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The Specialized Podcast
Loïc Bruni | Faster Than Fear
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When the gate drops, hesitation loses. And Super Bruni wins when it matters most.
A five-time World Champion and one of the fastest downhill racers in history, Loïc Bruni has built his career on precision, composure, and the rare ability to deliver when the pressure is highest.
In this episode of the Specialized Podcast, Ben Capron sits down with Bruni for a direct conversation about speed, pressure, and the mindset behind championship performance.
The story moves from growing up in the south of France, surrounded by the roots of downhill racing, to becoming one of the sport’s defining riders. From there, it goes inside the mental demands of downhill, the pursuit of flow state, and developing the Demo 11 in pursuit of finding more speed when the margins are almost nothing.
But this is not just about racing.
It is a philosophy.
Feel. Trust yourself. Commit fully. From fear and focus to redemption, mind games, and the balance between obsession and joy, Bruni shares what it takes to stay fast, keep evolving, and show up when it matters most.
The conversation also goes inside the development of the new Demo 11, a no-compromise race bike built through deep trust between rider and brand, and a process focused on one thing: maximum speed.
This episode goes beyond racing, covering:
- What downhill racing really demands
- What happens in Bruni’s mind before the gate drops
- Why flow state cannot be forced
- The pressure and heartbreak of the 2025 season
- What redemption looks like in 2026
- Growing up in the heart of European downhill
- The influence of Nico Vouilloz and technical obsession
- How Bruni balances focus, fun, and longevity
- The mindset behind winning runs
- The development of Demo 11
It is a conversation about pressure, precision, and performing when it matters most.
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What's your experience before the gate drops? For me, it's a mix of everything. You have different buildups according to what race or how you feel, how the week has been. But you're feeling fear because there is the actual fear of crashing that's a little bit in the corner of your brain. And there's fear of not performing because people have been investing on you, believing that you can prepare and deliver on that day, that specific run that three minutes you're you're about to drop in for. And there's also like a lot of self-belief, self-uh stakes, like you want to show this, you want to prove that, you want to grab that dream that you've always wanted to win that race, that specific mythic, whatever, Valdi Sol, Fort William, you're like those big names for us that we we've seen since we're kids. And the thing is, at some point, you've got like you have let's say 30 seconds to uh process all these feelings and emotions, and also like try to stay in the zone because your mind has to be like super clear and focused on one thing only is to to push as much as you can, and that's why downhill is so hard because people are able to go fast on videos, on practice, on a lot of moments during the the week or their life, but to go the extra speed that you need to have to win, not many people can do it. So that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01Look, fantastic to have you on the pod, man. Thanks for making the time.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having me, man. Absolutely pleasure.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. We're gonna get into you into downhill racing, and we're gonna imagine in the beginning, like uh you're talking to someone who's never seen a downhill race, and I want you to sell the sport of downhill racing. Like, what do you love about it, man?
SPEAKER_00I don't know if I'm the best salesman, but um downhill is a sport that is quite uh visually crazy because you start from the top of a mountain one by one. So this is like uh time time trial, I would say. And boys have been boys and girls have been able to recon the track, practice, find the baseline, the best bike setups to go absolutely flat out on every section and push the limits of both the bike and themselves, trying to be the fastest all the way through like maybe 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers, and most of the time it will be won by a tenth or less than a tenth. So it's super super cool. A lot of action, a lot of crashes, and a lot of uh good times too.
SPEAKER_01What's most misunderstood about downhill racing? What do you think people don't get?
SPEAKER_00I think sometimes we're seen as crazy guys. Uh even though I believe there's a part missing in the brain that makes us go so fast, you know. We're still very professionals, uh, we're well-trained athletes, mentally prepared, also. Like the sport is quite uh mature or getting mature now, and we are calculated like things like we're following a plan and we're following strategies and stuff. So it's it seems sometimes like we are a bit loose and whatever. I'm not the loosest because my style is quite mellow, but uh we are actually like super settled. And if everything goes to plan, which is 90% of the time, you don't crash, you don't make massive mistakes. You know, it's the new generation, maybe is a little bit more pushy in terms of limits and how they override things. But my generation, like the 2010s, let's say, we're quite calculated and and in the zone, we control how we ride, which is why sometimes it's hard to match the new guys' speed.
SPEAKER_01I I love the way you responded to that because you sort of set the table for some of the things that I want to get into and other questions, but that's that's awesome to to see that. When you're at the start gate, like you're there, you're at the gate, like what's going through your mind? Like, are you feeling fear? Is it quiet inside? What's what's your experience before the gate drops?
SPEAKER_00For me, it's a mix of everything. You have different buildups according to what race or how you feel, how the week has been. But you're feeling fear because there is the actual fear of crashing that's a little bit in the corner of your brain, and there's fear of not performing because people have been investing on you, believing that you can prepare and deliver on that day, that specific run that three minutes you go you're about to drop in for. And there's also like a lot of self beliefs, self-uh stakes, like you want to show this, you want to prove that, you want to grab that dream that you've always wanted to win that race, that specific mythic, whatever, Valdisol for William, like those big names for us that we we've seen since we're kids. And the thing is at some point you've got like you have, let's say, 30 seconds to uh process all these feelings and emotions, and also like try to stay in the zone because you can't let a little bit of percentage of commitment in the gate. You have to take everything with you, and then by the time you drop in, you your mind has to be like super clear and focused on one thing only is to to push as much as you can. And that's why downhill is so hard because people are able to go fast on videos, on practice, on a lot of moments during the the week or their life, but to go the extra speed that you need to have to win, not many people can do it. So that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, and you're known for that. You're known for when the when the pressure is high that you rise to that. And I want you said like getting into the zone and the flow state and watching you descend, like so smooth, so precise, it seems very calm. Is your experience on the inside that it's calm, or what's happening inside? How do you get into that flow state?
SPEAKER_00It's not calm, like I look I look calm from the outside, but I can tell you from inside, it's going all over the place, you know. Like I'm super like I'm super focused, I'm super aware, I'm super like on the limit, even though it doesn't seem so. And for me, the flow state, like they call it, it's it's super difficult to build it, it just comes at you. And sometimes the the thing is you searching too much for it because the previous race you did that and that and that, and you could find it, but it never is the same buildup. So you've gotta let it come to you.
SPEAKER_01It has to find you, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you've got to trust uh trust yourself, but sometimes it won't happen, you know. Like, and last year in 2025, I'm usually good under pressure, like I love to feel the people are watching, the people are expecting, like it's it pushes me to deliver even more because I just feel like it matters more, you know, and then all of my body is like okay, the extra extra push. But last year, on the moments like on World Champs, I had a little bit of uh some issues. I crashed, like you know, I was not able to, and then the the end of the season was building up to be like a super crazy last race run.
SPEAKER_01Going for the fifth, it was right down to a Mount St. Ann in practice. You had the crash, exactly, the hematoma. I mean, you started I was gonna talk about 25 later, but you went there. So for anyone who wasn't following it closely, I mean you came out of the gates, you won the first round, yeah, and then not a couple fifteenths, something else. Then Jackson comes on four in a row, yeah, puts you a little bit on the back foot, you regain the lead, come to North America, and then it comes down to the finals. And clinching the fifth overall was possible for you. Yeah, yeah. Well, I was Jackson friggin' won it, yeah. Won it, you had the crash, and I mean, just to say, only two people ever have won five overalls, you know, Nico and Aaron Gwyn. So there you are, and then you have the crash. Like, tell us about 25. What was it like for you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, the season, like you said, has been quite crazy. Like, I win the first one with the new bike, like, things are good, we're rolling, but second race, things almost go fully sideways. Avoid a big crash, finish 15th, whatever, then the race after, second, just behind Jackson. But that was the first time, let's say I was able to ride really well against Jackson, like a fair race, and I was just slower, so I was like, okay, Jackson's good back to back, it's gonna be hard to beat this year. Then he goes and wins the third one in a row, then the fourth one. I was like, then it started to be a lot, and then just before the break, I wins and I win Andora, which is uh like a super super big achievement because the whole team was starting to ah, how do we we don't have the end sales for Jackson? What's happening? And I said, Okay, guys, Endora, I have redemption from last year, from the year before crashing at World Games, right? Leave it to me. Then it was sick, like really good weekend.
SPEAKER_01But you were feeling that pressure, like you were saying, like exactly, but you're able to channel that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I I just had one goal was to win. There was no Jackson or whatever, who whoever else was there, I had to win. So it was super cool to feel that on that track, the only thing you have to do pretty much is open the throttle and go flat out. And that's what I did. I won the race just before the break, put an end to Jackson's streak, you know, like he was on uh on the cloud. So things from there started to be a little bit turning, you know, the wind was turning. Very interesting, and then I I closed the gap on the overall, get the overall back two races before the end. And while it was still super tight, we go to the last race where everything was going to be decided. And same thing, like I feel good, you know. I ride my bike the way I want to. Body replies where like I I send it in qualifying, smug them by three seconds, like things like it was amazing.
SPEAKER_01Things like we were all glued, watching, like cheering.
SPEAKER_00So many of us are like I know, and and I was super happy of how things were going, and then maybe overconfident and practice the day before, the day after, just before finals. I had a little slip up and end up crashing on rocks, but nothing disastrous, you know. Like I was okay, I'm fine. But it created that small inside bleed. That hematoma. Yeah, that led into a massive hematoma that in a couple of hours I could move my leg and I had to go and drop in for my finals, so it was it was over, you know. So hard to believe, hard to accept, but it is racing. We've done the work, everything was there for me to win. It happens sometimes that we don't make it, uh make it, but it was still a really good season, it was still a really good fight, a lot of back and forth, a lot of tension and cool storytelling with between Jackson and I. And uh yeah, it just makes me more motivated for this year because I have a redemption to get, you know, like it's not getting easier, but I'm gonna try.
SPEAKER_01Well, let's talk about that. You know, let's talk about 26. I'll circle back on some other topics, but you know, you went right there, so let's follow your lead. Looking then to 26. I mean, you've got five world championships in the pocket already, right? You got four overalls. What's the goal for 26? You said redemption, but in your mind, is it crystallized? Like you said, you know, before you had a single focus. Like, do you have a single focus for 26, or what? Yeah, what's your what's your big focus?
SPEAKER_00Um, for sure, the World Cup is a focus. It's uh the seasons are getting quite long, and it's good, you know. Like we have good races, we have a new venue in Korea, we go to Whistler this year, so it's cool to to keep racing. You know, I I'm getting I'm 32 this year, I'm gonna be 32. So I'm not like in the young uh train wagon, you know. Like I'm I'm in the old guys now, let's say. But I wanna keep racing, I wanna match the new guys' speed, I wanna I still want to win. That's the overall like the base goal, let's say. But one of the goals is to do a solid weekend for World Champs, which is a track that I never been able to win in Valdisol. And physically I've been struggling, like it's it's quite a difficult track, it's super rough, it's it's kind of slow. So the hit the every bump, every hole is like harsh. The faster you go, the easiest it is, you know. In Valdisol is quite slow. Like I suffer a little bit physically. I'm unable to put the intensity all the way down, so I'm a little bit disadvantaged. It's my own fault, you know, it's my writing style, it's my physical whatever, but it's a good uh challenge for me. So I'm gonna go there, try to prepare and try to overcome what's been impossible before, you know, for world champs.
SPEAKER_01The obstacle is the path, yeah. You know, so it's so worlds is a big focus. Valve the soul, you haven't gotten that one before, so there's kind of a double there. Yeah, it'd be your sixth world championship and winning there, and it's a course that brings out some of the areas that you see you can you can develop as a rider.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's not my strength. Like I'm better when it's fast, when it's quite smooth, uh flowy, I would say. But as soon as it gets a bit square and slow and kind of techy, awkward, I'm not so good. How do you approach that?
SPEAKER_01How do you approach, you know, like when you think about that, what are you gonna do is it being more powerful?
SPEAKER_00Is it well it's training technically on different things, set up the bike in a certain way, and try to work on my weaknesses. And uh I've I know this race is coming, it's been two years, I know it's coming, you know. So I've been trying to keep it in the in the back of my mind so we can kind of work on it. Last year was quite good, even though my result, like I was sixth, so it was not amazing. But I could feel like I had a breakthrough. I had a big crash in practice, broke my helmet, like I was lucky enough that I could write, you know, like it was quite a like I was able I was happy to write. Felt felt lucky that I was able to, but I was not quite there, but I could feel a glimpse of I have it, you know, like I can do it. So hopefully this year I uh actually make it.
SPEAKER_01Great, that's great. It's interesting to hear you the way you think about it, because you referenced you know you've been thinking about this for a couple of years, yeah. But then at the same time, like when it comes to finals, there's only one thing in your mind, like, or Andorra, don't worry, guys, I got it. And everything else goes away. So there's like this in between, you're thinking about things, but then when it's showtime, it's like one focus.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but sometimes I'm able to to tell the guys, leave it to me because I feel the confidence and the ability, and sometimes I don't. That's why I will rely on them to help me all the way till it's uh in the start gate, you know, because I don't have the same confidence, the same build-up or context giving me the the wings to to push for the wit for a winning run, you know.
SPEAKER_01But in Andora that year I was like, I'm good, like I didn't need much. And you used the word feel, you feel it. Some writers say, I think I can. I heard you say, I feel I can. Yeah, yeah. Is this coming from your heart or from your head?
SPEAKER_00It's coming from both. Like your heart really wants it, but your head believes it's gonna do it, you know? And and I've seen that many times in other disciplines or other writers too. Example, Finn, my teammate in Canada when he won his first World Cup. I was hurt, so I was not riding, so I was able to kind of see a little bit how he was doing and whatever, and then I knew he was gonna win the day before already, you know, like to just the way he was handling himself, like talking and reacting to whatever people were telling him. It was like, okay, I've I've recognized this, and then the day before he goes uh bend his chain ring, uh like almost halfway down the track, still wins, you know. Like it was it was gonna win. It was like that, and in other disciplines too, other uh it's cool. Like I really like to see that, and sometimes that's where you see you can rely on a on a champion to give you like a real champion performance because you know the guy will do it.
SPEAKER_01Amazing. Yeah, no, I get it, I get it. You could feel it, your head and your heart come together, and also you can sense that where other people are.
SPEAKER_00And that's what sometimes that's why it is hard, because I will see it in Jackson, you know?
SPEAKER_01Oh, like what you saw in Finn.
SPEAKER_00Sometimes you'll see in a competitor, and you're like, oh, yeah, there you're against the guy, and you're like, oh, today's is gonna be hard to beat. And do you ever try to do any kind of mind games or anything like that? Yeah, yeah. All the time, because when I was young, I was kind of na naive, innocent, and the old guys, Minar, like all those guys, they were quite sneaky, and they will do it. I will not realize it so much. And I think it's funny in a way because you sometimes it's like a game, you know. And now that I'm the older guy, I'm able to play a little bit with it, but I don't do it in uh with bad intentions, and and the boys like sometimes they they get it, so they would just go back and forth, and it's funny. Sometimes they're like, you can see like you like, oh sorry, almost like sorry, sorry, I don't mean that, you know, whatever. So I'm I like to play mine games, but Jackson was quite good at not uh cracking or whatever. Kind of stone faced, yeah. And it's just like that kind of person last year that was he didn't care so much, he was just doing his thing, so much talent. He will do like really, really amazing things, so he wasn't uh crackable so easily.
SPEAKER_01Got it, got it. So respect there, have fun with it. You're having fun mind games, but also mutual respect, and yeah, yeah, it's in good sportsmanship. Hey, I want to shift a little bit. Um, you're from Nice, yeah, south of France. Yeah, long legacy of amazing downhill racers there. I want to ask you about like growing up, I know your dad was and still does race downhill. Like, what role did your dad as a downhill racer have? And kind of what was that scene like for you as a kid coming up in Nice with insight into that world? Like little little Loick, like what was that about?
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, you guys have the pioneers of mountain biking and stuff here in California. Like, it's quite uh amazing that it started around here, but in France and in Europe, it also started close to where I'm from. And my dad was part of that because he was riding motor for a while and he saw the switch, and he was like, Okay, moto is too complicated, too much maintenance, whatever. Started to do biking. The early days, the 90s, you know, like super funny photos, like you should just showed me your bike. And Nico was about to like he was just starting, also, like all those guys were just like super fast straight away, like a really good dynamic between them all. And then I don't know why Nice became kind of the the place where people will like Nico, Fabian, like all those guys were super fast and successful in the international scene. And for me, growing up with these guys around, I was just like I wouldn't realize because I was close to them. You know, sometimes you you're idolizing someone that you'd never met, like your hero. And I had my heroes, but I didn't know how cool they were because I knew them for since I was five years old, you know. So it was really nice to grow up with these guys, ride with not necessarily them because they were busy doing other things, you know, like training or whatever, but ride with the people that were talking to them and riding with them. So I I was always riding with adults and and going where it was too hard for me, and I was not able to go. I was walking down with my bike because it was too sketchy, whatever, you know. Like I always had to push myself. My dad was never waiting for me. My dad was doing his thing, and if I could follow, cool. If not, too bad for me. So you were home, yeah. So hopefully, yeah. So I was always like on my own on some some little struggles. So I think it pushed me all the time since I was young. And then as soon as I started to race, like when I was 15 and stuff, Fabian was quite sharing with his experience and everything, like he wanted to share his knowledge, so that was really cool. Even though he wasn't at the time my biggest model, I was more into like blanking sub, Sam Hill, like all those guys, you know, a little bit more exotic, I would say. Like, I'm super grateful, it was really important for me. And he all he gave me uh a deal that I didn't take when I started the World Cup. I was I cried, I was on the phone, I was like, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_01I won't come to you. Because personally you felt the connection.
SPEAKER_00Because Laurent, which is still my team manager, was uh managing Blinky, Sam Lincoln Sub, the Kiwi, you know, like and I wanted to ride with my with this guy. So it was my I went with my heart when maybe performance wise it would have been better at the time with Fabien. But things, decisions, you know, they take you places, and um and now I'm still with Laurent 14 years later. But yeah, growing up in that area was uh super a big I'm really lucky.
SPEAKER_01I I can only imagine. Yeah, it's interesting what you say. I I grew up in Marin County and younger than you know the guys that were starting it, but seeing them and seeing them riding as derailers were starting to go on these bikes and stuff. So I relate in my own way. Not as much on the downhill scene, but kind of those those early days. Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. Talk to me about Nico, also from that area and absolute legend.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What what was the impact of Nico for you, like growing up and through time?
SPEAKER_00So Nico is unknown to some people now because he's been always super low-key, not really out there talking about himself or whatever.
SPEAKER_01So he's the Yeah, when he was racing against Steve Pete or whatever, Steve Pete is the wild persona, you know, out of the UK, drinking beers and everything like that. Exactly. And Nico was focused, precise.
SPEAKER_00Nico was the nemesis of all those guys, you know, and is the mo still to the today is the most titled guy in the history, you know. Ten world championships. So he's the man is the man for me. And uh so when I was young, I was um I didn't know him so well because he's super secretive and everything. So everything he did, and we talk now because now we're we're close, but he didn't do it to grow the sport, he didn't do it to whatever. He did it because he he loved it, but he won't he was obsessed with technology, with performance, like the craziest things. Like he left so much of his of the money earned into this trap, let's say, and just to win, to keep winning, to keep gaining like those small margins. And he was really different. His approach was so different from uh Cedric, Sean Palmer, Steve Pitt, all those guys, and they were hating it because they wanted to win, they were trying to, but they couldn't because that guy was always beating them, you know, and they like it was like this big contrast between the two approaches. So I I respect a lot what Nico did. I think I am inspired by it, by it. Laurent, my team, my Jacko, like they're all inspired by it because we're trying to push the technology and we always try to find things that other people don't have. But at the same time, it's it's too crazy. Like Nico is uh is amazing, but he's so is unique in his way. Like just with regards to the obsession in the details and how how deep he would go in that the details, the smallest aspect of you doing this movement. Why do you do this in on your bike? Uh because I don't know. Then try to tell me why, and then you you let it like he analyzes everything, and that's why he was that good. But uh he knows now that he was far extreme, you like a radical in this approach, and now he's trying to help, let's say, with uh other things, bringing his approach but also being open to the new generation and how we work. But um to me he's been the most innovative person for the sport. Some people will make it grow with image, but he made it grow like technologically, and I think we owe him quite a lot of uh things from the the 2000s and stuff.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, that's interesting, yeah. So it sounds like you learned a lot from him and see like how he went into all the details so much, but maybe a little too far on the other extreme from like you know, a Palmer or these guys who were like fast and loose, you know. And so the Buddhist would say, Maybe you're trying to find that middle path. Exactly. Where do you borrow from this, but keep the spirit and some of some of the looseness as well? How do you find that middle path?
SPEAKER_00Because I just know myself also. I know that I'm interested in Nico's approach. I think it's super cool and it will help me, but I also know it will eat me slowly because I need to have the fun part and keep it easy, do other things, you know, and and be a little bit more normal. It's it's hard to be always like if you wake up thinking about it, all day thinking about it, doing things that you go to sleep, you don't sleep almost because you're already thinking about tomorrow, like it's super super demanding, and I don't have it in me. So that's why sometimes I took a while to find myself between the French approach and the niece approach, which was a little bit like this. Fabian was a bit the same, you know. He was always like pioneer in trying tight clothes, trying this, trying like, and people will give him so much shit for it. But he was like, I don't care, I'm doing my thing. Innovator, yeah. Yeah, so I have this part in me, it's it's from my my education, I would say. But the other part from Blinky from growing up with like all those guys, I also need to have fun. I think that's what keeps me happy and performant. I'm able to do both. And when I need to push a little bit more on one side, I do or the other, and I think um the team understands that now. And even though like we have three riders in the team, four with Rosa, but here in Morgan Hill, right now with three, we all are really different, and sometimes the team wants a certain way because it worked with me or it worked with Nico or whatever. But we need to remember that we're all different and we all need something different, and sometimes Finn or I will need a totally different preparation and build-up for the same goal, you know. So it's interesting. But me, um, I'm chilling, like I'm I'm trying to optimize everything, I'm trying to work smarter now.
SPEAKER_01I love I love what you're saying. I mean, I think it seems to me like that's something that has come with age, like the way you know yourself and these different parts of yourself, and being able to say, Oh, now's the time to get really specific and detailed. Now's the time to be a human, yeah, to breathe some, to have some fun and to chill. Yeah, that's amazing. I mean, that that's kind of a universal message that everyone can benefit from. Know yourself, right? And then have enough ability to bring the right thing forward in the right moment.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you know, like I'm 32 now soon, and the team is the same, but the team has an approach, but it's not necessarily yours, and you know, like you need to just find your way. And now I feel like the balance with everybody in the team is really good, and we we understood what what I need, and that's that's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Love it. All right, we're gonna get into both of those parts the technical part and the detail, and also the other parts, you know, of your life. But first, let's get into the technical parts. So the world saw you and the rest of the team riding on these prototype UBB bikes that we made here in Morgan Hill, carbon tubes, hand-rolled, you know, CNC machine lugs, the under bottom bracket suspension design for years. You had some great results on it, and then you know, we started the season on the demo 11 before we had officially launched it. But tell me about the experience of developing demo 11 and like what what were you looking for in a race bike that would help you unlock maximum speed?
SPEAKER_00So I think first of all, like we reached with specialized the relationship, we reached the the peak of the relationship. Specialized with the black project, trusting us, trusting the investment, like those bikes, the UBBs, like those log things made here in California cost so much money, you know. Like they were like, Okay, we give you what you want, we're not focusing on production right now. Like it was super cool to be able to be part of this process. So that was like a really good upgrade because the previous platform was quite difficult, we didn't really have enough potential, you know, like and options. So from that to the UBB, it was like a new world. So that was amazing. It was hard at the time because also we had to be so secretive every time we would go ride, we had to go to some quiet places, be careful in the photos, you know. Like it's it's another thing that we're trying to do that's not always easy because you just want to ride. Um, but the the process was amazing with the team and and specialized, like they they had one goal is to follow a little bit Formula One example, like okay, we don't care what it takes, we want the fastest bike, we'll oscill later for production. Then we had like countless options of linkages, of geometry adjustments, like it was sometimes a lot we would get lost into it, and also in addition to that, we had the new suspensions from Ollins, you know, so it was a lot of a lot of things to to control and to learn and to be able to use at best because sometimes you have a platform or you have new suspensions, but you only use 80% of them or 70%, you know, because it's hard to go and find all those little adjustments. And for us, we didn't make the switch in 2022 because I was hurt, I didn't want to switch mid-season, finish the season in uh alloy bike, but the first race after the World Cup we did, I already I jumped on the UBB just because it was a national and it was not super important, and I was like, okay, it's insane. Like this bike was actually insane. What did you feel? It was just like perfect. So the way the rear wheel was reacting in the travel was always efficiently absorbing, so it would the bike, yeah, and the bike will be at the same time pushing you forward, so being quite dynamic and settled, so stay close on the ground. So I was like, like uh we are feeling it. And the good thing was we we could feel a lot of the things we were changing on the bike, which was not the case before, so we were able to know the direction we were talking, taking, sorry, and it was quite um the the feedback from the bike was amazing. So whatever we're doing would fit it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that UBB system that you know with the problems coming off the prior bike and what you were looking for, the engineers were able to develop a system that allowed independent axle path adjustment, brake response, as well as leverage rate. Yeah, so those were all those variables you were tuning, but then by knocking down the ones that didn't work and finding the ones that did work, you were able to feel the impact of the technology.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it wasn't that they didn't work, it was just like they would work more on this type of track or this type. That's that's why it was hard because sometimes we'd go to a race and we're like, ah, which one of these two? And then we picked one and we're like, ah, maybe at the end of the weekend we should have picked the other one. Because a lot of options is is also uh tricky sometimes to get lost. Um and then we also identified some little problems, you know, like the UBB was quite exposed, and like we had some little issues, and the boys here in Morgan Hill they were like working on potentially making it production, you know, and then so we had to tweak it a little bit to change some stuff, or they had to, sorry, I didn't do much uh to make it to make it production friendly, and um and we tried the first demo 11. Demo 11. Demo 11.
SPEAKER_01Demo 11, yeah. We tried it with the high gear system, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we tried it before 2024, so we still we were still racing the UBB, and then we were like, okay, this and that and that so it was an update that still took a long time before it came out, you know. Like they really wanted to be on point for production, which was cool, but for us, we're like, okay, we can it was hard to keep racing the UBB and develop the high gear on the at the same time, you know. So it was like back and forth, back and forth. Uh, and then this or 2025, we jumped in on the high gear logged version still. It was not the production yet, and uh, we win the first race with it, so it was like a big uh big accomplishment, super proud of the whole thing, you know. And uh that's what we all work for, you know. Like we're trying to make the the best of every situation, and every people gives what they can, and then when it works like this, it's amazing because there's no better reward, you know. And um I sometimes wonder what like if we kept the UBB, like if if like sometimes you see like on some tracks, oh this we would have destroyed the chainrings because we had some for William.
SPEAKER_01You guys went through like I saw the box of chain rings, yeah so you are like 20 chain rings destroyed, and then with the high gear, you got 30 mil more clearance, yeah, and it's protected when you do bash it. Exactly. Like, let's just talk about that for a second. What does that open up for you as a rider?
SPEAKER_00So, as a rider, we are always a little bit concerned of saving the bike because we gotta make it to the bottom, you know, and sometimes the rocks being super exposed and some gaps being a bit technical, or the the track is changing from run to run. So you go into your final run and you let you gap something, and then there's a massive rock and the landing or whatever. You case it. Yeah, many times in my career I've had moments where I fully bend the chain ring, and then your feet are locked, you know, like you can't move anymore. So it's it's hard to ride, and it's also impossible to pedal. So you're losing a lot of time and you're losing a potential win. So that part was like a really good upgrade.
SPEAKER_01So now an insurance policy. Exactly. Okay, if I case it, I'm still gonna be good because it's protected.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and it's also like when you ride, it's it's just like another variable that you don't have to think about because you can go faster into sections that are a little bit dangerous without grabbing or hooking anything.
SPEAKER_01One less thing to think about.
SPEAKER_00What? And it's a little bit easier to to hit things, you know, like it's it's less the bike is less exposed.
SPEAKER_01And so does that like as you're riding, does that one less thing to think about translate into picking lines you wouldn't pick otherwise?
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah, picking lines and also and mainly gapping things because you can land a bit more approximatively without being pitch perfect, and the consequences are way less important because there's the way the the thing of breaking your bike, but also and mainly what we are scared of is landing 50-50 and then go over the bars, you know. So that's also a really good uh upgrade for us, and it's something that we've never seen, and that's also me. I'm super super annoying trying to stand out with my kids from the team, from everybody else also on the circuit. Now we have a bike that looks quite unique, unique.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's a it's a cool, it's a cool development, and you know, we say made in racing, it sounds like a slogan, but what you just described like you and Finn and the rest of the team working together with the specialized RD crew, and in the case of High Gear, you know, partnering with Shram, the the leader in like drivetrain, figuring out how to create this system.
SPEAKER_00I think it was really difficult. Like it's it's a lot of work. It looks simple, but it's a lot going on in the lot of work going behind this, and it's it's cool because the relationship that we have now and we've had through the whole process is exactly what we want and what makes us win, you know. And I'm grateful that Specialize, which is massive, is seeing it and understanding it and giving it to us, you know. Like it's we're super, super grateful.
SPEAKER_01It's funny, you know, we're we're big in one way, we're around the world, but at the uh in another way, we're quite small. Like when you're connecting with the engineers and stuff, these are you know, like Brad Brad Benedict was like, Yeah, we're gonna make these special bikes for you, and we don't know if we'll ever commercialize it. But a decision can be made by an individual who is a rider because it's the right thing to do, and over time that results in products that benefit you, but also that technology comes into a line that can benefit all riders, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. The group of people involved in this is not hundreds, you know, it's like a little group. There's always like satellite uh people that will help the project, but the core group is like five, six people, and we got super close with the crew and and they were involved, you know, and that was super cool to see that they wanted us to succeed.
SPEAKER_01Amazing, amazing. It's great to hear you know your perspective on that. Yeah, so the UBB was underneath, you had chain ring issues, the linkage was down underneath. We went OBB over the bottom bracket, not a big fancy name, but that protected everything. We were able to keep the same capabilities of tuning in brake response and isolating the suspension from the chain so that it's it's neutral all the way through, and also tuning leverage rate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the the behavior of the bike has changed a bit. How about that? Yeah. So from people, if they if they care a little bit, like the UBB was not so forgivable. It was a really fast feeling because the bike was pushy, like I said, like it was super like carrying good speed and pushy, pushy, pushy. But if you were a little bit offline or if whatever happened, it was also super easy to crash. So it was uh it was hard to ride. And this one brings forgiveness, which is also amazing for us, and I think mainly for the people buying it, because they don't necessarily want to push themselves 100% every lap. And uh, this bike is a little bit more planted, it's it is a little bit more dynamic, let's say, but the suspension is super active, so you feel like you're glued on to the ground, and it's uh so it's a good upgrade for this aspect of like trying to to be like on the ground.
SPEAKER_01A little bit, and it'll it'll cover it, yeah. So the composure of the bike, it's like yeah, yeah, it's quite good.
SPEAKER_00And and uh the development is finished now, like we have uh production bike, uh, but it's so good to see that they waited until they were sure and didn't rush the production. So that's why sometimes I I felt bad because people wanted to buy our bike. They're like, when is this coming out? I was like soon, soon. Like I felt bad for telling them like to wait, but at least now it's it's the best product they could hope for. And and I think uh like me, I don't know how many years I have left, but I'm super happy to have this bike ready for me to at least the next two, three years crank it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for sure. Hopefully we've given you the tools to do what you need to do during this during this chapter. Um talk to me about the way the bike feels uh in little impacts compared to how it feels in big impacts. I know the team was working with in this OBB system, more of a poll situation, so that the bigger impacts would actually what do you feel when you're really deep in the travel, big impact?
SPEAKER_00So there's two aspects, like yeah, it's a bit nerdy, and I'm not hundred percent sure about what I'm gonna say, but the axle path is quite different from what we had. So all of the smallish hits, they will feel super super subtle because of the way the axle path is going. And then when you hit something a little bit deeper and with more forces, the bike will start to the axle path will move back forward quite a lot. So it's supposed to when you hit something, it's supposed to move forward. And things on a link, I think there's maybe one or two linkages available for I don't know exactly the supply. Yeah, but the one they choose which was for the the people is quite um neutral, so you can hit things quite hard without being uh bucked or a bit sketchy because the bike is quite mellow in every aspect of the travel, like it you don't have a crazy progressivity or crazy linear linear it's not super linear, predictable. Yeah, so the thing is you have a bike that's always gonna be there to support you. Oh, that's the goal, and uh and to give you like the feeling in your feet that the shock is doing its work, you know, its work. So I hope people will like it, but I'm not so worried.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, awesome. Yeah, so it sounds like it's predictable, you know what you're gonna get. Yeah, and the little bumps are moving right through the bike, and the big impacts, you're not getting bucked. Hey, I want to talk about in that in the process, and you talked about Jacko a little bit, but in the process of understanding the right setup, you guys use a lot of telemetry, you're measuring what's happening when you're doing the practice runs and making adjustments, and then you know, as a human, you talked about like the technical side and the analytical side and the human side, what it feels like. How do you like you show up, you're starting, what's baseline? How do you make the adjustments to be right for race day? Like how much of it is numbers, how much of it is feeling?
SPEAKER_00Well, first of all, we I have the language barrier sometime with the engineers and stuff because I have my way of talking to Jack, which who's also French, and I have my way of talking to the engineers, which I'm not always super comfortable because it's like you want to say the right thing, and sometimes it's you want to be precise. I'm I'm more into noises almost than words, you know. And uh so it's important to have the data. Like what? Make some of the noises. Yeah, yeah, like or what? Everybody knows the noises, you know, like we all have our own little language. But it's super important to be able to cross both the aspects of me and my feeling and the data, which is like always, always, always objective. And uh for the suspension gap. For the specialized guys, they they also like to read data instead of uh trying to understand me. And uh sometimes what I say will make sense with data or vice versa. And at the races it's different because you come in with a super limited amount of time to get to maximum speed on your race run. So you have time to try some things, but you have to come with the base, like you say. So when you do track walk, you take the temperature, let's say, of the track, you see the gradient, you see the the profile and the speed that it's gonna be, and then according to that, we change uh our linkages, so the kinematics, we change the shocks, uh setting, we change the geometry, and we have a base that we think we have seen in testing in winter that will suit this track, and sometimes we're pitch perfect, sometimes not really. So that's why sometimes it's harder to set it up perfect for the race run, and sometimes it's it flows and it's super easy to to find the perfect bike. So it is like a lot of work and back and forth with the mechanic at the race, but um it's quite good to have the options because most of the time we change not drastically, but we change a lot from one race to the other. Right. Cool, cool. And we I think we're one of the only ones, like one of the only teams to do that. Like when I speak to other guys, maybe Comensal is trying to do it, like, but not many people spend the time because they don't have the possibility from the brands. I don't want to say nonsense, but from what I've seen and heard from other writers, it's not always super simple to have this possibility.
SPEAKER_01And do you feel like like that, like the technical um possibilities that you have combined with your experience now? Are those some of the things that that you're looking to to give you an edge?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. For sure. I need to rely on these things because my talent can't go that much more in. You nurtured the talent. Yeah, my talent is maxed out. I think my experience will help raise my level, and the backup from the brand and the team behind is gonna activate all of that to make me faster and win races against people that have more talent and row speed than me now. Like it is it's life, it's a little bit hard sometimes to accept, but there is or there are many guys that are faster than me on any given day. But what it matters the most, I have what it takes to beat them. So it's cool.
SPEAKER_01I like that you mentioned the team. You know, you already mentioned LaRon and Jack, the mechanic, and I mean you've been with LaRon 14 years. Yeah, you've been riding with specialized, this is 11th year, I think, right? And Jack, you know, before working with you was, you know, yeah, Jack is working with legends, as in different generations, yeah. And then here at Specialized, the team continues to extend out all the team and ride dynamics, etc. etc. And it's interesting because you look at downhill, it looks like one rider on one course, but behind that rider, there's a team. So many people, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. There's also like the physio that always saves our asses when we crash and help us perform, recover better. There's the guys on the track that spend all day, even if it's piercing rain, the whole whatever, they're taking videos, giving us infos, trying to optimize every small inches of the track. There's the guys in the pit giving us making sure everything rolls easier. We don't have like crazy stuff to do when it's not a total chaos, the mechanics, why it's and and your partner at home, yeah, your family. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, now it's a little family. I've never raised as a dad, so we'll see.
SPEAKER_01I wanted to go right there. You you you took the bait. I wanted to talk to you about that. I mean, we talked about 25, and you know, days after that World Cup final, one day, one day later, you became a dad. Yeah, like in the midst of the crazy pressure we were already talking about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like it was crazy.
SPEAKER_01What was that like? And what's it like to be a dad? Like, how has that changed you? How are you a different person?
SPEAKER_00Well, it was it was crazy to be under so much pressure, and the emotions with the crash, with losing the overall, with my girlfriend calling me, telling me she's going into labor, she feels a contraction. I was like, what is happening right now? Like, I'm in the hospital bed, leg up. Things are taking a turn that was a bit unexpected. So it was I can't even imagine. Yeah, it was difficult. I was like, I'm gonna miss everything, you know. Like, I'm I'm a loser. So it was it was tough. Lucky for me, she took forever to deliver. I think her brain was like, he's gotta be here, he's gotta come. And then it took over 20 hours to to deliver the baby. So I was able to behave the last two hours from the airport, like half crutches, half everything. Like it was it was quite funny. Like the story, I will I will remember it for a long time. But then becoming a dad was quite like I was never ready, you know. Like, you don't feel ready at your kids?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I have three kids, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't know whenever you can't be ready. Yeah, so I was like not even realizing we were gonna have a kid, you know, and then all of a sudden you have a baby in your arm and you're like, what is happening? You know, like things are spinning, like you feel like you're on some clouds, and it's it's amazing. It's one of the best feelings I've I've had, and it's it's hard too because you like you don't know what's changing, you know things are changing, but you don't know how and everything.
SPEAKER_01So I all new all new territory, yeah. The whole world changes, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and it's like it's it's it's tough because you don't know what's what's gonna happen, you know, it's it's unknown. And I struggled a lot the first few weeks being injured, having to go and do surgery, not being able to walk and help her and take care of the baby. Like I was a bit like useless for a while. I was like not depressed but understimulated. So my I was like grumpy and not super nice. Understandable. Yeah, I wish I wish it was different, but I couldn't force it, you know. I was having uh not a good time. And then I started to like like three, four weeks after surgery, I started to walk normal, like go on my little rides, you know, get active again. And Davy, which is a baby name, baby's name, he was also a bit more chilling, a bit happier, like it was really cool, and then it took a really good turn then. And now that I'm a dad, I don't feel so different when I ride, but I don't know when I will race. And I think uh Laurent, which is my team manager and has three kids, also like you, he's managing the team like a family, so which is good, I think. And he told me he thinks I'll be better being a dad, so I'm excited to see if I can live up to his will or not. But I'm uh loving and embracing the dad life right now.
SPEAKER_01I can see it. I can see it in your face, I can feel it in your energy. Yeah, it's amazing. New frontiers, man. I think I think Laurent is right, you know, it it makes it makes us more to have children. It it it it increases what's available to us and how big our heart is.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I think you you do things a little bit with more meaning and and you're a little bit optimizing the time you're with the baby and you're not with the baby, you know. Like sometimes I will take more time than I would need and do not forget about quality, and now it's gonna be like quality time here, quality time quality time on my bike, da da da da da da. And I hope that I'll be better. I yeah. But I if not, you know what? I think I will be, but if not, it's okay because it's such an amazing family prior priorities change. Yeah, and and I want to win, I train to win, but it's funny, but I feel like it it's not as crucial anymore, you know? Like of course I need I want to because that's how it provides like financial things for my family, but we'll be okay, you know, no matter what. As long as we're healthy, and that's sometimes that's sad because that's the hard thing with having a baby is you love him so much or her, depending on what you have, that you're so scared of something happening to her, to him. You know, it's like what if something happens, like and then you start to be like you see things different.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what what you care about shifts and how much you care shifts and and priorities change. Yeah, and I didn't know because you can't know. I know you you can't know. You can't know. Amazing. Alright, well, we're coming down um to the last little bit of the conversation, but I wanted to ask you some like rapid fire questions to kind of see see what you think. What's your favorite track and why?
SPEAKER_00It's gotta be Mosantin because it's iconic and it's flat out, and I just love it. Dynamite. Hardest track mentally. It's gotta be Val de Sol. It's scary, it's actually a scary track. Like a lot of things can go wrong, so it's hard.
SPEAKER_01Okay, awesome. When did you feel like you really belonged at top level downhill racing?
SPEAKER_00I think it was when I won World Champs in 2015. It took me a while, three years into elite, but I was always like, ah nah, I'm just being lucky. I'm just being lucky, you know. And then all of a sudden I was world champion, I was second overall behind Guinea, and I was like, I think maybe I'm not that like it's not luck, it's not only luck, at least. And I was okay, I might do this for a long time.
SPEAKER_01I love it, I love it. What's the best feeling in downhill that outsiders will never be able to understand?
SPEAKER_00I think it's hitting every section the exact way you want to, you know, like when it works perfect with your intentions and you just rail everything, and you just like even yourself, you're like, I'm so good right now, it's it's the best feeling.
SPEAKER_01Amazing, amazing. And what's the worst feeling in downhill that outsiders will never get?
SPEAKER_00I think it's just uh crashing out of stupid mistakes. Like you s you so mad at yourself for being injured after like a random mistake, you know, it's your world collapsed like what have I done? Because you're gonna miss out on races and many weeks of training and everything for just going 10 centimeters the wrong line. You know, it's like it's tough. You the price you pay sometimes for little mistakes is too much. Got it, got it. Like MSA. And why do you ride? Hmm, good question. Because I think not many things bring me the same emotions. It doesn't have to be downhill only. When I ride, when I'm alone in the forest, I don't have to go on every every ride is I ride a lot alone and I love to be alone actually, and it's my time. I'm with myself, with my bike, in the forest, in the nature. That feeling is my favorite thing ever. Of course, when I ride downhill, it's increased, like all the emotions are increased, like with the speed and everything. But just the easy rides are sometimes the best.
SPEAKER_01I love that you said that. I mean, I always say every racer is a rider, but every rider is not a racer. Yeah. And that thing that's the commonality is really what binds us all together. Whether you ride on the road or you ride on the trail or you ride downhill or across whatever, we're riding bikes, like moving our body through space under our power in nature. It's like if you know what that is, yeah, and you just want more and you want to share it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's universal. Yeah, it's so good. I love that. Yeah, I love that. All right, so you know what it is to be young and look up to others, and I know you know that many young riders look up to you. What would be something that you would share to them as they're moving on their journey as a person, as a rider?
SPEAKER_00I always say the same thing because I think it's it's important. There's a lot of things we we could talk about for for younger people, but surround yourself with the right people. And it can come from your gut or from your heart, whatever, but the best surrounded you are, the more chances you will have to win or to do what you want. And those people don't come easy, you know. Like, it's hard to find those people. I've been so lucky with that, actually. That's great, great advice. Great advice.
SPEAKER_01All right, man. Well, that does it. Unless there's anything else that you want to share, anything that's on your mind that we didn't talk about.
SPEAKER_00No, I'm good. I hope people will love the new bike as much as we do. Uh, excited to hear the feedback. A lot of cool things coming this year, and uh looking forward to trying to win a lot of races.
SPEAKER_01Well, we're we're rooting for you. I mean, here at specialized in Morgan Hill around the world, everyone in the audience, so all your fans are like behind you 100%. Thank you so much, Log. Great to have you, brother. Thanks so much. All right.