Rebecca Henderson (cyclist)

Last updated

Rebecca Henderson
Rebecca Henderson 2017 (cropped).jpg
Henderson in 2017
Personal information
NicknameBec
Born (1991-09-27) 27 September 1991 (age 33)
Canberra, Australia
Height158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Weight49 kg (108 lb)
Team information
DisciplineMountain Bike (Cross Country)
RoleRider
Amateur teams
Canberra Off Road Cyclists
Vikings Cycling Club
Professional teams
2013-2015Trek Factory Racing
2016Trek Factory Racing XC
2018-2019Primaflor Mondraker Rotor
2020-2021Primaflor Mondraker XSauce
2022Primaflor Mondraker Genuins
2023Primaflor Mondraker Genuins Racing Team
2024Primaflor Mondraker Racing Team
2025Orbea Fox Factory Team
Major wins
Mountain bike
XC World Cup
3 individual wins (2022)
Medal record
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Women's mountain bike racing
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2019 Mont-Sainte-Anne Cross-country
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2020 Leogang Cross-country
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Glasgow Cross country
Oceania Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2011 Shepparton, AustraliaCross country U23
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2012 Rotorua, New ZealandCross country U23
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2013 Hobart, AustraliaCross country U23
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2015 Toowoomba, AustraliaCross country
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2016 Queenstown, AustraliaCross country
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2017 Toowoomba, AustraliaCross country
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2019 Bright, AustraliaCross country
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2020 Dunedin, New ZealandCross country
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2022 Gold Coast, AustraliaCross country
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2023 Mount Cotton, AustraliaCross country
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2024 Brisbane AustraliaCross country

Rebecca Henderson (born 27 September 1991), for some years competing as Rebecca McConnell, is an Australian mountain biker. She represented Australia at the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics in the Mountain Bike Cross Country event. She came 28th at the 2020 Olympics. [1]

Contents

Henderson won a bronze medal at the 2019 and 2020 Mountain Bike World Championships.

Personal life

Nicknamed Bec, Henderson was born on 27 September 1991 in Canberra, Australia. [2] [3] She attended Monash Primary School before going to high school at Mackillop Catholic College. [2] [3] As of 2020, she lives in Canberra, Australia. [4] Henderson is 158 centimetres (62 in) tall and weighs 49 kilograms (108 lb). [2]

She married her coach and partner, Daniel McConnell, in 2017; [5] he is also an Olympian. After they separated, she returned to using her maiden name in early 2023. [6]

Cycling

Henderson is a mountain biker, specialising in cross country events. [2] [3] [7] She started cycling when she was twelve years old. [3] She was coached by Dan McConnell, an Australian male cyclist who was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics. [2] [3] [8] [9] Her primary cycling base is Canberra [2] [3] She is a member of the Canberra Off Road Cyclists [2] [3] and Vikings Cycling Club ACT. [3] As of June 2012, she was 2nd in the Under 23 World Cup series in 2012 and she is currently ranked 32nd in the World. [9]

Henderson finished 1st at the 2011 U23 Australian Championships in Adelaide, Australia. [2] [3] She finished 1st at the 2011 U23 Oceania Championships in Shepparton, Australia. [2] [3] She finished 7th at the 2011 U23 UCI MTB World Cup in Dalby Forest, England. [2] [3]

Henderson finished 3rd at the 2012 U23 UCI MTB World Cup 5 in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada. [2] She finished 2nd at the 2012 U23 UCI MTB World Cup 4 in La Bresse, France. [2] She finished 13th at the 2012 U23 UCI MTB World Cup 3 in Nové Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. [2] She finished 3rd at the 2012 U23 UCI MTB World Cup 2 in Houffalize, Belgium. [2]

Henderson has been selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Mountain Bike Cross Country — Women event. [2] [7] [8] [9] She was one of four Canberra cyclists from three different cycling disciplines selected to represent Australia at the Games. [8] Her family was scheduled to travel to London to watch her compete. [8]

Henderson finished third in the cross-country at the 2019 World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne. [10] She repeated her result again at the 2020 World Championships in Leogang. [11]

Henderson was selected to represent Australia in mountain biking at the Tokyo Olympics. [12] She finished the Olympics in 28th place. [13]

2022 was a very successful UCI World Cup season for Henderson; with three wins at the beginning of the season and finishing the season overall in second place. [14] Henderson chose not to attend the 2022 Commonwealth Games in favour of staying fresh and focusing on her World Cup bid. [15]

Henderson was selected to represent Australia in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics. [16] She finished the event in 13th place. [17]

Career Achievements

Major Championships

Event20092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Gold medal olympic.svg Olympic Games XCO 24252813
Commonwealth Games Federation symbol (2019- Till Date).svg Commonwealth Games XCO NE 3 6 -
Jersey rainbow.svg World Championships XCO --20 U23-1015DNF4820-337262210
XCC------------6-59
XCE ----15-----------
XCM ------------10---
OceaniaChampionJersey.png Oceania Continental Championships XCO -51U231U231U23-113411-113-
MaillotAustralia.PNG Australian National Championships XCO 1Jnr1U231U231U231U23111111111111
XCC -------1---1111DNF1
XCE ------2----------
XCM --------1--------
E-XC ------------1----
Gravel----------------3

UCI World Cup Results

2022 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP

1st CZ MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MTB WORLD CUP – XCO/XCC Nove Mesto Na Morave / WC
1st DE MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MTB WORLD CUP – XCO/XCC Albstadt / WC
1st BR MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MTB WORLD CUP – XCO/XCC Petropolis / WC
2nd Biker Final Standing 2022

Cross-Country Olympic

Season12345678910StandingSeason Points
2009 Jnr PIE
-
OFF
DNF
HOU
13
MAD
-
MON
-
BRO
-
CHP
-
SCH
-
--
2010 DLB
61
HOU
102
OFF
78
LAB
-
MON
-
WIN
-
1169
2011 U23 PIE
9
DLB
7
OFF
7
MON
-
WIN
-
NOV
-
VAL
11
16104
2012 U23 PIE
6
HOU
3
NOV
13
LAB
2
MON
3
WIN
2
ISE
3
2371
2013 U23 ALB
1
NOV
2
VAL
2
AND
2
MON
1
HAF
4
1440
2014 PIE
16
CAI
10
NOV
29
ALB
16
MON
30
WIN
28
MER
15
18463
2015 NOV
8
ALB
8
LEN
26
MON
33
WIN
-
VAL
DNS
25314
2016 CAI
3
ALB
26
LAB
8
LEN
12
MON
8
AND
32
9561
2017 NOV
8
ALB
5
AND
20
LEN
29
MON
17
VAL
23
15496
2018 STE
15
ALB
35
NOV
26
VAL
DNF
AND
-
MON
-
LAB
-
45179
2019 ALB
8
NOV
2
AND
20
LES
8
VAL
7
LEN
6
SNO
4
51217
2020 LEN
NH
VAL
NH
LES
NH
NOV
9
NOV
4
NP286
2021 ALB
7
NOV
3
LEO
7
LES
5
LEN
2
SNO
2
41215
2022 PET
1
ALB
1
NOV
1
LEO
7
LEN
14
AND
21
SNO
13
MON
19
VAL
19
21626
2023 NOV
8
LEN
24
LEO
38
VAL
3
AND
12
LES
8
SNO
16
MON
21
11846
2024 MAI
19
ARA
22
NOV
16
VAL
21
CRA
16
SAV
14
PLA
5
MON
11
10959
2025 ARA
-
ARA
-
NOV
5
LEO
DNF
VAL
27
AND
-
SAV
LEN
PLA
MON
254

References

  1. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "London 2012 – Rebecca Henderson". Australia: Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Rebecca Henderson". Australia: Cycling Australia. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. Moore, Sarah (6 August 2020). "Getting to Know: Australian XC MTB Champion Bec McConnell". Pinkbike. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  5. "Mountain biking McConnells making history in Tokyo". Commonwealth Games Australia . 18 June 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  6. Migue, A. (13 February 2023). "McConnell goes back to Bec Henderson and wins the Australian XCO and XCC Championships". brujulabike.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Cyclist O'Grady off to sixth Olympics". Nine MSN. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Henderson keeps mum on surprise Olympic selection". The Canberra Times. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "Olympic mountain bike team named". Nine MSN. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  10. Hurford, Molly (10 September 2019). "Why Bec McConnell Just Might Be the Comeback Story of the Season". Bicycling. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  11. "Pauline Ferrand-Prevot wins Elite Women Cross Country title at Mountain Bike World Championships". CyclingNews. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  12. "Bec and Dan McConnell are going to the Tokyo Olympics!". Flow Mountain Bike. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  13. "Swiss sweep mountain bike medals in wet". Yahoo! Sports. Australian Associated Press. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  14. "Bec McConnell finished 2nd overall in 2022 World Cup!". Australian Mountain Bike Magazine. 5 September 2022.
  15. "McConnell finishes 2nd overall in World Cup after stellar season". SBS Sport. 5 September 2022.
  16. "Paris 2024 Olympics mountain bike cycling, Australia schedule: Rebecca Henderson to compete in cross-country". Olympic News. 27 July 2024.
  17. "Rebecca Henderson Olympic Results". Australian Olympic Committee. 27 July 2024.