The Downtime Podcast

Join me for a chat with one of 2022’s break-through riders, Jack Menzies. In his first season in elite, Jack piloted his WeAreOne Arrival to some incredible EWS results, with two top tens and a 4th place pro-stage finish. Hear about Jack’s sporty upbringing and how he’s been putting in the work to get the results he wants. We talk about the ups and downs of racing and the challenges of finding the right headspace when the clock is ticking. There’s lots to learn from a rider who’s definitely on the rise. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Jack Menzies. You can follow Jack on Instagram @jackmenzies__ or on the team page @polygonfactoryracing. Supporting Partners Canyon If you want to get yourself a new rig for the upcoming season of riding, then go and check out The Trail Sale on canyon.com. There’s discounts across a load of Canyon’s MTB and EMTB range, and Downtime listeners can save more by getting free bike guard packaging on any trail sale purchase, just use the code 'the-tra

Luca Shaw has had an incredible mountain bike racing career so far, riding for the Santa Cruz Syndicate and now Canyon Factory Racing. Hear how he’s learned from the best with mentors like Steve Peat and Fabien Barel. We dig into Luca’s 2018 season where he qualified 1st on three occasions but wasn’t able to convert them into race wins. Does Luca think he could have taken those wins with what he knows now? We chat about his run of injuries and what Luca is doing to find his way back to the top of the sport. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Luca Shaw. You can also watch the episode on my YouTube channel here (don't forget to like and subscribe). You can follow Luca on Instagram @luca_shaw or follow the team @canyon_cllctv. Supporting Partners WeAreOneComposites We Are One are generously offering Downtime listeners 15% off wheelsets and their Da Package bar and stem. So wether you want their new Convergence wheels, their still very awesome Revolution wheels, or their Da Packa

Last week YT relaunched their team, the YT Mob and have signed, among others, Jack Moir. If you’ve seen the launch, you’ll realise that the have taken a pretty different approach to other teams, not controlling what components the riders choose, bringing together multiple disciplines and more. I got the chance to sit down with the man behind the team, YT’s Head of Sports Marketing, JP Becker to find out all about it. We also grabbed some time with all the enduro and downhill riders, so we’ll be hearing from Jack Moir, Kasper Wooley, Christian Textor, Sian Ahern and Oisin O’Callaghan. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with the 2023 YT Mob. JP Becker 4:18 - 39:09 Jack Moir 39:09 - 45:23 Kasper Wooley 45:23 - 52:29 Christian Textor 52:29 - 58:38 Sian A'Hern 58:38 - 1:01:37 Oisin O'Callaghan 1:01:37 - 1:04:47 JP Becker 1:04:47 - 1:21:23 You can follow the Mob on Instagram @the_yt_mob and online at yt-mob.com. Supporting Partners Fit4Racing Fit4Racing are the team be

Since the announcement of the Discovery take over from Red Bull, there has been a lot of speculation and concern over what will happen to the sport we all love. Well, I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat to Chris Ball to find out all about their plans. We cover a bit of Chris’ background, how Discovery got involved and why Chris sees this as a good thing for mountain biking. I ask him about the changes to the format, prize money, if we’ll have to pay to watch the racing, who will be commentating for Discovery and more. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Chris Ball. If you'd prefer to watch this episode, then you can do that over on my YouTube channel here. You can keep up to date with progress over at ucimtbworldseries.com or by following @uci_mtbworldseries on Instagram. Podcast Stuff Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 2 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast. It expands on them, and takes them into a stunn

Today I’m joined by Jesse Melamed. Last week, Jesse announced that he’d be joining the Canyon CLLCTV team for 2023, so we sat down to find out a bit more about it. Before we get stuck into the team change, we find out about what Jesse has learned about bike setup and how that’s enabled him to get a setup that suits his riding style and enables him to push harder, without taking more risk. Hear how that setup panned out throughout the season and how he ultimately took the 2022 overall title. With his engineering background and analytical approach, Jesse always delivers on the detail. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Jesse Melamed. If you'd prefer to watch this episode, then you can do that over on my YouTube channel here. You can follow Jesse on Instagram @jessemelamed, check out his YouTube here, or find the Canyon CLLCTV team on Instagram @canyon_cllctv. Podcast Stuff Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 2 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the

Today I'm joined by mountain bike skills coach, Paul Howard. Paul has an incredible story of creating his career in mountain biking through coaching, setting up both the PMBIA, which is now the largest provider or mountain bike instructor training courses in the world and ZEP MTB Camps. We sat down to hear about Paul's journey and to pick his brains on how we can use some basic skills drills to improve our performance on the trails. So while the weather might not be great and trail conditions can be far from perfect, here are some great practical tips for you to improve your mountain bike skills, pretty much just in your driveway. There's plenty to learn here, so sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Paul Howard. Paul's background - 5:00-33:00 Coaching tips - 33:00-1:33:00 You can find ZEP online at zepmtbcamps.com or on Instagram @zepmtbcamps. Paul has also started a coaching podcast Donuts and bikes which you can find @donutsandbikes or here. Supporting Partners Stashed Products

Today I’m joined by Madison Saracen’s lead rider, Matt Walker. Matt is a super analytical racer with a highly dedicated focus on performance. Matt isn’t the most outspoken rider, but when we do hear from him, you know it’s worth listening to. We chat about the last couple of years for Matt where a series of ups and downs have seen him battle injury, take an overall and secure his first elite World Cup win. Hear how Matt feels about being considered an underdog, how he approached finding the missing performance in 2021, what he does to stay motivated and plenty more. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Matt Walker. You can follow Matt on Instagram @mattwalkerdh and follow the team @madisonsaracen. Supporting Partners Stashed Products If you want to upgrade your bike storage to something that’s convenient, easy to access, yet still saves you space, then the Stashed SpaceRail is the one for you. Due to it’s incredible popularity, there are no discounts right now, but we do have some

Today I’m joined by your World Cup overall champion for 2022, Camille Balanche. We sat down to chat about Cami’s 2022 season and the ups and downs that led to that overall victory. Find out how Cami went from a potentially season ending injury to an incredible comeback that saw her do what was needed to clinch the title at the final round of the year. Cami also talks about the importance of testing, finding time on tracks, her approach to getting faster on her bike and plenty more. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Camille Balanche. You can follow Cami on Instagram @cam.bal and listen to her podcast with Emilie Siegenthaler here. Podcast Stuff Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 2 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast. It expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hold, and a time

For the first episode of 2023 and I’m joined by a rider who’s been at the top of our sport for a long time now and shows no signs of stopping, Myriam Nicole. As this was our first time chatting we talk about Myriam’s path into downhill racing and how she worked her way up from being what she calls a slow junior to a top factory rider. Hear about how Myriam has overcome injuries and dealt with a fear of jumping to become a multiple world champion. We also talk about concussion and the experience Myriam had with it at the start of the 2022 season. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Myriam Nicole. You can follow Myriam on Instagram @myriam_nicole. Podcast Stuff Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 2 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast. It expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hol

Mountain bikes are continually developing and the trail bike category has become more and more popular. But just how good are modern trail bikes? We took the Santa Cruz Tallboy, 5010 and Hightower, which cover a travel range from 120 to 145mm, for a day's gravity based riding, to see how they performed. Hear what we thought to each of the bikes, how they compare and which one's we'd choose to keep. Just how capable are these type of bikes and could a shorter travel bike improve your riding enjoyment? Also, can you really work out how a bike is going to perform from some numbers on a spreadsheet? As ever, we were surprised by what we found. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with me, Jonathan and Ben to find out. You can check out all of the Santa Cruz range over at santacruzbicycles.com. Supporting Partners 7mesh Do you want some incredible quality riding kit from the awesome 7mesh? Well, they are offering Downtime listeners a 20% discount using the code 'DOWNTIME7MESH20' over at 7me