Leigh Donovan

Leigh Donovan (born December 11, 1971, in Orange, California) is an American former professional downhill mountain bike and BMX racer and current cycling ambassador and mountain bike skills instructor and based out of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cycling career
Donovan was a champion mountain bike racer, competing from 1993 to 2001, the most decorated U.S. downhill and slalom rider. She retired from her professional career in 2001, with the world championships in Vail, Co. as her final pro career event (where she placed 3rd in the final downhill). Donovan went into sports marketing with Hansens energy drink (at the ground level of what would become Monster Energy). She then went on to own and operate a very successful clothing boutique in Temecula, Ca. from 2003 until she departed the retail fashion business in March 2011.

In 2010, at the age of 38 and with a five-year-old daughter, Leigh Donovan, owner of Tangerine boutique in Temecula, California, and nine years after retiring from professional racing, decided to pursue a spot on the U.S. National Downhill team. She competed in several qualifying events and secured fourth place at the USA CYCLING National Championships, earning her a spot at the UCI World Championships in Mont St. Anne, Quebec, Canada. In the finals, Donovan finished in 8th place, making her the highest placed American and the oldest competitor in the race. At the opening ceremonies, Leigh and her daughter proudly carried the U.S. flag Leigh and her daughter Grace carry the U.S. Flag at opening ceremonies. As of 2024, Leigh remains the last American Elite Downhill rider to win a UCI World Downhill Championship, with her gold medal-winning run in 1995 marking the end of a 29-year drought for American victories in the race.

Donovan married her longtime boyfriend and race mechanic Craig "Stikman" Glaspell in 2000 and they had one daughter in 2005. She has been a long time mountain bike coach and instructor for men and women of all backgrounds and skill levels, promoting and hosting her own women's only events over the last 15 years. In 2014 Leigh launched a coaching and clinic business called iChooseBikes that put the focus on teaching MTB skills to riders of all ages, levels, and genders; Leigh believes that if you can master the foundational skills, that you can shred much longer avoiding injuries.

Leigh Donovan spent 2022-2023 employed by SRAM as the Southern California senior field guide (sales and marketing rep), but left the position in the Summer of 2023.

Leigh remains the ONLY cyclist male or female to be in all 3 cycling halls of fame.

Career highlights
• 2020 USA Bicycling Hall of fame inductee

• 2013 BMX Hall of fame inductee

• 2014 MTB Hall of fame inductee

• Only female in all 3 major HOF’s: MTB Hall of fame, USA Bicycling Hall of fame and BMX Hall of fame

• 39 UCI World Cup Podiums

• 9-time U.S. NORBA National Champion

• 1995 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships- Downhill World Champion

• 1996 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships- 2nd place

• 2001 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships- 3rd place

• 2001 UCI World Cup Dual Champion

• 3 time UCI World Championship medalist

• 1989 USA BMX National Cruiser Champion

• In the 25 years of the official UCI World Downhill Championships, Leigh is 1 of only 3 American women to have won the title, and no American female has been World Champion since Leigh Donovan.