CAROLINA KAPPAS
From Chile
I was an elite Field Hockey player before moving into cycling. i discovered cycling in 2021, initially not as a sport, but as a way to travel and explore.
My first bikepacking trip was touring the Peak District with a backpack and a very basic bike, completely self-supported and with very little cycling knowledge. That trip made me fall in love with adventure riding and pushed me to buy a bike but I needed money for that!
In 2022 I bought my first decent bike, it was a gravel Pinnacle, and a month later I hopped on a ferry and toured Belgium solo, navigating mostly with numbers from an app rather than a GPS device.
3 weeks after that trip, I went again, I rode London → Amsterdam via Dunkirk
I moved to London at the end of 2022 and joined Moloko in 2023, which was my first real exposure to group riding and the wider cycling world.
I Rode from the south of Ireland to Galway to visit my brother still without a bike GPS.
Later that year I went to Mallorca, hired a road bike for the first time, and bought my own road bike shortly after returning.
2024 saw me transition into racing and endurance cycling. I won an entry to The Traka 200 and completed it in under 9 hours, despite having very limited gravel experience. In the same month I was invited to do the Pennine Rally (500 km) on the fast route. At that time I had only only a handful of gravel rides, but still finished the rally in 3 days and my love of ultra-distance racing was born.
Later that year I rode 1,400 km solo with a hammock, from UK to Mallorca in 8 days detouring via Paris to see the Olympic Games, and riding through consistent 30°C+ heat.
In 2025, I entered my first UCI gravel race, finishing 7th and qualifying for the World Championships. I also completed UCI and Gravel Earth Series events during 2025, including finishing 8th in the elite category at Falling Leaves (Finland). At Gravel Worlds I was the first South American to cross the line.
Off the race circuit, that year I was awarded a British Cycling coaching scholarship, which has enabled me to fast-track my coaching development as I work alongside high-performance athletes and coaches.
Across Andes (800 km / 12,000 m elevation) was my first ultra-distance race: Read more about this here
3 weeks later a impulsive decision saw me entered another ultra. Signing up for the 330km race (with 6600m of elevation) the night before the event. The race began at 10pm and I finished in 20.5 hours, becoming the only woman to complete the full distance.
From early on I noticed that women’s participation in many cycling and ultra events is often around 20% or less, which motivated me to actively support and encourage more women into the sport. I regularly advocate for women in cycling, helping beginners build confidence and take their first steps into adventure riding and racing.
I organise coached sessions, group rides, and community events for women, aimed at helping riders develop skills and feel comfortable progressing in the sport. I run these initiatives under the “Empowering Ride Series”, which I promote through my Instagram and community work.
