GRAB TRAILS BY THE SCRUFF!

HOW TO SHRED LIKE THE BULLDOG

1 Put in the miles

“Time on the bike is superimportant,” says Brook. “The older you get, the harder it is to maintain fitness, so it’s crucial to keep maintaining that base.”

2 Mix it up

“I’m an early riser, so I wake early, have breakfast then hit the gym. After that, I’ll do either a cardio session on my road bike or trail bike or, every other day, I’ll do stuff around the house or ride my downhill bike.”

3 Channel the Bulldog spirit!

“I’ve probably lived up to my nickname, because of my riding style, my aggression and being able to get up from big crashes.”

4 Keep things fun

“I really enjoyed riding my bike last season, especially at the first two races, and it showed in my qualifying results… Back home, riding with my mates keeps me occupied and entertained!”

5 Don’t just ride locally

“We definitely have good stuff in NZ, but I’m starting to come to Europe earlier every year so I can prepare better and adapt to that terrain.”

6 Learn from the best

“I started to follow downhill aged 13 or 14, by reading Dirt magazine and watching the Earthed videos. They gave me an idea of what riding was about. [Greg] Minnaar, Peaty [Steve Peat] and Sam Hill were my three main influences.”

7 Don’t overanalyse things

“I see lines I think are ridable when I walk the track, but then I come to ride them and they ain’t! The majority of the time, I just ride the line I feel fastest on.”

8 Get in the right mindset

“A perfect race day is led by a good day of practice and a good qualifying. That puts me into a state where I just wanna win. Preparation for that is having the right people around you. Having something that motivates you to do your best is really important.”