I was born and raised at Bjørheimsbygd, a small place between the fiords outside of Stavanger on the west coast of Norway. As a small girl I was always bubbling over with energy, running around, involved in all sorts of activities. My parents took me along with them to the mountains every summer and winter right from when I was just a few years old, and these trips came to be an important part of my childhood. When I was twelve years old I started track-running and playing football/soccer. During the winter I would spend a lot of time ice-skating or skiing in the snow.
Mother and father have always been my inspiration, and were my best exercise mates right until I was 20. At 15 I became increasingly interested in long distance running, but never competed on a high national level. At 17 I travelled to Australia as an exchange student and had a fantastic time at a high-school in Sydney. I learned a lot about culture, language and people during my year in Australia.

After I had finished my A-levels in Norway, I started working in the local newspaper, Strandbuen, in my local municipality of Strand in Ryfylke. 15 months later I started a 2-year education in journalism at the University College of Stavanger.
My initial interest in mountain biking started in April, 1995. I was invited to come along on a bike-ride with a local cycling club in Stavanger and was hooked from the start. Two months later I won the Norwegian championships, and three months after that I became Nordic Champion in Finland. My first experience of the best international mountain-bikers was when I took part in the UCI World Cup in Plymouth, England, in August the same year. Things moved very quickly from the outset, beginning with my first encounter with mountain-biking in the spring of 1995, to October when I signed a professional contract with a Dutch mountain bike team. Since then I have spent a lot of time on my bike. I’ve travelled around the world and met many interesting and fantastic people. All of this came in addition to wonderful successes.
My newly-wed husband, Kenneth Flesjå, took over as my coach and massager in the spring of 2001. We had had a very rough period during the whole of the 2000 season and the following winter, so we decided to simply take control ourselves and start from scratch. I signed my contract with Merida in January 2002 and have had many amazing victories on my Merida bikes since then. I’ve signed a new 3-year contract with Multivan Merida Biking Team which lasts until the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
I always travel everywhere together with Kenneth, except for when I’m competing on-road. This year, in 2005, I’ve had 253 days away from home, in Stavanger. About 100 of these days were spent with our pro biking team. I certainly miss our two “children,” our cats called Isak and Petruss, and our dear family and good friends, when we’re away as much as we are. But this life-style is a necessity when we aim to be best in the world.

We’ve won many victories through the past seasons, and are more motivated than ever before. I’m looking very much forward to a new and exciting cycling season of 2006. I wish all of you a fantastic year filled with all sorts of excitement, progress and lots of fun.
I am presently entering my 15th season as a professional mountain-biker, and this year is no exception: starting a new season brings with it excitement, anticipation, joy and insecurity. Through the years, as success has followed success, countless nouns have been linked to my name, but the best of all the titles is, without a doubt, “mother” Gunn-Rita, after Bjørnar was born on March 22, 2009.