Jenni Gaertner

Specialties: Mountain bike racing, Road Racing, Cyclocross, Triathlon (Sprint, Olympic & Ironman distances), 24 Hr MTB, RAAM, Bike Fit, Novice Distance Running

Home: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Client levels accepted: Individual, SemiCustom, Custom, Consultation

Available to take on all levels of athletes both racing and non-racing

Available for seminars, camps, clinics, and team direction on a contractual basis.

With nearly 20 years of experience in cycling, Jenni Gaertner brings to Wenzel Coaching an extensive knowledge of the sport as well as the unique demands it places on the body and mind.  A fascination of the science of sport human physiology led her to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Performance from the University of Montana and a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Idaho State University.  She also holds a Master’s degree in Education and certifications in Medical Massage and Infant Massage.   

With both her coaching and her clinical practice Jenni strives to understand all aspects of a client’s life situation in order to fully maximize efforts to not only succeed, but to excel.  She understands that there are many facets to training, not the least of which include the psychology of pushing yourself to your personal best as part a team working toward the same goal.  Two young children of her own have provided valuable understanding for those athletes that juggle work, school, family life, and training/racing. 

Jenni has coached numerous athletes to top places on the podium, including a racer that have turned professional in the men's peloton, multiple PRs in various triathlon distances, as well as a team that placed third in their division in the Race Across America (RAAM).

Jenni’s own competitive life has been extensive, including mountain biking, triathlon, road cycling and cyclocross. After a track and field injury in high school, she found mountain biking as an adjunct to her rehab, and never looked back.  Mountain biking seemed to elicit from her the same dogged determination her cross country running did – striving to push herself to the limits.  She started racing mountain bikes, found a niche in a sport she absolutely loved, and found her husband.   

She finished the 2004 Ironman Coeur d’Alene, conveniently located in her own backyard, and the 2006 Ironman Canada.  She also earned top-five finishes in the Schweitzer NMBS Short Track and Expert Cross Country races.  Jenni most recently has focused her own athletic endeavors on road cycling and cyclocross, scoring a pro contract in 2011. She has also won the 2006 and 2007 Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series as well as earned 2nd place at the 24 Hrs Round the Clock MTB in 2011 in the Open Women's division.  She has raced in a number of USA Cycling National Racing Calender (NRC) races, including the USA Criterium Finals in Las Vegas, the Mt Hood Cycling Classic, the Elkhorn Stage Race, and the Boise Twilight Criterium. She has also competed in various sprint and Olympic distance triathlons and continues to race the road, mountain bike and cyclocross.

She and Mike, her husband of 15 years, own and operate Vertical Earth, a bike shop in the heart of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She also enjoys coaching her children’s elementary cross country team.  Jenni has a particular love for children, and hopes to inspire and encourage her own two young kids to constantly challenge themselves to be the best people they can in all their endeavors. 

To inquire about working with Jenni Gaertner please click here! >>>

"In the year that I've been working with Jenni, she has been consistently attentive and helpful with everything from tactics to maximizing my training time. As a 36-year-old professional, balancing work and training can be challenging. Jenni has been particularly valuable in helping me make gains in my training even when work and other commitments make squeezing in workouts difficult. When I started working with Jenni last year, I had not raced on the road in more than seven years (and had done just a few Cat. 4 races before the long hiatus). I had raced cyclocross for the first time about a month before I began working with Jenni. Since then, I earned my Cat. 3 upgrade on the road and capped my season by placing 3rd in a local stage race. I have earned enough points to upgrade to Cat. 2 in cyclocross and have been competitive in Cat. 1/2/3 fields for the past few weeks, including winning a small Cat. 1/2/3 field yesterday. I could not have achieved the foregoing things without Jenni's guidance. She is an excellent coach, and it has been a privilege to work with her thus far." ~DG

"My experience with Jenni was absolutely perfect! She is fantastic and what I really appreciate about her is that she “gets” the mental aspects… you know those times that you are frustrated and being too hard on yourself… she always knows the right encouraging thing to say drawing from her own experiences. ... I would absolutely recommend Wenzel and Jenni to anyone!" ~Susie S

"I know that my coach, Jenni Gaertner, was recently the coach of the month; however for those of us lucky enough to have her as our coach she is the coach of the month EVERY month. ... She has 'been there, done that' so to speak, and if she hasn't, she has the resources to find the answer. My most recent 'problem' was that of going back to school and not having the time I once had for training. Jenni talked me through it and assured me that things would work out. She was able to share with me her experience of going to school and the juggling act of classes and training. It was a hard thing for me to realize (the fact that I won't be able to train as much) but with her help and reassurance, I now have a better understanding of how to balance training and school, work etc. Since having Jenni as my coach, I have won a race, taken 7 minutes off of a time trial race I did prior to having her coach me, and become a much better cyclist overall. I know that it has been my hard work that has helped in all of these things but having her there to help me with my training and questions has been key. Without her I would still be struggling to figure out what ride do I do today, or should I ride today? So, many thanks go out to my coach, and Wenzel Coaching for improving my abilities over the last year!" ~Wendy S.

"Jenni is great and she is a real person....I have never been intimidated to call her because she has been in these same spots that all of us have been...She keeps me motivated and not to think that I have to be the best....just do the best that I can!!" ~Jordan Mccoy