, and their dog Remy – used to ride together every week through Rotorua’s Redwoods in the Whakarewarewa Forest. 

“That was our weekly activity, just mucking around in the bush somewhere,” Ellie says. 

“Back then, we just had each other to ride with. So, we were always competing against one another.” 

Growing up, if Ellie and Cole were ever racing on the same day, even if it was in different events, Cole’s focus was always crossing the finish line faster than his big sis. 

“He’d get so mad if I raced a good time,” Ellie says, as she elbows her younger brother in the arm. 

Cole just grins. He’s a man of few words during this interview but has a determined glint in his eyes when asked about his future aspirations.

Cole is the current downhill under-17 national champion after winning gold earlier this year at the Mountain Bike National Championships. He’ll also be heading overseas in June to compete in the iXS European Downhill Cup series. 

“I am aiming for the podium,” Cole says. “My five-year goal is to get on a team for the World Cup season or, if not, podium at World Cups as a junior.” 

Cole trains six days a week, including five sessions on a bike (MTB or BMX), as well as at least three visits to the Adams Centre for strength and conditioning, while also juggling schoolwork at Tauranga Boys’ College and life as a teenager.

“Lots of mountain bikers don’t actually go to the gym. But, I find it helps me not get hurt when I crash. The muscle you have protects you when you crash and it helps in heaps of different ways on the bike,” Cole says. 

Both Ellie and Cole chose to specialise in downhill mountain biking after becoming hooked on the speed and thrill of it all. Top riders can travel up to 70km/h down the fastest tracks. 

“It’s the adrenaline rush,” explains Ellie. “All my winning runs I can’t remember because I’ve been in this ultra hyper aware, focused state that all you’re concerned about is how precisely you’re riding millimetre by millimetre.” 

Of course, that also means if you crash, it hurts. A lot. 

Both Ellie and Cole know all about that. Ellie, in particular, has had a rough time over the past couple of years with not one, but two serious back injuries, as well as a ruptured pancreas. 

Being taken away in an ambulance or helicopter after a gnarly crash doesn’t seem to deter her though. Each time she has returned home to Tauranga and worked hard to recover and rebuild and is back on the bike before long. 

“It’s only making me more hungry and more motivated,” she says. 

A career highlight came in June last year when Ellie fought her way back from the first back injury to win her first title on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series at Val di Sole, Italy. 

“I got the fastest time of the day for all women, which was pretty cool.” 

Ellie has worked closely throughout with Jordan Welsh, her strength and conditioning coach at the Adams Centre, to overcome the physical and mental challenges of injury rehabilitation. 

“Having that professional support in your hometown is really cool. It’s a place where I can put my head down and get to work,” Ellie says. 

Jordan also works with Cole at the Adams Centre and says each training programme is tailored to the individual athlete and their current circumstances. 

For downhill mountain biking, they work on building strength in the off season and then focus on speed and power in the lead up to key events.

“It’s all about making sure they can withstand the three-to-four minutes at high intensity on the bike and trying to reduce the risk of injuries. 

“We’re trying to improve performance and limit injuries as best as possible,” Jordan says. 

Both Ellie and Cole are members of the Adams Centre’s development programme – the Adams Academy – which works with 135 aspiring and established athletes across 35 different sporting codes, from triathletes, cricketers, surfers, and runners, to swimmers, track and field athletes, kayakers, footballers, and more. 

Jordan says the Adams Academy, which is sponsored by Carrus, plays a crucial role in supporting young athletes as they begin their sporting careers. 

“It gives them a space to learn the correct foundations and techniques so later in life they can keep injury free and stay one step ahead of everyone else.” 

Many Academy members are teenagers still at school and this is their first taste of training in a high-performance gym environment. 

As well as working one-on-one with a strength and conditioning coach, they have access to a dietitian and sports psychologist, as well as a sports science laboratory with a full array of testing equipment, including an environmental chamber (one of only two in the country) which helps athletes like Ellie prepare for international competitions in varying climates and altitudes. 

The young up and coming athletes in the Academy could also turn up at the gym one day and find themselves working out alongside a superstar. 

During one of her early visits to the Adams Centre a few years ago, Ellie came across Kiwi NBA legend Steven Adams.

“It just goes to show the amount of opportunities we have as young athletes here,” she says. 

Having this state-of-the-art facility so close to home also means that Ellie can decide to do one last workout with her coach before heading overseas – and she still has time for dinner with her family afterwards.

These rare moments together mean a lot to her. 

Between May and October this year, Ellie will have 10 back-to-back races in Poland, France, Austria, Italy, and Andorra. It’s a long stretch away from home. 

“I feel pretty lucky and privileged to get to travel the world for my job. But, the hardest part is missing your family. They’re a huge support system,” she says.

“But when I am home, we go back into our own little world. 

My life is so bike-focused that when I come home I can just joke with mum or make a cup of tea with dad and talk about something so basic like the weather.” 

Family rides in the Redwoods might have become less frequent these days, but they are still compulsory at Christmas when everyone’s under the same roof. 

“I look forward to those rides when I’m back,” Ellie says, “just having fun going fast and enjoying the forest. It kind of brings you back to where it all started.”

adamscentre.co.nz