Ellen Noble: Fostering inclusivity, opportunity and health awareness in cycling

Ellen Noble is taking an indefinite step back from professional cycling to prioritise her health, but she will continue her mission to foster inclusivity, opportunity and health awareness in sport. 

In an interview with Cyclingnews, Noble said she aims to offer girls and young women opportunities through ENCXQuest and Noble Racing Mentorship Programe Grant initiatives.

"It's possible to still be inclusive and create community whether that's in person or remotely. I love that connection. I didn't always fit in when I was in school and so having a group of people that we can all fit in together really means a lot to me, and I would like to continue to find ways to do that. I don't want to stop doing any of my non-racing initiatives, and I hope to do even more of them now that I have more time. I have every intention of staying in the sport even if it's not on the race course," Noble said.

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Noble has experienced ongoing health problems after being diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune condition that affects thyroid function, in 2018. 

Noble explained to Cyclingnews that it took time to find ways to reduce her symptoms through visits with various practitioners but that she has slowly pieced together treatments and lifestyle adjustments that work for her. 

“Over the last two years since my diagnosis, I’ve had a lot of little victories. Every time you work with someone new, you learn a little bit and I take little pieces from each practitioner, and I’m slowly building a stable foundation of health, which is my goal,” said Noble, who has found symptom relief from acupuncture.

“In a lot of circles, practitioners believe that you can put autoimmune diseases and chronic illness into hibernation, you can never cure it, but you can make it dormant. The end goal for me is to put it in hibernation and not to be dealing with flare-ups.”

Noble explained that her health was in a delicate but good place when she suffered a crash that fractured her spine in three places earlier this year. Though now nearly fully healed, the injury opened a gap in her health that was difficult to close.

“I still have back pain, my back is healed, but it didn’t just go away. I don’t think that injuries, whether it is a bone break or an illness, the progress isn’t always linear,” she said.

“I think it was how my autoimmune disease changed after I broke my back. I was in a pretty good place when I broke my back in April. I was feeling healthy, my symptoms were regulated, and I was feeling pretty good. I just wasn’t in great shape, and my results weren’t awesome, but I was feeling good.

“It was a bridge too far for me. My health was still fragile, and the physical trauma of breaking my back put my health over the edge because we were in a delicate balancing act. I was coming back and riding and doing gym work and then hit a wall in August. Physically, I couldn’t go anymore, and my nervous system was at its limit.”

Noble has not eliminated the possibility of returning to professional racing; however, she has put no timeline on her sabbatical. Instead, she is focused on other objectives within the sport that offer rewards beyond performance and results.

“I’m still trying to figure everything out. I’m taking my time, and I feel like this is a great opportunity for me, and I feel grateful to me in this space where I can do something new. I still want to be involved in the sport because I love cycling, I love bikes, and most of all, I love what bikes can do for people, from racing to commuting to riding around your neighbourhoods with friends of kids. I want to keep spending that message. I also think that bikes are a great platform to talk about physical and mental health,” Noble said.

Connection and acceptance

Noble created ENCXQuest in 2017 that offers space for 12 to 18 girls and young women between the ages of 15 to 23 to experience an all-female cycling camp that includes training, technique-building, yoga and education on nutrition, sponsorship, and the sport in general.

"It started the camp as a response to my question: what did I want and need in the sport when I was 15. Opportunities were lacking in the sport for women my age when I was in high school. There were a lot of camps available for junior men, and despite my requests to join, I was never allowed. When opportunities still didn't exist for the next generation, I decided that I would do it myself," Noble said.

The camp was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to covid-19, but Noble is preparing to host its fourth edition in 2022. Noble explained that ENCXQuest relies on donations and industry partners. It is also an application-based programme that offers places for women from all different backgrounds, whether they can afford to attend or not. 

"We want to make sure that the athletes that are the right fit for the camp, regardless of their financial status, can attend. I'm happy that space has been created for these athletes that might not have been created otherwise," Noble said.

"People are very supportive, and that's how we can operate through donations of very generous people who also have a mission of getting more girls and young women on bikes and creating a space for young women to have community. Yes, it's about bikes, but it's also about 12 to 18 girls spending the week together and realizing that it's pretty cool to have more women in your circle."

While the ENCXQuest was on hiatus due to Covid-19, Noble launched a virtual platform to create opportunities for women in cycling in 2021. The Noble Racing Mentorship Program Grant Fundraiser is an effort to support and mentor the next generation of young women in cycling. It offers monthly community and one-on-one calls and financial grants to seven athletes to cover their race entry fees, travel expenses, coaching.

Noble aims to continue both initiatives while finding new ways to foster inclusion and opportunities for women in cycling. 

Asked where she sees herself in the sport in the future, particularly when it comes to her initiatives, Noble said, "I don't think I'm alone in this, but I hope to see the sport continue to progress forward. We see these little surges forward in different areas. We see more riders of colour in the results, on start lists, and standing on the podium, and it's amazing. The same goes for trans athletes. Seeing that acceptance becoming more broad, which is amazing for me to see, has been my mission since the beginning of the Quest to help foster that inclusivity. 

"I hope that more people will understand that bikes are powerful and they can change lives. The more people of all backgrounds - regardless of where you're from and who you are - the more people we can get on bikes the better. That's my mission. If you have love in your heart and want to ride a bike, then you're a friend of mine. It's a great way to connect."

Noble will take the time she needs to regain her health, and one day, we may see her back at the highest level of racing, but even if we don't, she is certain that she has a place in cycling. 

"My comeback to cycling is not guaranteed. I'm not going to race again if I can't get my health in order, but it's my goal to get that in order, and if I can, then I'll be back on the race course. Regardless, I'm not done in the sport of cycling," Noble said.