Dirt

As a youngster, Mancunian Josh always wanted to race motocross like his Dad, and only began riding a mountain bike to fill in the time until he could take his motocross bike out at the weekend. However, it didn’t take him long to catch the bug, and, inspired by the MBUK video Dirt (starring, among others, downhill legend Steve Peat) he began racing downhill at the age of 10.

He picked up his first sponsorship deal with the Northwest Mountain Bike Centre when he was just 15, and it wasn’t long before he was spotted by Rob Roskopp’s new Santa Cruz Syndicate brand, where he has learnt his trade under the the wing of his childhood hero Peat.

In 2007, in his first year as part of the elite division of the World Cup series, he finished ninth in Maribor, Slovenia, a performance that he still rates as the best of his career. The same year, he also won the Junior downhill division of the World Cup series, and he went on to take gold at the Junior World Championships at Val di Sole in Italy in 2008.

Josh’s effortless style is guaranteed to entertain the crowd, and he is never one to take things too seriously. Since those early days, he has shown himself to be one of the most naturally gifted riders on the elite circuit, scoring a series of top ten World Cup finishes and two podiums. His best season to date was 2012, when he finished eighth overall.