NICO ROCHE RACING

Rider

Competed in BMX racing before turning to freestyle scooter riding. The warm and sunny Montpellier in the south of France has been the perfect playground for freestyle scooter rider Kilian Larher to perfect his skills for the past 15 years. He has been surrounded by sports his entire life, having caught the bug for competition from his father, who was a sports instructor. After playing football and basketball, Kilian’s first foray onto two wheels originally started with BMX racing. And while he enjoyed the speed, it was when he once tried to ride a scooter on a skateboard, that he knew his love of tricks would take him down the freestyle scooter route. Inspired by the freestyler Coedie Donovan, extreme sports has become more than a hobby for Kilian, it's a way of life.Despite a diploma in civil engineering – and an interest in DIY that has seen him renovate much of his house during the coronavirus lockdown - he has dedicated his time to create a YouTube channel which now has over 100,000 subscribers. Through social media, Kilian has been able to combine his passion for photography, video and travel within the freestyle scooter world. “The aim with this sport is to constantly improve all the time,” he says. “And now it’s important for me that I recognise young people in the community so that I can help the new generation of riders and raise the profile of the sport even further.”‍

Rider

Set a lap record of Silverstone in the British National Junior Superstock. As the son of a motorbike racer growing up near Brands Hatch, it’s no surprise Dan Brooks is a keen motorsports competitor. As long as Dan can remember, he’s been around British motorbike paddocks. After riding motocross as a youngster, Dan spent three years racing competitively at a national level before switching to Tarmac at age 15. Dan is about to contest another season in British National Junior Superstock, the support series of the British Superbike Championship. The British series has grown dramatically since the European series was scrapped with over 40 riders taking part each weekend. The highly competitive championship travels across the UK and races at classic tracks such as Donington Park, Oulton Park and, Dan’s favourite, Silverstone. It was at the home of British motorsport in 2020 where Dan achieved his best result in National Junior Superstock in a thrilling duel for the lead that saw him pipped to the finish line by a fraction of a second. However, second place that day and a new lap record, was just reward for a relentless charge through the field from eighth on the grid. After finishing last season 17th overall with Ready4Racing Vision Team, Daniel spent part of the winter in Spain, training and testing ahead of the new season, which he’ll contest as well as racing in the eSC.

Rider

World Championship short track speed skater. When a friend of Elise Christie invited her to a skating rink at the age of seven, she found a natural affinity with the ice. Elise started with figure skating but it wasn't long before she realised she wanted to race. “I liked the adrenaline rush of racing. I won my first race and they gave me a box of chocolates,” says Elise today. “I thought, ‘they give away chocolates rather than medals? This is way better!’” At the age of 16 she was invited to train at the national centre for short track speed skating. It meant moving away from her home in Scotland to Nottingham but her rise up the British ranks was meteoric. From never having seen a full-size track, she went from one of the slowest skaters in the team to one of the best in the world. She won gold medals at various distances in both the European and World Championships and qualified for the Olympics. A broken ankle meant she missed out on Tokyo and she admits her life hit a bit of a crossroads, which is when she became interested in eSC. “I’d reached a point where I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. I could have gone into a downward spiral, because I’ve been in that position before, but what I found about eSC was the way I was treated was so refreshing.” The story of her struggles with anxiety and mental health, is detailed in her book ‘Resilience’. 

Rider

Motorcyclist Aurelia Cruciani races for the Caberg Team in the Women’s European championship in her native Italy and spends her free time swimming, rowing, canoeing and performing muay thai. By day, she's a chef hard at work in Rome.