NEW DIRECTIONS

Q Could you ever see yourself doing the Croc Trophy or any long trail riding?

A No. Way too much time on my bum on the seat. Everybody in Cairns knows me for not being able to ride up hills very much. I just find trail bike riding is a bit slow compared to racing downhill. I don’t mind training and I’ll train as hard as I can, but to go out for a leisurely ride and ride up a hill, it’s not for me.

Q Atherton Bikefest is running an Urban Downhill on Saturday. You’ve raced a similar event before. What’s it like?

A Well, Urban Downhill is when they mix a bit of dirt sometimes with street racing so down stairs. It’s quite popular in South America so Red Bull has like a whole world series of urban downhill races. They’re quite gnarly. I think it’s quite good because you have obstacles through the streets and the community kind of comes down to the main street of whatever town it’s in. Everybody watches you race over drops and crates and shipping containers or stairs and it’s just a bit of fun. I guess it’s not really downhill but it’s just like an arm of downhill. It’s more fun how the community can get involved and for the public it’s easy to watch. Normal downhill you’ve got to climb up in the bush and watch a section, but Urban Downhill everyone can see.