Why I’m Leaving Professional Mountainbike Racing
A few of you may have heard that I’m retiring from professional DH racing. Some of you may have even extrapolated that it’s due to my…
Why I’m Leaving Professional Mountainbike Racing
A few of you may have heard that I’m retiring from professional DH racing. Some of you may have even extrapolated that it’s due to my recent injury sustained at USACycling’s MTB national championships — a reasonable conclusion by any means.
But you’d be wrong. Fortunately.
I started racing downhill mountain bikes in 2012 and went pro in 2013. When I got my pro license, I remember telling my best friend that I had five years to accomplish my goals. “Why five?! You’re fast! Why limit yourself to five years?” and I responded that I wasn’t dumb — nobody can be an athlete forever. I’d seen that clearly enough in the snowboard industry and was hell-bent on never being the scarred-up 90-year-old pro who had never lived anything else.
Racing takes a LOT out of a person — especially the way I’ve done it. Physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, socially, spiritually, romantically. I gave it all I had, though, and I don’t regret any of it even…