Along with preparing for the actual race, the team is also raising funds to help cover travel and racing expenses for the trip to France. During this weekend’s GNCC race at Powerline Park, the racers will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Friday featuring giveaways, raffle opportunities, including a Blackstone grill, merchandise sales, and additional fundraising efforts. The team is also selling shirts and accepting donations through multiple avenues as they continue working toward their goal of competing internationally. 

 We caught up with Avery, Chloe and Jessica to talk about this historical opportunity as the first women’s team being sent by the USA, and what it means to them to represent Team USA and Women’s ATV racing.  

GNCC Racing: You’re making history as part of the first USA Women’s team competing at the Pont-de-Vaux 72-hour race. What does this opportunity mean to you personally? 

Avery Collins: This opportunity means a lot to me because it’s not every day you get the chance to represent the USA on an international stage. Being part of the first USA Women’s team at Pont-de-Vaux is really special, and I’m proud to be part of something that can help grow women’s racing and inspire younger riders.

Chloe Harper: Being able to compete in the Pont-de-Vaux race as the first-ever women’s USA team is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Being able to travel and race is something I have always dreamed of. I am hoping to be able to give the next generation of girls the opportunity to be able to compete across the world one day as well. Being able to compete means that maybe one day this opportunity will come again for women again.  

Jessica Elioff: I am 31 years old, so to me personally, this is a very amazing opportunity because I never thought at this point in my life, I would still be racing four wheelers, let alone being asked to go to France to represent the USA. I feel very honored. 

You’re all battling every weekend at GNCC events for wins and podiums. What’s it like now being teammates instead of competitors?  

Avery Collins: It’s definitely different, but I think it’s made us stronger. We race against each other all season, so we already know how competitive and hardworking everyone is. Now we get to put that aside and work together toward one goal, which is really cool. 

Chloe Harper: Being able to race against the girls at GNCC and at the local races has only made us better as a team. We can not only be able to compete against one another on race weekends and be able to support and cheer each other on while racing against one another, but it also brings us closer as a team. We know what each other's strongest points and what we need to work on. 

Jessica Elioff: A few years ago, all three of us were on the Kenda nine-hour team, so we already have a little background of being able to work well with each other. I believe we all know how to set aside personal feelings and join together our competitiveness against each other to become an amazing team to represent.

You’re planning a fundraiser at Powerline Park to help cover the costs of racing internationally. Can you share a little about what you have planned?

Avery Collins: We’re planning a spaghetti fundraiser at Powerline Park on Friday to help with travel and racing expenses for France. We want to bring the community together, have a good time, and give people a chance to support us as we prepare for this opportunity. We’re really thankful for everyone who has already helped us out.

Chloe Harper: For Powerline, we have a spaghetti dinner planned, all done by donations. We will be giving away a griddle. Anyone who comes up and shows up and shows support at the spaghetti dinner will have an opportunity to win it. We will also be selling shirts and have other things for sale to hopefully get us to our goal to go to France.  

Jessica Elioff: At the spaghetti dinner, we have several giveaways happening along with a Blackstone grill. We wanted to bring awareness to everyone that didn’t know about our France trip and give them an opportunity to help support us in any way they feel fit. GNCC is more than just racers. It’s people that come together to create a family.

How important is the support from the GNCC community in making this opportunity possible?

Avery Collins: The support from the GNCC community means everything. Racing is such a family-oriented sport, and having people behind us makes a huge difference. From sponsors to fans to fellow racers, everyone’s encouragement really motivates us and helps make opportunities like this possible. 

Chloe Harper: To be able to have the support and help from the GNCC community and other racing communities is of great importance because they are helping us make it happen to go to France, but it is also showing the kids in this sport that great things happen when you have such a strong community around you and supporting you. 

Jessica Elioff: Like I stated, GNCC isn’t just all racers; it’s people that come together to create a family, and the support from everyone at the track means the world to us. We all have the same goal when we are there, and that is to compete to the best of our abilities and have fun while doing it. That’s exactly what we are trying to do over in France while representing not only the USA but the GNCC world as well. 

Looking at your GNCC season so far, how do you feel it’s helping prepare you for the challenge of a 72-hour race like this?  

Avery Collins: GNCC racing teaches you a lot about endurance, consistency, and staying focused under tough conditions. Every weekend pushes you physically and mentally, and I think that experience will help prepare us for the long hours and challenges that come with a 72-hour race. 

Chloe Harper: I think that the GNCC season has helped me be able to race at a good, strong, and fast pace on the track. It has shown me how to stay consistent and focused on the race ahead and be able to adapt to different riding styles and learn new strategies and skills as well. 

Jessica Elioff: The tracks we compete on for GNCC are very different than the track we will be racing on in France, but the endurance part of the race definitely helps us out to be as strong as we can for as long as we can. 

What does it mean to you to represent the USA on an international stage?

Avery Collins: It’s an honor to represent the USA and be part of something bigger than us. We know we’re representing not only our country, but also everyone who has supported us along the way. We’re excited to go over there and give it our best. 

Chloe Harper: Being able to represent the USA and be on the first-ever women’s teams for TEAM USA means more than anyone can ever describe. To me, the way I look at it is this is the Olympics of our sport. Traveling to a different country to race against the best of the best across the world. Training and working together as a team but also pushing myself to the next level to compete at the highest level I possibly can. To me, this means that I am able to show a whole bunch of people and different racing communities that the women’s USA team can compete and do amazing things.  

Jessica Elioff: Not many people have the opportunity that we are provided this year, and being able to go over and represent the best country out there is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What are you most looking forward to about this opportunity, especially getting the chance to race internationally?  

Avery Collins: I’m most excited about the opportunity to compete at a higher level and represent my team internationally. Racing in another country like France would push me outside my comfort zone and help me grow both as an athlete and as a person. I’m also looking forward to learning from different competitors, experiencing a new culture, and building connections with teammates through the experience.

Chloe Harper: I am most looking forward to, first off, is getting to travel across the world with my family and friends doing what I love but also looking forward to seeing how we compete against the other teams. Looking forward most of all, though, is going over and taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and making it so we have the opportunity and chance to go back again. 

Jessica Elioff: I’m most looking forward to seeing the different culture over there and just soaking the whole experience in!