Why are the British so good at downhill? How a country with few mountains continues to dominate downhill race podiums
British downhill racers have been topping the world’s race podiums in huge numbers since the early days of mountain biking – but, for a land with only tiny mountains, how did it happen?
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This year’s World Downhill Championship will mark 35 years since the title was first fought out on the slopes of Durango, Colorado, USA, which was when the first ever official UCI-sanctioned championship races took place.
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Somewhat amazingly, when you consider that the UK has but molehill sized mountains in comparison the Alps and the Rockies, British riders have evolved to be amongst the very best downhillers in the world, ranking second only to those fast Frenchies in terms of numbers of World Championship and World Cup titles – in both the Elite men’s and woman’s standings.
Danny Hart Downhill race, by Red Bull Content Pool
Downhill racing looked very different back in those early days, and many riders raced both cross and downhill too, with downhill, cross-country, and trials often being a part of regular UK race weekends. Naturally, things have come a long way since then, in every aspect of the sport and equipment.
Although Brits scored medals in the junior title ranks from the get-go, taking the act to the World Cup and World Championship stage in the Elite ranks seemed like a huge ask early on, especially when the gravity roost was ruled by riders from countries with huge mountains – and ski lifts to get up them. Yet, against those lofty odds, in the early 90s, Jason McRoy (RIP) took a bold leap of financial faith when he set out to break into the big league. In 1993, which was the first year that the official UCI Downhill World Cup was held, he finished second in the Mammoth Kamikaze race, which for many years had been considered the unofficial World Championship.
This led to him being the first British Downhiller to secure a contract with a major international factory team in 1994, Specialized. Tragically, Jason lost his life in 1995 through a motorcycle accident, although his legacy lives on, and indeed inspired by example, what was to follow for British downhill racing.
Mountain bike icons - Steve Peat, by Steve Thomas
Despite running close to World Cup victory for a little while, Steve Peat was pipped by arch rival Rob Warner in the race to become the first British rider to with a World Cup round in Kaprun in 1996. Steve would go on to win 17 World Cup rounds, three overall titles, and the World Championship during his lengthy career. Had it not been for French ace Nicolas Vouilloz, his tally would have been a whole lot longer.
As for the women, they ran hot on the heels of the men, with Tracy Moseley being the first Brit to win a World Cup round in 2002, and to take the overall World Cup title in 2006 with a career tally of 16 individual round wins. Meanwhile, Rachel Atherton became our first female Elite World Champion in 2008, the first of five Elite titles she took out, along with a staggering 40 World Cup Rounds.
Rachel Atherton DH race, by Red Bull Content Pool
The rest, as the cliché goes, is pure history, and the Brits have been battling it out on the world scene ever since. We’ve had numerous Elite male and female World Champions and World Cup winners, and things are very much still in full flow at the sharp end of the sport for the Brits.
British racers Rachel Atherton, Tracy Mosely, Manon Carpenter, Gee Atherton, Steve Peat, Danny Hart, Reece Wilson, and Charlie Hatton have all taken Elite Downhill world titles.
We thought we’d ask a couple of them for their 10 cents on how, and why the Brits are so damn sharp when it comes to racing downhill?
Steve Peat
There’s probably nobody better than Steve Peat, in terms of real-time and long-time experience, to ask about just how the whole Brit downhill ball got rolling on the world stage. We quizzed him on how the early breakthroughs by British downhillers first came about.
Steve Peat: “Mountain biking in the UK was way behind the rest of the World. It took us a long time to catch up, but once we figured out that we could ride these bikes off-road and started exploring different UK terrain, then we started to pick it up fast. We were pretty good in XC from the start, but downhilling definitely was a few steps behind, up until we found steeper and trickier tracks to hone our skills.”
“JMC (Jason McRoy - RIP) did a huge job of opening the doors for the rest of the UK crew. He went out there with Jim (his dad) and took on the Americans, which secured him a factory ride. From that point on, we all knew it was possible. He led the way for us all.”
That said, it was Steve himself who pretty much led the charge that followed on from JMC (along with Rob Warner) to the top of the World Podium, and who stood as a role model and inspiration to just about every British downhill racer that followed him.
SP: “I’d like to think I helped some by being there as a target for younger riders. But I think overall that it’s part of the British mentality – we don’t have long and manmade runs like in Whistler, or uplifts like in the Alps, and the weather is usually bad too. It’s hard work, you have to push up every time, and if you’re doing that for a short run, then you’re going to make the most of it, which I think makes for a certain kind of character.”
Gee Atherton
Gee Atherton and his siblings, Rachel and Dan, have been, perhaps, the ultimate British downhill racing dynasty, and they have pretty well dominated the world stage for a good decade. In doing so, he raised the bar for aspiring young British racers, so we asked Gee why he thinks there are so many great British downhill racers.
2021 gee atherton the knife edge cover.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Gee Atherton: “The UK has had such a strong scene that has been so good over the years. It’s been a long time, we’ve had multiple World Cup podium contenders for as long as I’ve been racing, since Peaty and those guys set that charge.
“With a strong UK scene, you develop that talent and those riders. If you have a UK national race and have seven guys who could all make a World Cup podium, that’s incredible to have at home. That means that you’re pushing at that level all of the time, and develop into quite a talented athlete, and it brings through the younger generation. You have this feeder of junior talent, and I think a lot of my success came from us racing for years on the UK scene, on all sorts of tracks in all sorts of conditions and at World Cup pace.”
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