Meet the team: Lake Ambassador, Kerri-Ann Upham

Getting across the line in multisport

Whilst triathlon has been heading towards the forefront of sport for some years now – helped by the profile of the Brownlees brothers – there’s another growing area of the multi-sport scene, and it’s an exciting development that’s finally getting wider attention. You may not yet be familiar with XTERRA, but I guarantee that at some point, you will be – wherever you live. For across the global sporting village, this exciting extension of triathlon is making a noise as it heads off-road and even has its own World Championships.

XTRERRA is different from the recognisable form of triathlon that we’ve gotten used to seeing. It’s tough and unrelenting, and it takes no prisoners out in the wild; and it’s the real athletes within this most arduous of sports that are so inspiring for their dedication, their strength of will and their sheer determination to succeed. It consists of a 1500m swim, a 35km Mountain Bike course and the final transition of a 10km trail run to help set the scene.

It takes athletes with an iron will to succeed; athletes such as Lake ambassador, Kerri-Ann Upham, from the U.K., whose transition from the more recognisable form of triathlon on the roads and age-group competition has since 2018, led to her now being a respected and recognisable member of the world elite for the exciting off-road multisport adventure that is XTERRA! We spent some time talking with Kerri-Ann, to find out more and to find out how XTERRA has become a part of her and how it fits into her busy life.

Entering the unknown

Coming from a triathlon background, it was in 2018 that Kerri-Ann first competed in XTERRA, when her coach, Rob Moore, suggested that she enter the off-road duathlon in the South-West, known as “the Stinger!” At this time in her sporting career, Kerri-Ann had already competed successfully across Europe and elsewhere as a national team, age-group triathlete. However, “the Stinger” was something new and it intrigued her.

By her own account, ‘It was the hardest event that I’d ever entered! My very first off-road and my first mountain bike related race. It was a super-muddy and cold January, and this was nothing like I’d trained on!’ Yes, with what Kerri-Ann describes as an ‘entry-level bike’, the event turned into a race for survival. Thankfully, that triathlete’s iron will took over, and as she tells me: ‘I didn’t want to give up, although at the time, I hated the day and conditions and how I was feeling!’ However, true to form, and with her coach’s confidence in her, Kerri-Ann won ‘the Stinger’, and despite feeling that she wasn’t cut out for it, she wanted to get better – much better!

Making the transition to Elite level

Once Kerri-Ann got to grips with XTRERRA, building her way through the ranks, from age-group athlete and into Elite, the next few years were simply a case of finding her feet – literally. She’d been competing a few World Cup events and had been making the top 10, whilst also gaining podiums in the next stage of racing, when her training and tenacity finally clicked. In the past 2 years she’s been taking her turn by winning many of numerous events around world, and has improved her World Cup performances, with top 6 placements. Her next goal is to regularly hit the top 5 at World Cup and to win more of the supporting events elsewhere.

With Lake on her side and on her feet, we’re convinced that nothing will stop this tenacious and exceptional athlete from achieving her goals. Talking with her, her face radiates the passion and determination that she will succeed. She tells me how Lake cycling shoes have helped to improve her power output by 5 to 10 watts, and how they’ve resolved long-held foot problems with her cycling shoes.

Finding a fit that adds comfort & performance

For years Kerri-Ann suffered with having wide feet and having little option for cycling shoes. As a multisport athlete, she tells me that her running shoes were different and that many of the leading brands catered properly for athlete foot shapes and sizes.

She’d Struggled with foot pain and went to see foot specialist – telling me that ‘it had been a waste of time, as they’d simply repeated what she already knew – I had wide feet and was using narrow shoes!’ Continuing our chat, she tells me how Italian brands were far too narrow in their standard fitting options, and how she ended up going to Google for an answer!

Thankfully, she found out about us here at Lake, and our wide fitting options; then contacting our leading U.K. retail partners, Salt Dog Cycling. Kerrin-Ann felt an immediate connection and concern for her problems and says that it was reassuring to have a brand that seemed to know about how cycling shoes needed to fit. Alongside the support from Salt Dog, and Lauren in our U.K. office, Kerri-Ann also received shoe fitting support from "Bike Fit Exeter”, helping her with the carbon heel molding and ensuring that her cycling shoes gave the fit and performance that an elite athlete requires.

Talking with me, I learn that it’s more important for triathletes to get their cycling shoe fitment correct, as they must run off the back of a cycle leg. Painful and numb feet don’t go well in a race. Thankfully though, our carbon fibre sole and focus on fit have proved a winner for Kerri-Ann, helping her to achieve those all-important performance gains at critical moments.

Racing ahead with Lake

She’s currently using our MX333 mountain biking shoe in her XTERRA races and has already had lots of comments from fellow athletes, all wanting her tips on Lake cycling shoes and the positive benefits! Featuring our MX Race Last, with slightly narrower toe box and a tighter heel than our Competition last, and less overall volume than the Sport last, our MX333 is an off-road cycling shoe designed for cross country mountain bike racers, looking for speed across the technical tracks and trails in the hills. It allows us to produce a lightweight and close fitting ‘second skin’ mountain biking shoe, that will give you total control of the trail ahead. It’s designed for very high-cadence riding, with a slimmer and stylish performance fit, perfect for high-adrenaline, mountain bike racing.

When competing in road triathlon events, Kerri now uses our very latest triathlon shoe – the Lake TX224 women’s shoe. It’s a triathlon shoe designed to give you a seamless transition on and off the bike. The TX224 has taken a new approach to how Triathlon shoes function, by not sacrificing comfort and adjustability for fast entry/exit. Our unique design allows for superior adjustment and familiarity with a closure system that runners will appreciate. The new speed draw-string lace system is quick and easy to secure, wrapping the extended mesh upper around the foot and maximizing air flow to keep your feet fresh and ahead of the game.

Our Lake carbon fibre sole alongside the secure toe box provides a comfortable and secure fit, maximizing stability, power transfer and performance. With an added sleek but substantial rubber toe bumper, the front of the shoe is also given long term protection, ensuring that Kerri-Ann will be able to race in her shoes for many years to come.

XTERRA - an exciting journey in cycle sport evolution

There’s a lot more to come from this inspiring off-road athlete, and we’ll be watching and supporting Kerri-Ann as she rises higher still, amongst the world elite. As more and more people take to XC mountain bike riding, progressing from gravel to that extra level of adventure, XTERRA will be waiting to offer them the ultimate challenge. And, when their feet need fitting out for the arduous and technical tracks and transitions, we’ll be ready and waiting here at Lake – with some of the world’s best off-road cycling shoes in the world - for all riders.