Meet the team - Debby Frenken, Ambassador

Fire in the soul – strength in the mind

Like choosing a pair of cycling shoes, you need a combination of elements to come together as an adventure and endurance cyclist. You need fire in the soul, strength in the mind and a little bit of crazy within you, to keep on powering your body as you break down the barriers and ride on into a new place, both mentally and physically.

Thankfully, Debby Frenken has this and more, and is alive with an energy that she’s able to translate into momentum when on the bike. Starting riding 13 years ago, initially on the mountain bike, with her love for nature, she now ridesMtb alongside a road bike and a gravel bike with a preference currently for gravel as she continues to explore the world on 2-wheels. And, explore it she does; recently having competed in the 1-day gravel ultra event, Taxandria Gravel, set deep in the Benelux countryside, between Eindhoven and Antwerp. It’s just one of a number of events that this mom of two will take part in this year, as she continues to juggle the competing demands of life, with her drive for adventure.

It’s not simply about competing though. Like us here at Lake, Debby is always challenging herself to be the best version she can be. She recently qualified for the UCI Gravel Worlds; not bad going for a cyclist who tells me that it’s simply the freedom and the mountains that drive her forward.

Breaking down personal boundaries

Within our global cycling community, there are inspiring people tucked away in all corners of the world – and Debby is one of them. She is constantly planning events that take her beyond her limits and boundaries. As she tells me: ‘80% of it is mental. You push and you get better! Fourteen hours in the saddle is a mindset – and I like it!’

Speaking with this seemingly unassuming cyclist from the Netherlands, her voice is alive with the life and energy within her. Asking her about the route into endurance cycling, she tells me that social media actually helped, by introducing her to a whole new group of people around the world. Meeting new friends and different events, the conversations generated ideas and challenges, and new places to take herself backpacking. Her toughest event so far has been the M&M Gravel Grinder, a 1-day 200km 5k meters of climbing gravel biking event &M&Macross Catalunya (400km - 10k meters of climbing) under the Catalunya heat in Spain (May 2025). Set in the Montseny Natural Park and the Montnegre i Corredor Natural Park, this hidden gravel biking paradise challenges you to challenge your own limits of endurance. For Debby, the dual challenge of the climbs and the mental aspect made it the ultimate test of her own boundaries of endurance.

The freedom to choose

Debby loves spontaneity though, as it suits her free spirit. She tells me that ‘Cycling for me is pure freedom. I’m busy with work and life and so much going on in mind. I love to be in nature and the fresh air. When I’m outside and pedalling I feel a release and freedom – the sounds of freedom and I see so much. These are very personal moments.’

This aspect of her personality is why Debby also likes the freedom and spontaneity to simply enter an event at the last minute – next week maybe… and why not, if you can! Life can be so predictable; why not spice it up a bit, with these adventures and challenges. There are 86400 seconds in each and every day, and speaking with Debby, it strikes me that she plans to use each and every one of them!

There are no favourite places per se for Debby and her cycling; there are simply a set of ingredients that help to create a special feeling. Number one is the mountains and places such as the Dolomites in Italy, or cycling in the Alps. She’s currently planning an epic ride at the end of this month, cycling from southern Germany, and into Austria, Italy and before riding to Slovenia! It’s another opportunity for Debby to test her limits and for us at Lake to test our cycling shoes!

Lake ambassador and finding her fit

Debby has been a Lake ambassador for a number of years, coming across our cycling shoes at an event. She’d previously suffered from wearing cycling shoes that were too narrow and which caused pain in her toes on those longer rides. Almost immediately, she felt the difference and the comfort that Lake offered her hard-working feet, with so many width fittings to choose from, and a wider toe box to give her feet a feeling of freedom. We design and produce what is probably the most extensive range of cycling shoes in the world, so that all cyclists can find their own unique fit.

Her current Lake cycling shoe of choice is our CX20R Women’s specific road cycling shoe, and the gravel MX20G version; although, she also uses the MX333G, too. With the MX20G, it’s the lightness, the fit and the comfort that Debby really feels the benefit from: ‘they’re stylish and super-comfortable! Laces are good and ultra-adjustable. Sometimes with the BOA, in middle of ride, I need to pull them tighter. However, when I’m using laces, they stay better. Lots of people always ask me about laces when riding.’

Riding into a future that’s both known & unknown

In truth, none of us can predict what lies ahead in life. We live in a constantly changing and chaotic world. As cyclists, it’s nice to have something that is predictable: the comfort and performance of a Lake cycling shoe!  However, it’s also good to constantly challenge yourself, as we do here at Lake, with over 40 years of innovation and excellence in cycling shoe design. It’s people like Debby that keep driving us forward, as she sets herself new targets and continues to explore this still quite beautiful world, on 2-wheels.

And, as this bundle of untapped energy rides onwards into an exciting and yes, often unpredictable future, what we can is this: ‘It’s going to be one heck of a journey, and we’ll be along for the ride, every step of the way!’