Shillong: Far from the bustling metros, on the rugged trails of Meghalaya, 28-year-old Anissa Lamare is rewriting the story of Indian cycling—one steep slope at a time.
A native of Shillong, Lamare holds the unique distinction of being India’s first female downhill mountain biker, a title that reflects years of determination, resilience, and sheer passion for a sport few in the country had even heard of when she began.
Her journey started in December 2015, at a time when mountain biking was virtually unheard of among women in India.
There was no infrastructure, no training ecosystem, no women’s category in competitions—and certainly no blueprint to follow. But Lamare was undeterred.
“I wasn’t just racing; I was setting the trail for others to follow,” she recalls.
Downhill mountain biking is no ordinary pursuit. It demands nerves of steel, technical precision, and the stamina to tackle treacherous slopes at high speed.
With no professional coach or dedicated trails, Lamare trained on her own, often racing against men as the lone female competitor.
Her persistence bore fruit in October 2023 when she represented India in the Elite Downhill category at the 28th Asian Continental Mountain Bike Championships in Ponmudi, Kerala.
Competing against Asia’s best, she finished ninth—a remarkable debut at the continental level.
She didn’t stop there. Lamare went on to win a silver medal in the Open Women’s category at Nepal’s Pokhara Enduro Race, followed by a strong performance at the EnduroLK race in Sri Lanka.
An invitation to represent Team Al Waal in Oman further cemented her status as one of India’s top mountain biking athletes.
“I’m not slowing down. My focus is on the next race in Nepal this December,” she says with quiet confidence.
But Lamare’s ambitions extend beyond podium finishes. In 2021, she co-founded Pedal Compass, a Shillong-based mountain bike shop offering high-end gear, bike servicing, and e-bike rentals.
Taking full ownership of the venture in 2023, she has turned it into a community hub for cyclists and a source of financial independence that fuels her sporting career.
Through Pedal Compass, Lamare is championing the growth of mountain biking in Meghalaya.
She’s working on plans to develop dedicated biking trails and inspire young girls to embrace the sport.
“The dream is to make Meghalaya a global destination for downhill and enduro biking,” she says.
Her story of grit has already caught national attention. In 2021, she featured in Haier India’s campaign ‘Perform Big, Silently’, alongside icons like mountaineer Arunima Sinha and chess Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli.
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She was also profiled in Kopal Goyal’s documentary series ‘Project Wild Women’, which spotlighted 15 women breaking stereotypes in adventure sports.
Despite minimal institutional backing and limited financial resources, Lamare has built a career that blends sport, entrepreneurship, and advocacy.
She dreams of not just competing at the highest level but also creating an ecosystem for aspiring riders in India’s northeast.
From the lone woman at the starting line to a trailblazer for an entire generation, Anissa Lamare’s journey is more than a sporting story—it’s a silent revolution on two wheels.
