Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

This week I’m joined by Saracen Brand Manager Andy Ayers, and the Madison Saracen Factory Race Team Manager Will Longden to chat all things Saracen. We find out a bit about the history of the brand and how Madison came to acquire the name. Andy tells us about how downhill racing quickly became a big part of the brand and Will takes us behind the scenes of their successes and future plans. From Manon taking the overall and world champs in the same season, through Danny’s incredible win in...

Hannah Bergemann is an incredible athlete, and an exciting part of the future of freeriding. With a background in freestyle skiing, Hannah has quickly made a name for herself, which has recently lead to her getting a much sought after RedBull helmet deal. We chat about Hannah’s early years and find out how her environment has been such a huge part of shaping the rider that she is today. We chat about her use of visualisations, how she approaches training, how digging improves your riding and...

If you cut Craig ‘Stikman’ Glaspell then he’d bleed downhill racing. He’s been there from the very start. With an early race career inspired by none other than John Tomac, through his time as a world cup mechanic, journalist, photographer and presenter, all the way to his role today as Global Brand Director for Bike with Troy Lee Designs. We chat about his history with downhill racing and hear how things have changed over the years. How are brands thinking about marketing today, how is that...

Today I'm joined by IMBA Europe's President, Thomas Larsen Schmidt. Our trails are seeing more use than ever right now, and there are definitely some issues coming to the surface. So, it feels like an important topic for me to cover. We sat down to talk about the current state of trail access, user conflict and the challenges that we face. Thomas provides some things to consider when we are building trails and using the outdoors. He talks about the importance of getting organised, and gives...

Today we’re going behind the scenes at Öhlins with their MTB racing team leader, TJ Hansen. We get a bit of history on Öhlins and their background in motorsport. Then chat about their entry into the mountain bike world and the work they do with the Specialized Gravity Team. We discuss the trend for faster rebound speeds and the challenge of making a product that’s technically awesome and capable at the highest level, but still great for us regular riders. We also get TJ’s thoughts on the...

Tracy Moseley was one of my first guests nearly 4 years ago now, and a lot has changed since then. We chat about Tracy’s current role supporting the athletes on the Trek Factory Racing programmes. Hear her thoughts about the importance of team fit and culture, as well as what she’s doing about that with Trek. We talk about her pregnancy, being a parent and getting your child into riding. Tracy also talks about her return to racing at the EWS e-series, and how she’s approached getting fit for...

I think it’s fair to say that Aaron Gwin has had a rough couple of seasons. A steady stream of injuries and misfortune have kept him away from where he’d like to be, at the very top of the sport. We chat about how he deals with tough times. How he feels about people saying he’s no longer got what it takes and how his approach to racing has changed over time. Can Aaron still beat Greg Minnaar’s all time wins record and when will he retire from downhill? Give this episode a listen to hear the...

As today is International Women's Day, I thought it would be good to chat to some of the awesome women who work in the industry. So today I'm joined by Emily Horridge, who runs a guiding company in the French Alps. Emily also runs a successful YouTube channel helping you to improve your riding. Rachael Wight is the Editor of offroad.cc and a guide for ProRide. She also runs her own coffee roasting business. Katie Wooster has recently joined the Nukeproof marketing team as her first role in...

Jesse Melamed is always a popular guest on the show, and he certainly didn’t disappoint with this detailed chat. We get stuck into his 2020 season, taking the EWS overall, and dealing with Covid. We also get pretty in-depth on getting his new bike set up, and we end up chatting about Formula 1 too. Jesse is a technically focussed athlete at the top of the sport, and has plenty of interesting things to say, so hit play and have a listen to this episode with Jesse Melamed. You can follow Jesse...

Charlie Murray is a super talented up-and-comer from New Zealand. He definitely made his mark on the Enduro World Series and World Cup downhill circuit last season. Charlie even dabbled in the e-Bike World Champs. Which, despite running out of battery mid race, has paid off pretty well for him, as you'll find out in this episode. Charlie provides great insight into what it takes to get inside the top 10 of the EWS, while still holding down a day job. We talk about training, mindset, the...

Stefan Garlicki is a South African World Cup racer with a crazy story that we can learn a lot from. We chat about Stefan’s horrendous injuries which pushed him to the point that he suffered from PTSD and panic attacks. Stefan has worked hard super hard on his recovery, and part of that has even led to him learning to backflip! We also find out what it’s like to come from South Africa and learn to race in Europe. Stefan gives some great insight into the dedication it takes to work your way up...

Downtime is 4 years old today, and I wanted to mark that in some way. My most popular episode ever, with the one and only Josh Bryceland, was about to drop off the end of the podcast’s RSS feed. That means that the only place you’d be able to find it is on my website, and it’s still so popular that I wanted to make sure people can access it easily. So I’ve remastered it, and re-released it for everyone to continue to enjoy. So if you’ve listened before, hopefully you’ll enjoy listening...

Phil Atwill has had a rough couple of years with some pretty nasty injuries that have made repeating that Lenzerheide 2017 podium a big challenge. However, at the final round in Lousa last year he stuck it into 5th place. We sat down to find out about that journey back to the podium. We chat about his move to Greece, filming for Gamble, injury, the move back to Propain and plenty more. So hit play above and listen to this episode with Phil Atwill. You can find Phil on Instagram @phil_atwill...

Rémy Métailler is an incredible rider, who’s moved his insane skills from Whistler Bike Park to finding gaps on the steeps around Squamish, and he’s documenting it on his huge YouTube channel. Rémy has recently signed with Propain Bikes, so we chat about that move. We cover his channel, his use of affiliate links and how that’s helping him make better content. We also chat about riding with racing drones, how Yoann Barelli made him crash, and plenty more. So hit play above and listen to this...

Fabien Barel clearly has a huge passion, energy and deep understanding of our sport. Today we’re catching up with Fabien on the 2020 season and finding out how he feels his enduro and downhill teams got on. He shares some tips on how to increase your peak speed on the bike. We chat about his thoughts on the evolution of the do it all trail bike, and where he sees that going in the future. We also get Fab’s thoughts on the 2021 season and what we’ve got in store. So hit play above and listen...

Rich Houseman knows a thing or two about what it takes to get sponsored. As the youngest ever factory-sponsored BMX rider, aged 6, he went on to become BMX World Champion and have a successful DH and 4X career. Rich moved into the world of sponsorship in 2004 when he started at hookit.com. He went on to manage the one and only Aaron Gwin, and has been behind the scenes for much of his career. We sat down to find out about his background in the sport, and what it was like racing in the 90s....

Gary Fisher is one of mountain biking's founding fathers and was very much responsible for bringing mountain biking to the masses. Gary grew up with cycling in his veins, and this passion took him on a crazy path through road racing, free love, LSD, and popularising the mountain bike around the world. We sat down for a wide ranging chat to find out more about Gary’s story. We discuss the early days, the growth of our sport, bringing 29ers to production, his dress sense, Gary’s thoughts on...

Yoann Barelli is back to let us know all about his team set up for 2021. Yoann has been focussed on the environment for a good while now and that can really be seen in how he’s chosen his partners for 2021 and beyond. It’s definitely a different approach and one that Yoann is stoked about. So hit play above and listen to this episode with Yoann Barelli. You can follow Yoann on Instagram @yoannbarelli and find his coaching business over at www.barelliconcepts.com. Supporting Partners We Are...

Let's start the year off right with a dose of energy and positivity from the one and only Yoann Barelli. Yoann has made some big changes to his setup over the last year and we chat all about it in this episode. From starting his own coaching business, to changing his team set up, we find out what he's been up to. It's super interesting to hear what Yoann has learned while becoming a coach too. We also chat about testing the Grim Donut for Pinkbike, finding his inner freerider and much more....

Paul Aston is someone who's dedicated his life to bikes. From the early days of dirt jumping in the Midlands of the UK, all the way to racing Downhill World Cups as a privateer. Paul is probably best known for his time as European Technical Editor for Pinkbike, and that infamous ENVE wheel review. In part two we chat about his role at Pinkbike, and what goes into being a good tester/reviewer. Paul shares some details on his Nicolai build and why he thinks all bikes should have at least 200mm...