Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

Not only is Lewis Kirkwood a talented bike rider with a history in both XC and Enduro racing, and some time on the EWS circuit, but he is studying for a PhD in ‘Performance in Enduro Mountain Biking’. That makes him a pretty interesting guy in my book! I recently sat down with Lewis to find out about his studies so far, and what he has learned. From his undergraduate project looking at the physiological demands of enduro mountain biking, to his current PhD work, he has had some of the world’s top athletes in the lab, and has been taking data, from them and their bikes, at races and in training. We dig into the science to find out more about what it takes to be at the top. There is some really interesting stuff in here, and definitely a few things that could be applied to your own riding to improve your own performance. I know that I certainly learned a lot from talking to Lewis. If you want to support the podcast, then grab yourself one of our awesome t-shirts from our store, www.downtimepodcast.com/shop Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, either by heading to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe, or if you’re on iTunes, just click below… To read Lewis’ paper, head here To follow Lewis on instagram, head to @lewis_kirkwood If you want to get in touch with Lewis via email, he’s on lewis.kirkwood@napier.ac.uk And you can find out more about the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland here Lewis would like to thank the research group involved in the study, Professor Geraint Florida-James, Dr Lesley Ingram, Jamie Cunningham, and Dr Eva Malone.  

Enduro has been a huge area of growth in the mountain bike world over the last 5 or so years, and the Enduro World Series has been at the centre of it. We sat down to chat with the main man, Chris Ball, to find out about all things Enduro World Series. I love the way Chris thinks about things. He really cares about the sport, and not just the racing, but about all of us, the fun we are having and our exposure to and impact on the environment. We chat about the vision behind the EWS, how the sport is progressing, some tips on what to expect if you’re going to enter an EWS, and much more. If you’re enjoying the podcast, and want to show your support and help us keep going, head over and check out our t-shirts at www.downtimepodcast.com/shop/ They are lovely soft organic cotton, you won’t be dissapointed! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, if you’re using iTunes then just click the button below, otherwise head to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ where you’ll find the links, and while you’re there, fill in the form and join our newsletter to keep up to date with all things ‘Downtime’! To find out more about the Enduro World Series, hit the following links… Instagram @world_enduro Facebook @EnduroWorldSeries Web www.enduroworldseries.com If you’re new to the podcast, then check out our back catalogue of amazing episodes at www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/

We’ve got something a little bit different for you in this episode. With the first round of the UCI Downhill World Cup taking place this coming weekend, I thought it would be good to get to hear a bit about what goes on behind the scenes at the UCI. The UCI often get a hard time about the lack of races, the quality of the venues and tracks, but what really goes on to put together the amazing racing that we all love to watch. So we sat down with Simon Burney, the man on the ground at all the UCI mountain bike races, to find out more. We talk about Simon’s own background in racing, as well as his time in performance management in British Cycling. We cover the impact that Red Bull media house has had on the sport, what the technical delegates do at a the races, and wether or not Schaldming will ever be a World Cup venue again (fingers crossed!). If you enjoy the podcasts, and want to show your support and help us keep going, head over and check our our t-shirts and sweatshirts at www.downtimepodcast.com/shop/ Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, and join our newsletter, you can do that at www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ To subscribe on iTunes, just click below… To check out our back catalogue of amazing episode, head to www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ If you want to find out more about the UCI, then their website is www.uci.ch Photo – Darren Ellis

Troy Brosnan from Canyon Factory Racing joins us for this episode of the podcast. Troy finished the 2017 season in second overall, and went into the last round with a chance of taking the overall. Troy has been a feature of junior and elite podiums at World Cup level now for many years, and is one of the most consistent performers in the male field. We talk to Troy about how he got into riding, the sacrifices he’s had to make along the way, what it’s like to be team mates with riders like Sam Hill and Aaron Gwin, as well as sharing some tips for smaller riders. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, by heading to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ where you can also join our newsletter to keep up to date with everything that is going on. To subscribe on iTunes, you can hit the button below. To find out more about Troy, head to the following links… Instagram @troybrosnan Facebook @Troy.BrosnanPage Website www.troybrosnan.com Or check out Troy’s coaching courses on Facebook @brosnancoaching If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, and want to help us keep going, you can show your support by getting a t-shirt or a sweatshirt from our web shop at www.downtimepodcast.com/shop/ Our back catalogue of awesome episodes can be found at www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Ryan Finlay

Jesse Melamed joins us fresh off the plane from the first two rounds of the 2018 Enduro World Series. If you’ve been following the series then you know that these were two incredibly different and exciting races, from the deep dust and high speeds of Chile to the deep mud and rain in Colombia. We talk to Jesse about how they went, how he approached bike set up for the events, and also why he thinks Sam Hill was able to take the win at both. We also cover plenty of other stuff like what it’s like to grow up in Whistler, tips for riding in the mud, his first ever EWS victory in his home town, and much more… so give it a listen. You can now find us on Spotify, so if that’s an easier place for you to listen, the head over there and give us a follow Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, and join our newsletter to make sure you get all the Downtime episodes delivered straight to your device. Just head to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe Or if you’re using iTunes, you can do it right here… To follow Jesse, you can find him at… Instagram @jessemelamed Facebook @jessemelamedMTB Check out Rocky Mountain here www.bikes.com Maxxis tyres are at www.maxxis.co.uk and to find the Cush Core tyre liner we talked about, head to www.cushcore.com To catch up on all our other episodes, just head to downtimepodcast.com/epsidoes/ Photo Kike Abelleira

The podium of a world cup downhill race is the aim for many riders, and with only 5 places, it’s a pretty exclusive club. Greg Williamson has been so close taking 6th place finishes, and clearly wants that next step. We sat down to talk about Greg’s background in riding and racing, and his career so far, with time on Trek Factory Racing and Cube. This year see’s Greg join the exciting new Unno team, on some pretty special machines designed and built by Cesar Rojo. Is this going to be Greg’s season to get that so far elusive podium? Tune in to find out more about Greg, his 2017 season, his training, and his approach to learning from each and every race. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, and join our newsletter to make sure you get all the Downtime episodes delivered straight to your device. Just head to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe Or if you’re using iTunes, you can do it right here… To follow Greg throughout the season, you can find him here… Instagram @gregwilliamson1 Check our Unno bikes at www.unno.com Also, if you’re interested in the Concept 2 Rower and SkiErg that Greg mentions in the episode, head to www.concept2.co.uk To have a go at the new uplift service at Innerleithen, head to www.adrenalinuplift.co.uk To catch up on our back catalogue of amazing guests, check out our episodes page www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/

It’s the second part of this weeks double bill, this time with Mr Gas2Flat himself, Adam Brayton. Adam made big changes to his training when he started working with Jonny from Fit4Racing, and those changes paid off. Adam rode to his best season ever in 2016, and continued to show his potential in a tough 2017 season. We sat down to talk about how his training changed, and the impact that has had on him and his riding. We also cover Adam’s 2017 season, Red Bull Hardline, riding at race pace outside of racing, and much much more. Adam is such a laid back guy, but clearly a focussed and dedicated athlete who’s fired up to hit the 2018 season hard. I can’t wait to see how he gets on! To follow Adam, you can find him at the following links, Instagram @adbrayton Facebook @adam.brayton.12 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast app to get all our future episodes delivered straight to your device. You can do that, and join our newsletter here www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ To find out more about Fit4Racing, use the following links for some great free resources, Website www.fit4racing.com Instagram @fit4racing Facebook @Fit4racing YouTube Fit4Racing To listen to our back catalogue of awesome guests, just head here www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Dan Hearn/Hope Technology

A few weeks ago I was privileged to be invited to join Adam Brayton on one of his training sessions with Jonny Thompson at Fit4Racing, based in the beautiful Lake District. Within 5 minutes of stepping out of the car, it became very clear how hard these guys work to be at the top of their sport. Watching the guys doing multiple sand bag carries, while I struggled along with a bag that was 20kg lighter was quite the eye opener!! After the session I sat down with Jonny to talk about how he helped Adam get stronger and fitter, leading to the best season of his career so far in 2016. We talk about the importance of intensity in your training, the best way to apply intensity without risking injury, some workout suggestions that you could follow, and much much more. Just seeing the form these guys are in, and the impact that it has had on Adam’s racing is enough to show that this approach can work, so have a listen, and see if you can make some changes to your training! As mentioned at the start of the episode, local rider Callum Russell had a serious crash last week while practicing for a race, leaving him with a broken back and severed spinal cord. The mountain bike community has been amazing and set up a Just Giving page to help support Callum’s recovery. If you want to help, please head to the following link www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/callumrussellmtb Tomorrow, Adam Brayton joins us to tell his side of the story, so please subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast app to make sure you get this episode, and join our newsletter too to keep up to date with what’s going on. You can do both those things here www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ To find out more about Jonny and Fit4Racing, you can use the following links, Website www.fit4racing.com Instagram @fit4racing Facebook @Fit4racing YouTube Fit4Racing There are some great free resources here to help support your training! You can find all our previous episodes here www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Peter Ostrowski

For our first sponsored episode, Cy Turner of Cotic Bikes joins us to chat about modern bike geometry, his views, and why long, low and slack works when it's done right! Cy is a long time friend, as we studied together at University, and I've always admired his ability and knowledge when it comes to bike design. He really puts his heart and soul into what he does, and every detail is thoroughly thought through. So when he puts something out there and says it's good, I know he's done his homework! Their new 'Longshot' geometry is the latest iteration to their suspension bike range, and in this episode we talk about how it came about, and exactly why it works. What's more, we've made this available on video as well as audio, so as you can see Cy's gesticulating as he explains the finer details of bike geometry. To watch the video, you can head to our website or search for it on YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you get to know of all our future video based interviews! You can find Cotic in the following places... Website - www.cotic.co.uk Instagram - @coticbikes Facebook - @CoticLtd Twitter - @CoticLtd You can find all our other awesome episodes here www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes

March 8th 2018 is International Women’s Day and to celebrate that, we’ve put together an episode with Hanna Jonsson, a mountain biker and journalist, to chat about the state of women’s mountain biking today. The women’s side of the sport has seen huge progress over recent years, and is certainly leaps and bounds ahead of where it was when I started riding. Back then, it was incredibly unusual to even see a women out riding on the trails! Even with that progress, women are still a minority in the sport, so we sat down and chatted about that, where it’s going, what we can all do to encourage more women into the sport, women’s racing, and much much more. So have a listen, and let us know what you think. You can comment over on our social media channels, links are as follows… Instagram @downtimepodcast Facebook @thedowntimepodcast Twitter @downtimetweets To subscribe to the podcast head to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ or head to iTunes using the following button, To follow Hanna’s adventures, you can find her on Instagram @swedehanna To read Hanna’s article on the use of language in mountain biking, head to www.eskapee.com/shorts/voices-stop-using-pussy/ Check out the awesome ‘Ferda Girls’ by Micayla Gatto at ifht.tv/blogs/news/ferda-girls We’ve got an episode with Gowaan Girls (Bex & Martha) here To find all our past episodes with awesome female riders, head to www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/

Getting guests for the podcast is pretty much the hardest part, so when I got an email in my inbox from Aaron Gwin saying he’d be stoked to come on the podcast, I was pretty excited. Aaron really is at the top of the game, and it was interesting for me to get some insight into this mindset and how he operates at that very top level. The one thing that struck me was the level of detail that he gets involved in, right across all areas. Have a listen and see what you think. We talk about his cars, his 2017 season, how he remains mentally strong, how he chooses who he will partner with, and much much more. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so that all our future episodes get delivered as soon as they drop. There are subscribe links on this webpage, and one for iTunes just below. Also, don’t forget to join to our newsletter, for info about upcoming epsiodes and more. There is a pop up banner on our website, or a form there which you can use to join. You can follow Aaron on social media here, Instagram @aarongwin1 Facebook @AaronGwinOfficial Find out more about the Flat Tire Defender at flattiredefender.com You can find our other episodes at downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Isac Paddock

As it’s our 1st Birthday, and Neko’s 25th Birthday, we thought we would put together this bonus episode for you all. Neko was one of our first guests, and it was great to catch up with him on what’s gone on in his life this past year. We talk about his 2017 season highs and lows, his prep for 2018 including some interesting experiments with a pretty special GPS device, and we also catch up on progress at Neko’s bike park, Windrock. With Windrock hosting most of the big teams for their off season suspension testing this winter, you can bet that Neko is pretty stoked on how things are going!! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so that all our future episodes get delivered as soon as they drop. There are subscribe links on this webpage, and one for iTunes just below. Also, don’t forget to join to our newsletter, for info about upcoming epsiodes and more. There is a pop up banner on our website, or a form there which you can use to join. You can find Neko (occasionally) on Instagram @nekomulally The bike park is here @windrockbikepark or here www.windrockbikepark.com Find out more about the awesome LITPro here www.litprolive.com You can catch up on all our other episodes here www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Sean Leader

A lot of you have asked for more information on the mental side of mountain biking, and this weeks guest is well positioned to give some great insight into that side of things. Olly Morris is a man who wears may hats, as an Elite Downhill racer, the manager of the Intense Racing UK team, skills coach for Pro Ride MTB, and corporate trainer. As a result of this, he brings a unique and interesting perspective on the sport. In this episode, we cover his experience of working on the mental aspect of mountain biking to not only improve his race results, but to enjoy racing much more than ever before, some behind the scenes insight from his time working with British Cycling at the DH worlds in Cairns 2017, common mistakes he sees in his role as a skills coach, and much more. There is some really interesting stuff in here, and it certainly gave me some things to take away and try. You can listen on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and most popular podcast apps, also there is an iTunes link right here… Here are the links that we mention in the episode, The Chimp Paradox is available on Amazon here The Intense Racing UK team have a page here If you’re interested in coaching with Pro Ride MTB, head here You can find Olly on Instagram @ollym1 To catch up on our previous episodes head to www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ Photo – Steve Behr

Jérôme Clementz has been at the forefront of enduro mountain biking for a long time, and was the first ever Enduro World Series champion, taking the title in 2013. We recorded this episode at the end of 2017, just after Jérôme has announced his retirement from full time EWS racing, but don't worry, this mountain bike loving guy isn't leaving us. We talk about Jérôme's career, what it takes to win the Megavalance, how he managed to be consistent enough to never be outside the top 20 during his EWS career, his thoughts on how the sport has changed, and much more.

For episode 25 we have former DH racer turned EWS pro, Remi Gauvin from the Rocky Mountain Urge BP Rally team. Remi had an awesome first season as a full time pro racer, finishing 8th overall in the Enduro World Series, with a 5th place in Whistler, and a 2nd place stage finish! We sat down just before Christmas to talk about his background, how he got into enduro, the differences between that and downhill, his winter training schedule, living with the world DH champion and coffee!! There are some really good things in this episode that you can apply to your own riding and training to get faster, and have more fun on your bike, including Remi’s view on the definitive all round tyre… no more puzzling over which tyre, in which of the million available compounds, you need! If you enjoy the episode, then please let us know on social media, share it with your friends, and subscribe to our newsletter for information on upcoming episodes and future projects, thanks! If you’d like to follow Remi, you can find him on Instagram @remigauvinmtb To check out his team, head to www.bikes.com (well done for getting that URL!) To have a listen to our back catalogue, head to www.downtimepodcast.com/episodes/ To subscribe to our podcast and newsletter head to www.downtimepodcast.com/subscribe/ Photo – @davetrumporephoto