Many Sedona residents know Andrea Valdez the interior designer, but how familiar are they with Valdez the mountain biking titleholder?

On March 9, Valdez took first place at the Phoenix 40K Cactus Cup out of 27 female contestants.

“It felt amazing to win,” Valdez said. “It always feels good knowing your hard work and perseverance paid off.”
Valdez completed the Cactus Cup in 1:48:10, good for a 4:20/mile pace.

Valdez faced stiff competition during the initial leg of the race but gained the lead and never looked back.

“When I took off, I was the third woman for a mile and a half before passing those women,” Valdez said. “The men took off 25 minutes before the women, so I did not see another racer for a while.”

While Valdez was in the driver’s seat, she said she had to maintain her focus and avoid getting complacent.

“You can become complacent if you do not remember it is a race and not a simple stroll,” Valdez said. “I was kind of out there on my own for a while until I started catching and passing the men.”

Valdez finished 38th out of the 140 combined men and women participants.

For Valdez, passion and courage are two of the main components for biking success.

“You have to have a love for it because biking is challenging in a lot of aspects,” Valdez said. “The trails are rocky, so you must be brave and confident enough to overcome tough paths.”

Valdez had taken a decade-long hiatus from competitive biking but still engaged in casual biking on the side.

“I took a long break from biking to get our business going,” Valdez said. “After having a couple of kids, I would still ride for fun but not in events.”

Before moving to Sedona, Valdez earned a reputation as one of the top bikers in Colorado, taking first in the highly competitive Summit Mountain Challenge Race Series Women’s Expert class.

Valdez and her family moved to Sedona after discovering the area on a biking trip.

Upon moving to Sedona, Valdez retired from racing to focus on raising her two children and attending to her interior design work.

However, she decided to race again as her son, River, began tearing up the bike racing scene, winning second in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association’s Arizona race series as a sixth-grader.

“They were very proud to see their mom win,” Valdez said. “It feels great to show them they can accomplish whatever at any age through hard work and determination.”

Since returning to the sport competitively, Valdez has won every MBAA race she has entered and improved from the intermediate level to expert.

“I do not have a specific biking regimen but I make sure to work out every day,” Valdez said.

To train, Valdez rides the Sedona bike trails 3 to 4 days a week and partakes in other cardio activities.

“I do an elliptical machine a couple days a week and, in the summer, I enjoy lap swimming at the local Sedona city pool,” Valdez said. “We also have a family dog we walk on a daily basis.”

Valdez even bikes during her lunch breaks with her husband, Freddie.

“If I am not going biking during lunch, River and I frequently bike after school,” Valdez said. “I would say constantly partaking in physical activities and healthy eating are how I stay fit.”

Though other priorities can interfere with passions, Valdez said she always makes time to hit the trails.

“My advice to athletes is to give it their all at whatever they set out to do,” Valdez said. “Stay active and enjoy the sport you participate in.”