Was the reason for stopping DH and focusing on 4X?

To be honest I just tired of top 10 and 15’s. I realized I didn’t have the mental focus to go over the limits of my capabilities and sustain the all–out speed required for consistent to DH results. 4X for me was easier in that it was pretty much the same as I’d done my whole life on a BMX and I was comfortable with it and good at it. This is the same time as all the technology in DH really went wild and a number of other riders started specializing as well.

I liked them all fairly equally in their different eras. BMX in the 80’s was the best it could be. Downhill in the 90’s was a whole new level of money and professionalism, and then 4X in the late 90/00’s was a huge spectator draw. The crowds were massive, especially in Europe and those races in particular were really exciting to be a part of. It’s a real disappointment that 4X is gone, I don’t think the money excuse by the UCI was that valid, as these resorts could build a track and keep it there permanently (like they do their DH tracks) with minor changes each year. The fan draw and the noise at 4X races was like no other.

My GT LTS carbon that in ’96 was light–years ahead of its time. It floated down courses compared to the aluminium frames that we had before. I broke a lot of them, but just knowing that you were on the top technology with engineers actually at the races waiting for your feedback was good for your race head. It made you confident that you had the best equipment. I haven’t ridden a modern DH bike since I left racing almost 10 years ago, and the Trek 29er I’m riding now has more and better working suspension than anything I ever raced on. I would love to get try some of the new DH bikes and ride somewhere like Whistler, it sounds amazing.

No. Never. When you make good money and then you’re offered four times that plus bonuses you put a lot of pressure on yourself, so a podium was a result for yourself as much as for the brand ethos of ‘race on Sunday and sell on Monday’.

We were as close as you could be. On the racetrack you had to put friendships aside sometimes but that was just racing. I keep in touch with a lot of the guys through Facebook nowadays but my job with USA Cycling took a lot of time and travel and keeping up with everyone hasn’t been easy.

I never saw it done.

Me personally? Not too much, I was at the top of my game and he was really good for the sport and for everyone involved. He pushed the level for a lot of guys and made everyone faster. He had a flair that hadn’t been seen then and hasn’t been seen since in any sport. He came in at the right time and cleaned up money wise…if what you hear is to be believed.

In my era, Nico (Vouilloz). He just kept winning, I think I beat him maybe a handful of times and it felt good because you were beating the fastest guy. Podiums were nice but when it was the same guy on the top all the time it could get frustrating. He had a great support around him but he was a very smart racer and rarely made mistakes, and if you look at racing now it is coming back to that because the racing is so tight. The guy with the least mistakes will win. Greg Minnaar has been the most consistent for the past decade but then Peaty winning the Worlds a few years back is pretty unbelievable considering his age at the time. That win goes to show just how mentally tough he is.

Because BMX became an Olympic sport. I genuinely believe there are a number of BMX riders capable of winning DH races but there is no reason for them to bother with MTBing because they can make a good living racing BMX.

My last race was 2005 Worlds in Livigno, Italy. I then worked in BMX marketing for a short period from where I was recruited by USA Cycling to head up the Olympic BMX program. BMX and MTB are in my heart, I’m passionate about the sport and athletes. I miss the travel since finishing that job, most people like staying home but not me…it’s hard for me to stay grounded sometimes.

What is racing to you now?

I’m just an average fan and nothing more. I would write the book no different to what it has been. I had a great career and was happy to hang up the bike to have a family and move on to the next chapter.

We’ll see. I wish I had known some of the things I have learned over the past six years as Olympic director in regards to training and riding that I could have applied to my racing career. We were all training but the science behind it now is just at such a high professional level. It’s a big transitional period for me right now but I would like to take my experience with coaching and training and utilize it in developing some sort of MTB program. Since I’ve been away from the sport a lot has changed but the MTB industry is very healthy right now. I see more racing participation and bike sales and with racing being on the rise again I feel there is a market for a personalized and MTB specific training platforms.