Today I’m catching up with Samantha Klingelhofer – AC’s newest racing ambassador and SF Bay local.
Samantha isn’t a full-time racer. She’s a full-time venture capitalist with a race calendar squeezed between diligence calls and investor decks. But make no mistake: she’s racing. Hard. A late entrant to the gravel scene, she’s now fully focused on training, recovery, and the learning curve of elite competition.
Samantha showed up at Above Category 6 months ago – already an experienced cyclist, but new on the racing scene.
She was direct, “Do you guys have ambassadors?”
We’re pretty selective about those things. AC’s value is in education and authenticity – never hype.
But then she started riding with Skyler and we realized this was something different. Samantha is fast.
With a background in Division I soccer and a head for performance, Samantha’s approach to gravel is equal parts power data and professional discipline. We’re excited to welcome her to the Above Category athlete program, and figured it was time to let her introduce herself – on and off the bike.
Whatever you do, don’t let Samantha Klingelhofer’s million dollar smile fool you. She says she’s coming for the podium. After a day on the trails, I believe her.
Do you remember your first bicycle and your early years riding a bike? Can you tell us a little bit about your early experiences and any fun memories you might have?
My first bike was from Toys-R-Us. I rode that thing up and down the hallway of my parents’ house in Mill Valley like my life depended on it. But besides that, I candidly wasn’t much of a biker. It wasn’t until I was 22 that I bought my first bike.
So I understand you are living in Marin for a brief period of time. How are you finding life in the North Bay and have you found any secret dirt or pave you want to share with us?
I grew up in Marin, so it’s great to be back, even if it’s just for a few months. Nothing quite compares to being able to hop on your bike and get to dirt within 3 minutes. There are times when you’re training when riding feels like a chore, especially when you have to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge at 6am in the fog to do intervals before heading into the office. Living in Marin puts the loveliness back into biking a bit – the weather is better (which means more flexible training times) and the bridge is a non-issue. There’s also way more options for routes, which has forced me off the road a bit more. The climbing is also insane – there are no flat routes. It’s only been a week, so no special routes yet, but stay tuned!
We see you are riding/racing a Factor Ostro Gravel bike. How did you make the decision to ride Factor and what do you think of the bike so far?
I wanted something fast and stiff that could handle big days on really mixed terrain without feeling sluggish.
The Ostro Gravel checked every box. It has all the pickup like a road bike when you want it to, but still fits big tires and feels pretty solid on rough stuff. Oh, and the looks – that was big for me.
It seems you have been bitten by the racing bug. Have you always been interested in racing and what draws you to it?
I played D1 soccer in college, and once that was over, I needed a way to channel my obsessive and competitive tendencies. Running was kind of ruined for me as I always saw it as a job, and my body didn’t respond well to doing it daily. That’s where I found biking. However, for the last 5 years or so, it was just a hobby. I biked ~50 miles per week max, and I never once thought about racing or anything that comes with that, like training and recovery. As much as I loved it, I was working 80-hour weeks in private equity, and there were simply not enough hours in the day for me to bike at a high (or even medium) level. I always knew I was naturally talented at it, but I also did not want to venture into something that I could be way worse at than I thought. People say you never know how good you can be at something until you try, but you can also be a lot worse than you thought you’d be if you try (and I’m very hard on myself). I think the verdict is still out on how good I am at this at the highest level, but one thing I do know is that I love it; I love the lead up and preparation, the energy of race day, the brutal grind and pushing your body to the absolute max.
We are halfway through the race season, can you give us a little recap on what you have been up to and what the rest of the year looks like?
This is my first pro season, which has been incredibly exciting but also full of a lot of question marks and surprises. (True story, Skyler [Taylor] had to tell me what a shock pump was last week…) I’ve done three major races thus far: Levi’s Granfondo, Lost & Found, and Truckee Tahoe Gravel. I podiumed at one and have given solid efforts for the rest. I have Tahoe Trail and Leadville coming up, and the rest of the season is TBD as I continue to figure out how to balance my full-time job as a VC and training/racing.
I continue to be amazed at how strong the women racing beside (or better put, ahead) of me are. The level is insanely high, and I feel so fortunate in so many ways to be able to compete at this level. I have SO much work to do, but nothing is more motivating than being around this type of talent. Who knows where all this will lead for me, but what I do know is that I love it, and I love who I am when I do it!
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