The Specialized Podcast
Going behind the curtain to talk to the riders and creators working hard to make your ride better.
The Specialized Podcast
Finn Iles | Ride To Redemption
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Setbacks do not always stop the story. If we have the grit, they become the path to become better than ever.
For downhill phenom Finn Iles, the past couple seasons have been painful, frustrating, and shaped by an invisible back injury that forced him to rethink how he trains, prepares, races, and lives. And that is exactly what makes this moment so compelling. He is healthier, hungrier, and faster than ever and ready to send it in 2026 with purpose.
In this episode of the Specialized Bicycles Podcast, Ben Capron sits down with Iles for a direct conversation about the love of riding, freedom, flow, the long road back, and why he enters 2026 humble, hungry, and ready to win.
The story moves from growing up in British Columbia, chasing his brother through some of the best riding on earth, to becoming a Junior World Champion, a World Cup winner, and one of the most thoughtful riders in downhill racing. But more than results, this conversation reveals what drives him. Riding is where the noise disappears. It is where the mind clears and the feeling of freedom takes over.
But this is not just about talent.
It is about devotion to process.
Finn makes it clear that process is everything. The work behind the scenes. The routine. The repetition. The discipline to check every box so that when the gate drops, the mind is free. For him, preparation is not separate from performance. It is the thing that makes performance possible.
That is what makes this episode hit harder. The obstacle became the path. Injury forced patience. Pain forced awareness. And the comeback has been built the same way Finn approaches racing itself: deliberately, honestly, and one step at a time. He talks openly about learning to trust the process, trust the people around him, and rebuild without rushing, all so he can come back stronger.
The conversation also goes inside the development of the new Demo 11, a project Finn has helped shape over multiple seasons. From prototype bikes to production bike, from endless testing to finally having a stable platform to build from, he describes the process as one of the most amazing things he’s done in his career. That matters here, too. It is another expression of the same mindset: keep building, keep refining, keep earning speed.
And now the focus sharpens. Val di Sole. A decade after winning Junior Worlds there, Finn heads toward 2026 motivated, healthier, and with a track that suits him in his sights. After everything he dealt with in 2025, he sounds like a rider who has done the work, learned from the setback, and is ready to win.
This episode goes beyond racing, covering:
- Why downhill feels like freedom
- How to clear the mind for ultimate performance
- Why preparation is the foundation of speed
- What really happens in the start gate
- How injury changed his body, mindset, and process
- Why the obstacle became the path
- What 2025 taught him through pain and setbacks
- Why Val di Sole matters so much in 2026
- The role Finn has played in developing Demo 11
- Why redemption is earned through the work
It is a conversation about freedom, preparation, resilience, and the road back to winning.
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I try to be as clear and calm as possible. I find that at the start, if you're if you're hectic, if you feel like there's a lot of clutter, it's really hard to just release yourself to the sort of the trail, to just be exactly there. Because I think if you're thinking too far ahead, that's when you especially in a sport of very small margins like downhill is, that's where you lose those small margins. Where if you're like, what's in the next section or what's at the bottom or who's leading right now, you lose that precise focus that you need. And I think that that flow state that you know you've seen so many people find on these race runs. When you're in the start, if you can be as present as possible, as well as being motivated to ride well, it's a lot easier to perform than if you're worried about what's for lunch or what you're gonna do tomorrow or whatever. So for me, I use music, I use the same warm-up that I've used for 10 years. And when I get in the gate, I do, I have like a specific sort of superstition thing where I like play with my goggles so I feel the foam on my cheeks. In that moment, in your body. Exactly. And then I grip, I roll my hands in the bars like this, and then I'm like three really deep breaths. So I'm like really present in the in myself, and then number like it goes beep, beep, and on the second beep, I always go.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to the specialized podcast. I'm your host, Ben Capron, and this is where we go behind the scenes to talk to the riders and innovators who are working hard to create the future of cycling and make your ride better. Today we got Finn Isles on the show, a guy that I just really like and a very inspirational rider. Junior world champion in the downhill scene back in 2016, multiple World Cup wins since then, and looking to have an amazing year in 2026. We'll talk with Finn about what it takes to race at that level, his perspective about clearing the mind for ultimate performance, as well as his integral role in developing the all-new demo 11. So, with no further ado, let's get into the conversation with Finn. All right, Finn, killer to be with you, man. Thanks for taking the time to have the conversation. Thanks for having me. We're gonna talk about a wide range of things. Um, want to hear your perspective on a lot of different topics. But first of all, what I would love to hear from you is sell what's awesome about downhill racing to someone like imagine they've never even seen it. What makes downhill rad?
SPEAKER_02For me, the biggest thing is just the feeling of freedom you get when you're riding the bike. I think for me, it's just there's so much going on in life, there's so much going on with the world. And the only time I don't think about, you know, what am I gonna have for dinner or like what stresses there are, or what am I gonna do in the future, or whatever, it's just me on the bike, having the best time ever. And I think for me, if I could sell downhill to anybody, it'd be like trying to find that feeling. Watching racing is one thing, but I think the initial thing that would get people into riding is finding that feeling, whether that's like on a cross-country bike or a trail bike or a downhill bike. And specifically for me, on a downhill bike is where I can really find that because you're so in the moment, there's nothing else going on except exactly what's in front of you. And I think once you feel that, you go, Oh, what's the next step of that? What's the next thing that I can get into with downhill racing? And I think that as you understand the sport, you start to understand the racing and how the bikes work and everything else. But I think for me, the beginning of that is just that feeling that you can find when you're actually riding.
SPEAKER_01I love that, man. You went deep right off the bat, like the the feeling of freedom and like that single point focus and dropping in and out of the head and into the moment.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Whoa.
SPEAKER_02I'm I'm a I'm a big thinker. Like, there's always just a lot of stuff going on inside my head, and I find the only time I'm quiet is when I'm riding. And that can be across all bikes, but downhill is where I find like that most. You get the exhilaration, it's kind of addictive where you're like, I'll finish running, I'll like if I'm riding really well and I really feel I'll get to the bottom, and I sometimes I'll just like get off my bike and I'll just like scream for some reason. I'm just like, oh my like it's like there's like this pure like happiness from that, from that feeling. And I think that that's not something that a lot of people get to experience. And I think that for me, biking is the thing that I get that from. But for other people, you know, maybe they never tried biking, and as they sort of build into getting better, that's something that they can also find.
SPEAKER_01I totally relate, and I think the audience does too. You know, you can find your way into that in different ways. Like you say, the the way you find it most is in downhill, which makes tons of sense, right? Like if you're not focused right there, you're gonna eat it. For sure. It's not gonna be a good thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's like with some people when they get into the sport, they have a lot of crashes, and I think it's it's a fear thing when if you're focused on being scared, or if you're focused on making every little small movement, you kind of lose the idea of how riding should actually be. And I think like obviously there's time to focus on skills and everything else, but if you're focused on being scared or focused on crashing, that's sort of what it will happen, versus if you're just like you're able to let everything sort of fly off your shoulders and just be like naturally control the bike. And I think that that for me is is the best feeling because it's it's not often that you find it, and when you do, that's where you really go. This is the best thing in the world.
SPEAKER_01And you want to keep doing it, you want to keep getting out of the head, letting the rest of you do what it knows how to do.
SPEAKER_02Exactly.
SPEAKER_01There's so much in our life that can just like ball up in our mind.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right on, man. I'm glad you went there. What would you say is is most misunderstood about downhill? Like people watch downhill and they've got whatever their perspective. What do you think people don't get about downhill racing?
SPEAKER_02I think how detail-oriented the sport is. I find that that's one of the things that maybe slips through the cracks. Just to see, I would say, especially with our team and especially with specialized, is how much work really goes into everything from from base level all the way to the top, all the way to the start of every race run. And that goes from how the bikes are built, how the tires are developed, the suspension we set up when we're on the bikes training and everything else, all the way to the top of the run. Where us as athletes, we do the easy part, which is like I guess the riding, the racing at the end of the day, but all the things that we do to get there as well are so important. And I think that people may miss the amount of man hours and the amount of work that really goes into making the bikes what they are and then making the performance what it is when we get to that final level.
SPEAKER_01Right. Like if you tune in and you watch, it's pretty short. The run is pretty short. For sure. And the distance is pretty short.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But it's a long, yeah, long preparation for you as an athlete, like with your body, with your mind, with your training, with the equipment. There's a whole team behind it. It's actually a team sport.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. It absolutely is. And I think like as athletes, we finished the last race of the season. We're like, take a deep breath. And our team manager straight back to work starting for next year. When are we doing the first team camp? What are we going to test? These are what we need to organize for parts and everything else. And then as soon as we get back on the bike, it's like, how many days do we need to do on the bike to just develop like the basis of how the bike fits me? And then from there, it's like sort of building the pyramid where you're like, what's the next step? How do we dial in the suspension a little bit more? How do we find the right pressures for the fork, the right spring for the shock? And then it just sort of peaks at the races. And even at the races, it may look like we kind of just throw caution to the wind, which we do, but I think it's a very calculated thing because without all of that work and all of that time that we put in, you'd never be able to do that. And I think that Loick, as a teammate, is one of the people that does that best. He's not, I wouldn't say he's like explicitly a coach in a sense or a mentor in a sense, where he'll be like, do this, this, and this to be faster. But if you just watch him, you see how much effort and I think detail he puts into everything, even with his line choice and all his training and things that him and Jack do with the bike. And I think there's a lot of people that have done that through racing that have been extremely successful successful. And I think that in downhill racing, that's one of the things that people miss is that detail-orientedness allows you to take your race run to the next level where you can just go, I'm ready, the bike's ready, I'm gonna do it. And then your brain is free.
SPEAKER_01It's cool. In the in just the few things you've said so far, it seems like there's a real there's two elements to this. One is like the thing you love and really what you need to do to unlock ultimate performance is let go of like the thinking mind. For sure. But on the other side, like analyzing everything, having a plan, being disciplined, using that analytical mind combined with discipline is critical to get you to the point where you can get out of your mind and let it fly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's like the whole love of the sport thing is what allows, well, uh specifically for me, allows me to unlock that sort of analytical side or that detail-oriented side because if I love it, I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to be the best that I possibly can in it, and that takes all of those little steps that maybe if you didn't love it as much, you'd just miss it or you'd be like, oh, you know, it's fine. And I think that the entire team, and that starts at specialized, is in love with the sport, so we get the best of everything, or you get the best performance from the athletes, you get the best performance from the bike, you get the best people working on those projects behind the scenes, so that when we get to the top, it's like we know that we have done all of the things right to get to that point.
SPEAKER_01I love that. You know, it's like when you when there is that love of it, then the effort is like an expression of devotion, not like commitment or obligation, like commitment, okay. I said I would do this, so I'll do that, or obligation, I have to do it. Yeah, but devotion is like I love this so much, yeah, I'm willing to make other sacrifices, I'm going to do it. And I think everyone who rides a bike can relate to that. Yeah, definitely. Because we love the feeling, yeah. You know, no matter how you ride, I love that. When you're at the top and it's the start gate and what's going through your mind, what's in your body at that time? Is it hectic or are you are you clear? Are you calm at that point?
SPEAKER_02I try to be as clear and calm as possible. I find that at the stop, the start, if you're if you're hectic, if you feel like there's a lot of clutter, it's really hard to just exactly what I said before, release yourself to the sort of the trail. I think for me, I use music, I use my warm-up, I use breathing and like focusing on being like the feeling of my hands on my bars and everything like that, to just be exactly there. Because I think if you're thinking too far ahead, that's when you start, especially in a sport of very small margins like downhill is that's where you lose those small margins. Where if you're like what's in the next section, or what's at the bottom, or who's leading right now, you lose that precise focus that you need. And I think that that flow state that you know you've seen so many people find on these race runs when you're in the start, if you can be as present as possible as well as being motivated to ride well, it's a lot easier to perform than if you're worried about what's for lunch or what you're gonna do tomorrow or whatever. So for me, I use music, I use the same warm-up that I've used for 10 years, and when I get in the gate, I do I have like a specific sort of superstition thing where I like play with my goggles so I feel the foam on my cheeks, and then I rub my hand like the back of my gloves on my bars so I can feel the like the glove and the bar rolling on my wrist in that moment in your body, exactly. And then I grip, I roll my hands on the bars like this, and then I'm like three really deep breaths, so I'm like really present in the in myself, and then number like it goes beep, beep, and on the second beep, I always go. How did you come to that practice, dude?
SPEAKER_03No idea.
SPEAKER_02I really yeah, very naturally, like the warm-up has been constructed in a way that like it sort of activates, you know, blood gets flowing, quick fiber, like twitchy stuff, um, some sprints, some mental sort of activations. And then I would say the music is just something that I've found over time. Like I've changed the playlist a bunch of times, but the song at the end always stays the same. And then the rubbing on the bars is kind of just something that I sort of like I work with a mental coach. Well, you do work with a mental coach.
SPEAKER_01I do, but cool.
SPEAKER_02That thing he's like, just try and find something that brings you into the moment. And for me, that was like rubbing my hands or rubbing my eyes or fiddling with my goggles to be like, is this right? And then I'm not thinking about the result, I'm not thinking about right. I'm just like, is this thing happening? Okay, I'm going. And then you're like, you're trick yourself and you're in the moment and it's happening. Wow. And I think that excitement goes with that because if you're stressed about results, or if you're stressed about something else, you're blocking yourself from you know performing. And I think that's one of the things is like there really is nothing to lose, you know? You can't force the win, you can't choose to win, you can only choose to ride your best. And so for me, that's what will allow me to get into that moment.
SPEAKER_01I love that, man. And that's again universal. Like whether you're at the start gate or you're doing something at work or you're doing whatever, if you want to bring your best to have some practice to clear your mind out so you can let your full potential shine through. For sure. I love that. All right. So you you grew up in BC, yeah, Western uh Canada, one of my favorite places on the globe, like legendary for for riding, for trail riding. Like, how did you come on to riding and like what were those early days of riding mountain bikes like for you, fam?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, um, I was born in Alberta, so in Banff, uh, Banff, Alberta, and then my family moved to BC when I was 10. And leading up to when we moved to Whistler, there's a lot of restrictions in Banff for riding. So there's like specific bike park bike parks like COP in Calgary and Kicking Horse in Golden. And like my dad and mom both rode. They just they did everything. They were climbers, they were riders, they were skiers. And my parents are like, you know what? Kids do every, we're gonna take you everywhere to like go hiking, to go skiing. And my dad worked at the ski resort in Lake Louise. My mom works for an outdoor travel company, and like basically we're just born into doing things outdoors, and I got into riding because they wanted me to, but my older brother is an incredible rider, and I just followed in his footsteps. I was like, I'm gonna chase that guy around all the time. And so I had a really good mentor and somebody to like basically just chase after all the time. I think we started on just some like Kona Hardtails, and my brother broke like six of them because he was sending it too hard, and I'd always get like hammy-down bikes that survived, and then um, as we got older and moved to Whistler, it started to become a real thing, and he started racing. My dad didn't work in the summers because he was looking after us, and he would just work in the winters at the ski resort, and then he would travel us when I got to 13, he would drive us around all the races around BC, me, my brother, my dog, and my dad. And it was like the best thing ever. And I think that I think that at that point I found that the community within riding and racing was really cool. A lot of my really close friends are still riders from that sort of time, and I think that growing up through the BC riding, I'm we're I'm lucky to grow up in BC. We have the best riding on earth. I I don't, you know, you could say that for any place. Truly and honestly, British Columbia has the best riding anywhere. And I think that being exposed to that kind of riding uh allowed me to find the love that I have for the sport. And as it goes, is like I still live there, it's still my favorite place, it's still the best riding in my opinion. But to grow up as a kid and be like in the summer in Whistler to be able to ride from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Whistler bike park, my dad's like, you guys aren't allowed to be in the house today, go riding. And I'd go out with my brother and we'd do 20 laps or whatever we do, and I think it that's one of those things where you just have those memories as a child. It's it's uh it's it's hard to find anything that's more fun than that when you're a kid.
SPEAKER_01I mean, for you're fortunate, dude. That is fantastic.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, yeah. And I'm really lucky because my parents um basically gave us an opportunity, me and my brother, to to be what we wanted and sort of do what we wanted to. And I think they worked really, really hard to be able to allow us to have done that. And they spent a lot, a lot of money so that me and my brother could do that, even if they didn't have that money. I mean, it's it's it's pretty it's pretty amazing what how supportive my parents have been and even are still to this day.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing, and also it sounds like each of them coming from a real love of nature, yeah, of outdoors, I mean, and then passing that along and creating that for you. That's incredible.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, and they both ride really well. My mom's like 62 or 63, and she might be like she's a machine on the bike. Yeah, she's super, she's super fast. And my dad as well. My dad's had a fair few injuries, but he still rips as well.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. And how about other riders? It's cool to hear your parents were a big inspiration, but when you were coming up in that era in that area, or just like as you started to race, who were the riders that inspired you that you would say also you learned from?
SPEAKER_02As a kid, I was really into the New World Disorder movies. And being a Canadian, the free ride scene was massive. So there's a lot of free riders that I looked up to. Um, I just loved watching those movies, even like the collective, the Rome seasons, follow me, and then like the Coastal Crew when they were on specialized, they had a few movies that were insane, and then New World Disorders were sort of the classics. But it's crazy growing up in BC because all of that stuff, I mean, didn't all happen there, but you watched all the movies and you're like, this is all where I live, and I found that really cool. And then as I started to lean more towards racing, uh, I was a really big fan of Steve Pete. I wrote a speech about him in grade five. No, grade four, I wrote a speech about Steve Pete. Funny enough, my mom went and gave it to him when I first started racing World Cups, and I was like, that's kind of embarrassing. I gotta see that. Do you still have it? I I think we do. My mom has it somewhere, it's pretty funny. It's not I mean, it was written by a person in grade four, but it's pretty funny. Yeah. Um, it was after he won world championships in um in Canberra. So I was like, Steve PD won 17 World Cups, and now he's fine. It was like the whole thing about him overcoming that to become a world champion. I thought that was really cool. And then obviously being Canadian, Stevie Smith was somebody that I looked up to a lot, and I think that his style aligns so perfectly with Canadians and with being like a really nice guy. And when he got on the bike, he was just like he was just a machine, and I think that he always had fun, and but he also always pushed himself to be the very best. And I think there's like a bit of that in Canada where you're like you kind of do, especially in British Columbia in that area, in mountain biking, there's definitely a culture just like it's kind of like I don't I don't know how to put it where it's like you just give her butt at everything, you know. You he was sending it on the motos in light on the trail building, chainsaw, yeah, full full speed all the time.
SPEAKER_01And I think I agree, I feel that. Some of my you know closest friends are from that zone, and yeah, it's a hearty crew, you know, and authentic. Exactly. And that's what mountain biking is, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, definitely, definitely. And I think I think even more so on Vancouver Island, because Vancouver Island is a di is a different level of of I don't know the right word for it, but they they get after it for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've been hanging out with Haroux a fair bit lately, doing cool projects and Maddie Miles and Matt Hunter. Those guys are the best. Well, that whole crew is so incredible, yeah. Great people.
SPEAKER_02I mean, there's some stuff on Pink Bike, like shorter videos and stuff that I as a kid, even now I watched when I like I'd say are my favorite videos, and that stuff was always inspiring as well. Because I was like, I want to be pink bike video of the day. It's not a thing anymore, but I really wanted to be, and it was like a whole thing to get that. And when I was a kid, me and one of my friends would always make videos, and it was cool.
SPEAKER_01That's very cool. On the Steve Pete side, like what inspired you about Petey?
SPEAKER_02To be honest, it was just that he won a lot. Yeah. And you know, when you're a kid, you look up to somebody and you're like, you I think as a kid you look at the accolades more because you don't quite understand the human nature of it all. And when I met Petey, it was cool that he was like such a like such a nice guy and he was so great with me when I met him. Um there's like kind of like a cool, like nice to meet your heroes moment. Right. And I think that when I was a kid, I was like, he's won 17 World Cups, and he's now world champion, and all these different things. And I remember having this decline magazine, and he did he's got like his foot out and he's doing a huge drift across the front of it. Yeah, but I can still picture that's like one of the only decline covers I can remember.
SPEAKER_01I know the cover you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think it has an orange border on it, yeah. Yeah, and uh I remember reading something in that and then being like Steve Pete is is a is a legend. So I was like, this was kind of like that was like how I identified with it, and I thought that him winning as much as he did at the time, he was the GOAT was was really cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, unstoppable. Yeah, absolutely. Cool. Well, talking about racing and results. I mean, you won world championships as a junior, Val de Sol, right? A few years later, you won your first uh World Cup downhill on Canadian soil. Yeah, that must have been pretty special. Um, talk to me about winning worlds as a junior. Like, what was that like for you? You've talked about like with Pete, it was it was inspirational that he was winning so much, yeah, and these these accolades, these achievements, and then here you are, rainbow stripes, like world champion. What was that like for you?
SPEAKER_02That was pretty crazy because that was my first year junior, and I had won the overall the previous week in Andorra, and then we went to Worlds, and Val the Soul was a track that suited me because it's rough and it's Rudy and it's rock. It's like similar to some of the stuff I ride at home where you just got to be able to ride that rough stuff. And I had a huge crash. I was a little too excited, huge crash. Crash first day of practice, and I ended up going to the hospital because they're like, I might like they put me on a spine board and they carried me off the mountain because they th I thought I'd broken my neck or my back or something. And they're like, You're fine. Like you have some spacing. They're like, here's a neck brace. I would wear it for seven days. And I like went back to the pit and I like kind of came in and I was like, To be honest, I don't think I should have raced that race, but but you know, you're at world champs and you're 16, and I was like, I've won so many races, like I I need to race. So like my parents came up to me, they're like, if you're gonna race, you have to take that off, and you have to make a decision now, otherwise it's like sit it out. And so I was like, took a little bit of time and I was like, I'm gonna race, I'm gonna do it. And so I did four runs the first day, skipped a day of practice because at Worlds you have four instead of three, and then came back, qualified second, and then on race day, just kind of let go of everything. It's exactly what I was talking about, and it's that feeling of like I think I was so so worried about the injury, or like so worried about kind of felt like I didn't have a chance with the under, like you know, I just missed practice, I did this, I'm sore, my neck hurts, my head feels weird, all these different things. And then I got in the start game, and it was like when you have all those things to think about, it just kind of went like this, and then to win was really incredible. And one of my best friends, Magnus, finished second. So there's two Canadians first and second at Worlds in Val desol in 2016 in junior, and like that was such an incredible moment. And to win it my first year junior, so then I got to wear the jersey for all of the second year of junior was really awesome. That's super special, super exciting for me. And I think, yeah, I mean, that was probably still one of the greatest runs I've had in my career.
SPEAKER_01So unbelievable. Well, 10 years later, this world championships is also gonna be a Val the Soul. Yeah, I was tripping out on that like a decade later. Yeah. And, you know, so are you are you focused on that for 26?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01I feel like I've been really it's a track that suits you, like you say, like you've had success there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like yeah, yeah, definitely. Um I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like um I've always, always, always done well in Vellasol. I mean, this previous this last season, I had a I had a crash, but it's how it happens. Um, but every year leading up to that, I was like, I won in junior, I won the second year of junior, and then in my first year lead, I was in top 10. The next year it was worlds, or two years later it was worlds, and I was also in the top 10, and then I finished second, and then I finished third, and I was like, every year I go to Valasol, and it just like people struggle with the roughness and the feeling of the track. And I'm like, this is like home for me. So I think that going into this year, definitely a high focus on worlds because um I had such a rough season last year and I wasn't able to ride the way that I wanted to. Now getting back to healthy and getting to spend a lot of time on the bike, I feel like I'm in a place where I can sort of start pushing for that goal at the end of August. And um two years ago, I was so close, like I was point one away from, you know, I was and to know that it was that close and to be back on a track that suits me, I think is is something that really motivates me to be able to like work as hard as I can and push towards that moment. And uh we'll see.
SPEAKER_01I hope I hope it uh goes the way that I want it to be. I I think it will. I mean, I've been thinking about it, and the things that you said were like that's a it's that's where the worlds are. Yeah, it's a track that suits you. You're coming off 25. Yeah, wasn't the year you wanted. No, you showed some real speed, but it didn't reflect in results, yeah, some other challenges. For sure. And I'm feeling it for you, dude. The legendary, like legendary track, right? Like hallowed ground.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there's been some some legendary legendary runs there. For sure. Definitely.
SPEAKER_01What do you want to say about 25 looking back? Like what what what have you taken from last season that's of value to you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 25 was was really hard. It was uh one of those things where you get injured, but it's not an injury that you can see, you know, it's not like Finn has a you know collarbone or whatever, and I've I've had to have surgery or whatever may have happened, but um to have two slip discs in my lower back and like basically feel like immobile for the amount of time I did, and then to be able to like start to work back to normal and it's it's just difficult to deal with something like that, and like especially because I haven't dealt with injury a lot in my career, I've like been very lucky and I'm like a bit of a more of a thicker guy when it comes to racing downhill bike. So when I hit the ground, I can normally you know take the hit. But with this one, yeah, and with this one, nothing even happened. I was like, one day I woke up and I couldn't move in, like I couldn't move in bed, and I like rolled over and I could let and so for me that was like a really interesting thing to be like maybe I need to look after certain parts of my body more, I need to focus more on being mobile rather than being really strong and maintaining the strength with mobility and then on the bike, like maybe addressing certain positions on my road bike or in the gym or just being way more conscious about how I'm moving. And I think then to come back to racing, crash again, get re-injured the back, and then have to go through that process again. I think that there's a lot of things I learned, but I find that one of the things I did learn is that patience is important and not feeling like you have to be like I feel pretty good today, I'm gonna push it, and then you get set back three days, just to be able to like trust the process, trust the people that you're working with, and trust the decisions that you are making so that you I think for me, I need to know that I can make the best decision for myself, and that uh using all of the information of the people around me with the team, with my physios, with my coaches to go this is what the injury looks like, this is how you can improve it, this is the mindset to then sort of tell your body what it needs to do and then getting back to performance. And I think that that injury dragged on for a really long time. Like I basically every race I was dealing with pain all the way until almost the end of the season. And then to get to the end of the season and start to sort of find my feet again, and then the season would be over. I was really frustrated, but I think it gave me a lot of motivation because I was able to get straight back to work to make sure that this lower back stuff was just a thing of the past for me. So I went for six weeks, I was with my physio two, three days a week. I was in the gym all the time. Every day I'm doing my exercises and physio and rehab and everything to like the point now where I can go to the gym and I can pick up as much as I could squat before I injured my back and not have any issues. And I think for me, it's just another reiteration of like if you put your mind to something, you follow the steps and you just you can just work through something. And I mean that might sound a little dramatic for like a lower back injury, like a slip disc, but I think as an athlete everybody's challenge is different. And if this is something that I have to deal with to learn how to become a better athlete, that's just the way it goes. And I think in a sport like this, like we said, every fine detail matters. And when you're dealing with pain, and every time you're not at a World Cup, it's really hard to ride downhill, so you can't work on the bike, and then you can't work on your speed, and there's things you're missing, it just sort of like all starts to weigh on your head. And I think for me, it's like I am a very process-oriented person, and I need to make sure that I'm always following my process to deliver my best results. And last year was like basically like here's the machine of Finn, huge wrench just thrown into it, and it just everything just exploded, and now it's sort of coming back to what's normal. And for next year, it feels like I'm in a really good place to be able to build from here to the first World Cup and onward.
SPEAKER_01I love it, dude. I mean, what I'm picking up in what you said is like it happened, you didn't like it, yeah, but you turned into it, and through that you got the wisdom, like you learned, okay, I need to do this, and this is how I can take care of my body, like your relationship to body changed, and then also doubling down on the process, like moving through it, doing the work that no one could see with the physio, all of that stuff, like that creates tenacity, it creates resilience, and it creates a different understanding. You know, I'm much older than you, but all the things that older people would say to me just sounded like bullshit for sure until I experienced it. You know, like I remember people saying, you know, life doesn't happen to you, it happens for you. And I just felt like going, and then I had a back problem, and like for a year and a half I had this sciatic nerve. And the same dude, what you said, same with me. Like I learned how to work with my body so that I can do the things I want to do and perform. And it's like, then I'm like, oh, that's what it means. Like this happened, I addressed it, I'm different because of it, and actually much better because of it.
SPEAKER_02Definitely, yeah, definitely. I think that's one of the things I learned is like people always say stuff to you, and then it happens to you, you go, damn, I should have listened.
SPEAKER_01The best things in life are true. Yeah, shut up, old man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. And then later you're like, you know what? That's true. Everybody who's been through it will tell you a hundred things. You're like, oh, it can't be that bad. And then it happens, you're like, oh, damn.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Now you gotta go say it. Yeah, yeah. Well, you told me so. And I think like that's one of those things, and it's also for me, it's just like a reminder to continue to get better as an athlete and not to get stagnant and not to be like, this works, this works. It's like, how do I always look to improve myself? And I think I have really good people around me, and trusting those people on how to be better is one of the things that I definitely took away from that as well.
SPEAKER_01Love it. Yeah. All right. So we talked about 26 a little bit. Uh Val the Soul Worlds is is a goal. When you think about 26, do you have other goals or specific races or specific things you're focused on that you want to achieve?
SPEAKER_02One of my goals is Whistler. It's my hometown.
SPEAKER_01Like I it's coming. I went you're you gotta race on your own car.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I lived there for 12, 12 years. I went to high school there, all my friends live there. It's home for me. I don't I live in Pemberton now, which is 25 minutes away, but Whistler is home. And it's where I grew up, and it's where I learned how to ride, it's where I learned how to race, all these different things. And so for me, Whistler is gonna be really special. And I think for me, one of the things is just to allow myself to enjoy that as well as being ready to perform. And I think for me, it's just gonna be incredibly exciting, and I think it's gonna be really amazing for the sport of mountain biking because Whistler is kind of the mecca. And I think for for riding a BC on the west coast of America, I just can't imagine how many people are gonna be there. It's gonna be insane, and the track is incredible, and it's it's been such a long time coming for Whistler, and to actually get a World Cup in my hometown is is is a dream come true. And I think a lot of people was it's something a lot of people won't get to experience, and the level of support I think I'm gonna feel there is gonna be is gonna be next level. I just can't wait to to go and just do the best that I possibly can. And you're totally glowing right now. Yeah, I'm stoked. I love Alpha from the inside out. I've been thinking about it for like two years, and it's just like I can't, it's gonna be so awesome. And I think like to bring the sport that I love so much, and I mean we have crankworks and we, but we have we've had nationals and we have crankworks and we've had BC Cups and whatever we've had, World Cup is different. It's you get all of the best riders in the world, and I think like to really have the town experience what a World Cup feels like. I mean, it won't be quite the same, we won't have the racetrucks and everything like that like we do in Europe, but I think that energy that comes with it, and especially I know the energy that the people will bring, it's gonna be a it's gonna be a hell of a show, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_01It's gonna be a fantastic show. And you don't have the European setup, but I just was with Dave, you know, who built that big trailer that he he supports you and when you're in North America, and it's a pretty sick rig. I was gonna say he's got so much heart and the crew definitely behind you, and yeah, we'll get up there and rally behind you guys big time. I can't wait. It'll be amazing.
SPEAKER_02I think I think we in Mont Saint Anne as well, we have that, we have that set up, and Dave comes and he Dave's the nicest guy in the world, you know. And I think that to have that type of those type of people behind us and to have that support on American or Canadian American soil is is amazing. And we don't have the big race truck, but we have everything we need. Yeah, family. Exactly. I'm so excited. Yeah, I can't wait. I just hope like we get good weather because end of September in in BC. Could go either way. Could go either way. It might be the nicest day of ever, or it could pour rain, or it could snow. And I think like no matter what, it's gonna be sick because you're familiar with all those. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01You're ready. Yeah, you're ready. Exactly. All right, so go ahead, you more.
SPEAKER_02I was just gonna say, I think also Canadian, Canadian cycling, like downhill racing, is in such an amazing spot right now. I mean, with Gracie, Jackson, myself, there's a lot of really fast juniors, and there's a lot of really fast pros as well that are pushing and pushing and pushing for Canadian racing to be better. And I think that we're in such a growth phase that a World Cup in Whistler for the kids to come see that is just gonna help the sport boom, especially like I said, around Whistler, Squamish, Vancouver, Alberta, wherever and beyond.
SPEAKER_01Next level. Just keep keep pumping it up, keep pumping it up. I love that perspective. All right, so you're talking about goals, you want to go fast, you want to win some races for sure. That makes sense. People can look at the speed, they see your style, right? But what about the work that goes into it? You talked about that a little bit, you know. When you think about preparation and where you put your effort, what does it take, like you said, in that pyramid? What's the work in the base of the pyramid to take you to that peak?
SPEAKER_02I it differs from person to person, but for me, it's being consistent and it's finding routine. Um, we travel a lot and we move around a lot. So sometimes it's really hard to find that routine. Like living in I lived out of a suitcase last year for like eight months, whereas like different hotel every week. Maybe I'd go stay somewhere for two weeks at a time, but it's still like enough that like my suitcase is still open all the time. So I think like being able to find a routine through all of that for me is like really important, but utilizing the offseason to really build yourself a base and to really put yourself into a place where you're like, I worked out and I rode today. Tomorrow, what do I have? Okay, I'm prepared for that. Okay, this, this, this, and making sure that like every single box gets ticked through your training so that when you do get to the start gate, we can go all the way back to the start where we talked about the process and how your brain needs to be free. If you take all your boxes and you work as hard as you can, there's no box left unticked and there's no stress on your mind. And I think your brain has this funny way of like at the most important times will be like sabotage button a little bit. And I think that's like human nature to be like, what's the worst case scenario right now? Rather than thinking, I'm prepared for this. Like I'm I'm built for this, like I've done everything. And I think that for me, that reassurance that I know that I've worked really hard gets me there.
SPEAKER_01So for me, it's just so that's the antidote. Like work in the process, doing the things you need to do is how you kind of fend off that sabotage button. A little bit. You can't, that's not gonna work on me. No, I did the I did it all.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. And I think that's like, especially with myself, I maybe sometimes I can be a little bit disorganized, or as we all can, but I find that the more that I'm prepared, the less I doubt things. And that's through everything, whether I'm going ski touring with my friends, whether I'm going on a road trip, or whether I'm racing a downhill World Cup at the like the best of my abilities, I find that just knowing that I'm prepared for what is coming allows me to not have to worry about all the variables that I can't control. And I think that the hard work for me is a really exciting part, but just being able to like it doesn't matter what Loick is doing, or it doesn't matter what Jordan is doing, or it doesn't matter what whoever is doing or has done or posted about on Instagram or anything like that. All that matters is like, I did my best and I will go deliver my best.
SPEAKER_01You're focused, you're focused on what you can control and then you do your thing.
SPEAKER_02There's also the competitive part of me where it's like the motivation also comes from wanting to kick people's, like kick everybody's ass a little bit. You know, it's like I want to beat everybody, and like I mean last year was so frustrating because of that. The previous three seasons, I was like, I could almost go top, you know, on the podium on command. It was like 50% of the races I'd finished on the podium. And then to have a year like last year is just like, what is going on? Like so frustrating. So, like to have to experience that, explore new avenues, and then come back to being like, my process works, and I just need to continue to work through that with my coaches, with the team, and sort of prepare myself in the best way by just being like, I need this many days on the downhill bike, I need this many hours training, I need my body to feel this certain way and to come to specialize and to see do the work in the wind tunnel to you know work with Owens on the suspension, Brembo on the brakes, all these different things so that all the variables are controlled that I can control. And then once you get there, it's just like I said, the hard work pays off, and then you can just let yourself go and ride insanely well.
SPEAKER_01Love it, love it. And on the you talked about the equipment a little bit, and you know, the demo 11 is out now. Yeah, man, that's been a long time in development, years of the the hand-rolled carbon tubes and C and C lugs that we did right here in Morgan Hill for you guys, and all the work with the ride dynamics team and the UBB system, and then now what's come to the OBB and the the high gear system and everything. And really, no rider on the team has put more time into the development than you. Yeah. I'll ask some specific questions, but when you think about the arc of creating that bike, like what do you remember and what were problems before and what were breakthroughs? Like, how would you tell the story how that bike came to be?
SPEAKER_02When we first rode it, it was kind of a trail bike. We tried two versions. There's a trailbike, downhill bike, and we're like, holy, like this bike, it feels a little bit weird, but like it corners incredibly well. The bike, the UBB, cornered so well and generated so much speed. So we're like, there's something here, we just don't know what yet. And so we made the bikes weren't ready, so we made a decision that we wouldn't start the season on them because we didn't have enough time. Halfway through the season, we had this big break, and specialized came to us and they're like, if you want to ride this bike, there's an opportunity for us to deliver some bikes for you guys. And Kevin and I, my mechanic, who've I've been with my entire racing career, we're like, This is a cool opportunity. I think we should try it. So we tried it, and it was one of those things where I got on the bike and went, We really have something here. So me and Kevin, we did, I think we did almost 20 days of riding, full laps all the time, testing data, everything on the bike, and we just went through the whole process, exactly what I was talking about just now. And I think not only did the bike get better, but I got better because I was like doing full laps on four five-minute tracks, like eight, ten, twelve laps day after day after day, and being like, I'm in incredible riding shape. I feel at like I'm in tune with the bike, I'm one with the bike. And then from there, first race, I finished second. I had a terrible qualifying, and all the specialized people were there. Mike was at the race, and I was like, Loick was coming back from a collarbone, and Chris was injured. And I was like, I'm the only one that can kind of do something today, and somehow kind of pulled something on my ass a little bit, and it worked out. We finished second, and then from there it was just build, build, build, and then to my first win in Mont St. Anne, which was incredible. And then moving the next year, continuing to improve the bike, working with the boys uh on the downhill team, and just continuing that process until we got to now on the OBB. And the OBB was a cool change because there was some stuff with UBB under braking. Um, sometimes it was a little bit wild. I felt like it was more of like a controlling a wild beast, versus this one is like a little bit more in control, more composed, exactly, very composed and really nice to ride. Like it's so like the position and everything just feels very comfortable to ride. Um, and I think for me last year I didn't get enough time on the bike, so we didn't get to that that pyramid that I'm talking about, the tip of it. And I think that over the last few months, for me and Kevin to work through it and be on the production bike and to be sort of able to just put the hours in has been really amazing. And to to see how the bike sort of comes alive now as we put more work and effort into it has been really cool. And I think it's just been a really long process, and to be able to go from that first lugged bike to the next year, we made some small changes to then go to the OBB lugged bike, and then again, the OBB production is right there, and it's just like it's been so many seasons of changing and constant change of bikes to then now have some stability so we could be like, we can now build, we know this is a bike, we know how to build forward on it, we know how to get faster on it, and this is what we're gonna do. And I think that that gives me peace of mind to just be like same thing, check the boxes, go through every option we can, and through testing, we can find the perfect race bike for ourselves on this platform. Which is amazing. And um, it's just been cool to work with as many people as we have. Like from working on the uh the high gear system to all the way back to the first UBB has been has been crazy. And even to be up in Auburn at that office and riding some new stuff to then taking it home and riding it at home and taking it to Europe. And just like I think that the process of developing a new bike is has been incredible and actually one of the most amazing things that I've done in my career, and to get to the point where we are now is pretty exciting.
SPEAKER_01Well, you've been central in it. We say made in racing, and it sounds like a marketing slogan, but the reality is like, unless there's riders like you that are able to push it right to the brink and also be able to articulate what needs to change to make it better, we can't make it better. Yeah for sure. But then by answering that call with a product that that does, we can serve you, yeah, but then also we can bring that learning to all riders. And that's that's the m when we do it. Well, that's the magic of what we do, and you're a huge part of that. Really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02That's one of the coolest things, and even the opportunity to do it has been incredible because it makes me learn it. I have to be more articulous. Like, what's the bike doing? And I can't just go, uh, you know, it's I have to be able to convey the message of how the bike feels, and I think our team has been incredible at that. I Loick, like I said, very detail-oriented. Jordan is also a very specific particular person about things. He's younger, but he's he's he knows what he wants. And then for me to start on this bike when I was 21 and now be 26, those five years has been an incredible growth for me, as well as like I get to work with all these amazing people, my mechanics, the people on our team, as well as the people at specialized, and there's so much knowledge and information, and people are passionate and they want to work hard to see how much effort goes into something like this is crazy because I spoke about all the love that I feel for the bike or riding, and all the people we work with feel the same love, but maybe in a little bit of a different way, but it's still the base, and that's people give a shit, and it creates amazing things and amazing projects. And for me, that was what was most special about working on the bike. And yeah, I mean, it's beautiful and it's right on, yeah, it's sick.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, devoted to performance beyond reason for sure. It's not rational, it's way past that.
SPEAKER_02And the the guy, the guys put so much work into it, it's crazy.
SPEAKER_01You're trying to ride on that. Appreciate that. I want to peel back a couple things on the bike. Like, first, I want to start with I saw the box of chain rings that came out of Fort William. Yeah, I think like 20 chain rings just demolished, yeah, like bashed, and um, out of that came like, okay, this UBB is is good and the chain rings there, but we got some problems. So OBB and then the high gear system, yeah, which you know our team came up with, and then working with Shram, we were able to put into practice, you know, best in the business on drivetrain stuff, but 30 millimeters more clearance from the previous bike. Absolutely. And then also protected. So the little drive ring you have is protected. What does that do for you as a rider? Like, are you picking different lines? Is are you not thinking about things? Like, what does high gear deliver for you?
SPEAKER_02For me, it's peace of mind. I broke when I won in Mont Saint-Neu, broke my chain ring in my race run. On in Mont Saint-Anne, Fort William, where we broke so many chain rings. It would just be, I can't imagine the order to SRAM every year to be like, hey, we need like 200 chain rings, you know. And that would that bike was cool, but to be able to have that extra clearance, you don't feel like your feet are gonna hit the ground. You don't feel like you're gonna smash your bike off something. You don't need to be, I remember Loick saying he was having to choose some different lines. I was a little bit more cautious with the wind ice. Like, I'm going through that, and that's the way that I'm going. And I think Loic is a like we were talking about changing lines a little bit so you don't break the bottom of your bike. And to have this system where you do have a little bit of feedback in your feet, which is nice and good for comfort, it's great for braking, but to also just have peace of mind that when you ride through something, you're not going to be jamming your bike into rocks, into stumps, into roots, into anything else. Also, to have a technology on a bike that hasn't been really done before like this is really cool. And I think that it just shows, like we said, the creative people that specialize in SRAM to be able to create this has been amazing. And also to integrate a second chain into a bike and make it look as good as it is is pretty amazing. And then for us as racers, I think mechanicals are something that you can't prevent, but you can always make way for better technology so that you can sort of do away with that stuff, and this allows us to basically never have to worry about I don't know, smashing the bike in or breaking a chain, really, because I I mean we haven't broken a chain on this system yet, and I think that um yeah, knockwood. I think that um it just allows us to have peace of mind, and for me it's cool to just be able to ride a technology like this. Radical.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And how would you like how would you describe the way that the demo 11 works from a suspension perspective? Small impacts, big impacts, like what does it feel like as a rider?
SPEAKER_02I would say the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. So if I take it to the bike park, I'm like, everything feels smooth. You know, around the corners you have infinite traction. You can just ride and be round and smooth, and you trust the bike to do what you want it to. It follows exactly exactly what you put into the bike, you will get exactly out of the bike. Predictable, stable, it's smooth, carry speed, the braking effect effectiveness is amazing. The bike's active in the braking. It sits underneath you. You don't feel like you're getting jacked up or sitting down. It's a it's a really good balance. And so as a racer, for me, knowing that that platform is so let's say stable, and knowing that it's exactly what we talked about again, that's the basic pyramid. And then for us as racers, it's just fine-tuning something that's perfect and um being able to have a bike that I can just take to the bike park and be like, I just don't have to worry about you know, the previous bike you take to the bike park, and you're like, I have to be on today. And with this one, I can go ride, I do whips, I do jumps, I do whatever I want. And then if I want to take into race mode, I'm able to do that. And I think that that's a really good bike for everything. People are gonna be stoked. I mean, I just think from what we've even talked about here, just the amount of work and passion that's gone into it, I think people will be stoked because they know that this isn't just a bike that we were like, here we drew this thing and we created this technology for no, you know, for no reason. We're just like, we're gonna do something. There's like so much thought and reason behind it, and to know that the bike also rides on top of that incredibly well is really cool.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. You know, it's funny as you were talking, like the very first thing you said, like you go in and you quiet your mind, and then we discovered, like, okay, there's all this kind of anal analytical stuff. It's really the way the product goes too, like engineered to disappear. Like, we try to think of everything, so when you're riding it, you don't have to think about anything. For sure. You know what I mean? And it's like it comes through that collaboration, OBB. Okay, I'm not gonna smash. And if I do smash, it's it's durable. So I'm just gonna send it, like you're free. Yeah, and then like the suspension, the way it's working. We don't have any idler, but we because of high gear, we've been able to dislocate chain loads from suspension.
SPEAKER_02So your suspension is free. And that's that underbreaking. I think people are gonna love it so much. It's so perfect. And I think that I think that that ability to exactly like you said, dissociate the wheel from the actual movement of the bike and being able to be like, I'm gonna come to this corner, the bike is gonna sit, it's gonna track, it's gonna track, it's gonna track, and then you let off and the bike just like there's none of that like skidding around. You don't feel like your back end is like doing no compensate. No, you don't have to compensate. You can stand on the bike and you just stand in it. And I think that, like I said, when you put the energy into the bike, you can also get it out. So I think that sometimes the problem with the the rear road axle path is if you overdo it, then the bike feels kind of gooey. And with this one, it doesn't feel that way at all, and you feel like you're able to get the best of everything, as well as the fact that it's quite light, even with the system on it. So you jump and you're just like it just, you know, there's nothing to think of, which is really exciting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, awesome. Love that, and then leverage rate independently adjustable. So that the way the team that was a big piece on the on the UBB was be able to dislocate Axle Path from leverage rate. They flipped it to OBB over the bottom racket, but maintained that same ability to tune the things separately.
SPEAKER_02And we tune the hell out of it.
SPEAKER_01I know you do.
SPEAKER_02I want to yeah. The bike is great from the box, and now we can just make this thing a machine. And I think Loic showcased that really well last year and Jordan as well. Um, and this year, you're gonna that's exactly right.
SPEAKER_01Once we get it right, I'm gonna do I'm gonna be right up there with those guys doing the same thing. You are, yeah. We know you are. I want to talk about that. And when you come to like, oh, there's all the base of the pyramid and all that, and then you show up, you know, and there's the track and you're testing, like you're working with Kevin, you're doing all the telemetry, you're taking runs. How does that work? Because you don't have a lot of time. So you're coming with a baseline, I guess, and then you're doing just talk us through how you go from this is the track, this is the initial setup, to race day finals. Like, how does the bike get that X percent more dialed for you?
SPEAKER_02It's difficult on a bike because if you ride moto or if you play hockey or basketball or whatever, you can go to a track or a gym and you can replicate the same thing every single time. And you can go at 10 in the morning, you leave at 2, and you've done four straight hours. For us, you have to find a track that's actually appropriate for riding. Um, you have to find a place that has a lift or a shuttle track or whatever. And so doing the actual testing, the offseason is so it's the hardest part. It's really difficult. That's why all of us go to New Zealand, because they have tracks where you could do 20 laps in a day if you really wanted to. And for me, to get to a race with that base setup starts now, starts in December, starts in November, whatever. And Kevin will analyze the suspension, he'll look at the kinematics, he'll look at the axle path, he'll look at everything and be like, I think this is the bike that we need to start with. And we'll start with something that Kevin thinks is right. He'll have three different setups that he thinks is a great starting point, as well as position. I get on the bike, I do two runs, I go, Kevin, what the hell were you even thinking? This thing sucks. Like, I not even in the ballpark, not even in the ballpark. And that's like position-wise or suspension-wise or whatever it may be. And through, let's say, three, four hundred runs through a winter, maybe a bit more, we can sort of guide the bike into the right base setup as well as high-end setup for that specific style of track. And the races being in colder climates in the winter, you can't go train on the actual racetracks unless you go to some of the places are open, but it's hard. It's hard. So we have to find similar tracks, we have to have similar feelings, similar speeds, and work the bike through all of the paces positionally, suspension-wise, wheel, like tire choice-wise, wet, dry, whatever we may have to test. And then take all of that to the World Cup and we get there for the first run. Kevin goes, This track was like this. We had similar speed feeling conditions in uh let's say February in Portugal. He'll put that setting on the bike, and then from there, I can then go, all right, we need to fine-tune this. I'll be like, the bike doesn't have enough support through the mid-stroke, he's gonna adjust the compression, or the fork is diving too hard. We'll adjust the PSI of the lower chamber on the Olin's fork by two or three PSI, and from there, those changes at the World Cup are really small. I find if you're making drastic changes at the World Cup, you're probably a little bit lost. And so it goes back to what I was talking about. You didn't do the base work, you need the base work, yeah. And I think that that's I'm really hitting that message hard, but that's how I am, and that's how Kevin and I work, and that's like Kevin is one of one of the hardest workers, and I think that he he puts a lot of effort into making sure that he's prepared with his setup, with what he thinks is going to be right. He checks all the charts, he checks all the data, he checks everything. And so then for me, when we're testing, it's just like I'm just riding, I'm paying attention to the bike. We have data, we have GoPro, we have timing, we have everything we possibly can to check what we need to check. And then when we get to the World Cup, it's just those fine details that we need to tune. And honestly, the World Cup stuff is pretty lackluster. It's like a click here, a click there, a you know, PSI and like you say, if it's more than that, you didn't do the homework.
SPEAKER_01Probably not. So it's too late. Yeah, you're just gonna like I mean cross your fingers at that point. Crazy circumstance may change that, but that's quite rare. So it's uh in the beginning, so 11 years, right? We're coming up on 11 years. You've been riding specialized, 11 years, yeah. And in the beginning, our tires were not where they needed to be for downhill.
SPEAKER_02I will say, 2016, 2017, when I was in junior, yeah, the butcher, the original butcher, was an incredible tire.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then something changed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And the tires were not anywhere near where they needed to be for that hour.
SPEAKER_01They weren't working what with what you needed. And like we're we're proud of the fact that like when something's not right for someone who's competing at the top level, we won't say no, you have to ride that. So you rode other tires, like people know this. Like we're not too proud to admit it. We see that as an opportunity. The team worked really hard, but talk to me about like you said they were pretty good, then they weren't so good, and then where are the tires now? And you know, how important are tires?
SPEAKER_02Tires are an understated thing. I I mean that sounds like a silly thing to say, but like people will go riding and they'll be like, oh, my bike feels weird. I don't know, I don't like this bike, and they will consider that it's the bike, and they'll they won't consider that it's a tire choice. And I think that tire tires are the easiest way to take a bike that you don't like into a bike that you do like. And I think that I have to give a lot of credit to my mechanic, Loick and Jack, for how much effort they did put in the tires when I was younger. I mean, 2018, I was 18 years old, and I was a little bit scared to be like, hey guys, like you know, like Loick is very blunt and he's very honest, and Jack and Kevin are as well. I think it's a bit of the French way where they're like, the tires are bad, you gotta change them. And so they were very, very honest about that. And then that allowed for us to work with you guys to start developing into what we have now as the cannibal, as like the sort of flagship downhill race tire. And for Jack, Kevin, me, and Loic to all have a hand and like even the the tire pattern, they drew it and then they 3D printed it. And Kevin's like, what if you change the knobs and turn them a little bit? And they're like, We're gonna do that. Three months later, we have seven different prototype, like different compounds, treads, everything that we're allowed to try. And so we go through all that, and to get where they are now is like it's your only contact with the ground.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they have to stay right. Yeah, we say your ride comes down to this. It does, you know, and it's like when you ride, you know, like you only have these two little patches to control all the speed and direction.
SPEAKER_02It's crazy, and I think people don't think about that enough. Where if you're trying to ride uh an enduro bike and you're riding on an XC compound, you're probably not gonna have a good time. You're gonna be like, my bike feels skatey and it's not reacting right in the corners. Just like, I know it's gonna roll slower, but go put a downhill compound on your bike. I ride downhill compound on every bike that I have because that's the feeling that I know and that's the feeling that I prefer. And I think people will always kind of get caught up in being like, the tires came on the bike, so it must be right. But if you don't like the feeling of the tires out of the box, maybe that's something that you need to try and change. And I think that the cannibal is a tire, in my opinion, that does everything incredibly well. If I could put them on, if I had like an epic hardtail, I'd put them on an epic, you know, I'd put them on the lightest bike you could possibly make because I think that that connection is so much more important than people recognize. And to be able to have rolling speed, to have efficiency and dry, tacky, wet, whatever, and to be able to do it with just that one tire that we worked on has been incredible. And I think like people are always like, Do you guys run specialized? We're like, Loick has won world championships, two overalls, I've world cup, Jordan's won a world, and it's all been undone on the cannibal. And that tire is just like it does everything, and it does everything super well. And now we also have the hillbilly, the hillbilly is a great intermediate tire. I've raced it in dry, I've raised it, raced it in wet, I've raced it in super deep dust. Just being able to have selection and choices to be able to work through that is is really great. And I think, you know, it's crazy to think that six years ago we're like, we can't we can't ride these tires, to then being like we have the best tire in the game, basically.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's the honesty and it's the approach. You know, if it's not good enough, then we need to make it good enough, and we double down just like you like when you're when your back was jacked or whatever. It's like, all right, that's what's here. Let's do the work, let's make it right. And I mean, a lot of people don't know, but the first product to ever have the specialized brand on it was a tire. Yeah, no one is more fanatical about tires than our founder, Mike Siniard. And we have our own tire factory in Germany, not for mass production, but because that's where we develop the compounds, that's where we work on the plies, that's where we can create prototypes so fast, and then have the secret sauce and then produce that at scale. So it's like the feedback from you guys to it's not good enough, to doubling down on making it good enough. And once again, once we get it right, offering that to other riders. For sure. And then it's such a stoke, right? When you crazy when you go through the valley and you're up at the peak and and you see the benefit that it offers on the you feel it as a rider, you see it in other riders, you see them doing their thing. It's it's crazy. That's what keeps us going.
SPEAKER_02It's it's back to that devotion and back to the people that want to work hard and people that you know that really care. And like to that factory in Germany, we're working on some new stuff. I won't say, I won't say what. But for for them to be able to turn around prototypes and turn around different tires and be like, I'll try something. I'll tell Kevin, Kevin tells Laurent, Laurent straight to specialized, straight to the factory, two months later, one month later, we have a new tire to try with all of the feedback. And that is is crazy. That's unbelievable. That's unbelievable level of support for us and unbelievable amount of trust that we know what we're talking about when it comes to tires, and to have that relationship from where it was to now where it is and where the tires are going is is crazy. And I think that there's not many places that you would ever ever get that, especially not in mountbiking.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's rad. It's rad. All right. So so far we've talked, we talked a little bit about outside of racing, a little bit family and stuff, but what makes you tick like outside of racing and outside of training? Like what stokes you? What do you find yourself gravitating towards in your life?
SPEAKER_02For me, being outside. Being outside is everything. I I can't, I'm not really somebody who can sit still. I never really have been. Um, I don't know if it's ADHD, I've never been diagnosed with any of that stuff, but I definitely have that. Like, you know, like I I get the I get itchy, you know, I get I when I sit inside all day, I feel gross, you know. And so for me, I'm lucky enough to be a mountain bike racer, and that's my career and my job. So I spend all my time outside anyways, but being able to be paid to do that, I don't have to, you know, I have to train and everything. But outside of that, I have a lot, I have free time to do what I want to do. And so for me, being a Canadian, I play hockey once a week when I'm home. I play in a beer league and whistler, I go snowmobiling and I go ski touring, and I'm lucky enough to have an amazing group of friends that love doing all the same things as me. And so I think having that other passion sort of fills me up as a person so that I want to drive more into the thing that I do as my career in love. And for me, I live in the best place to do it. I'm extremely lucky to live where I do. I'm extremely lucky to have the parents that I have and have sort of introduced me to all this stuff and to introduce me to being curious and exploring the places that I live and choosing the things that I get to do. And I think for me, it's just staying busy, staying outside, skiing. I love skiing so much. Um, and I also love sports, like my whole life has basically been surrounded by sports, and I love baseball and hockey and basketball, football, soccer, whatever. And I I keep up with all that stuff. And then I think one of the things that's sort of new to me is now being a little bit more creative and being creative with things that I can do within riding, whether that's video projects or kit design or all these different things that sort of I never used to think about that stuff, and now it's sort of evolved into my I guess into my career. Yeah. And being, I think a lot of it's working with the people that I work with so that it's like we could be creative with the bike, but well, how can I be creative to show the bike as I see it and being able to be creative with all of the things that sort of show on the outside rather than the stuff you see from behind the curtain, you know? Other ways of expressing exactly creating. Yeah, and I find that really cool. And I think that through sport, my whole life I've been doing that through sport, and now I've started to kind of do that through video projects and through kit design and through everything else, and I get to work with amazing people. Like I said, I'm just really lucky to have all the people around me that I do so that I'm able to do these things.
SPEAKER_01Well, and it's others are lucky too, because I think so many of the things that you've expressed, like the way you see the world and this idea of like quieting your mind and like the analytical and then the expression. And I really encourage you, keep going with finding ways to express because your point of view is really valuable and really important. You know, I heard this quote like um our authentic self-expression is a service to the world. You know what I mean? And so often in the world, there's forces that like can feel like they're stifling your voice. And what we all have to do is like find that voice and let it out. Yeah, you know. So let that out, bro. Definitely. We want to hear it. We want we want to hear it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's a that's a good quote. I think I think people sometimes can be a little bit scared of what others would think, and especially now in the social media age, it's like you put something out and you just like hate floods the comments, or like people just say some horrible things. And I see it like with my girlfriend, she'll post stuff on Instagram and be like, she races as well, but she'll get so much hate on her comments, and I'm like, where does this even come from? It's just like you, and I think she's she's good at that, or I used to be terrible at that, but she's been very like, who gives it like who gives a damn? What like why do you care what this person thinks? Just be yourself, do what you want to do. And I think for me, sort of processing that and being like, I'm gonna do what I want and I'm gonna be who I'm gonna be. Who cares if some people don't agree with that or just want to hate? I think it's important to just push yourself to be who you want to be and not care what people think, you know? And I think that that's really important, also is for kids. Like, if you want to be a rider, put everything into being a rider and work your ass off to be the best that you can be. Who cares what people think? If you're like, you know, you're trying too hard or doing this or doing that. It's it's the same thing as as creative expression or um, you know, hard work in the gym or whatever it may be. Throw yourself into what you love and do it to the best of your abilities.
SPEAKER_01Totally. And those when when people do say, you know, hateful things or negative things, it's an expression of what's going on inside of them, yeah, which can not feel good for sure. But if we can drop in underneath that and go, you know what, that person's having a hard time, and that's where it's coming from. I'm not gonna engage in that, but even if we can get to the point to just go, man, I hope they find their way through that. Probably need to get more time on the bike. Probably need more time on the bike, like we were talking about. Yeah. All right, hey, I want to drop into uh a rapid fire, rapid fire questions. Yeah, I like these. Cool. Um, what's your favorite track and why?
SPEAKER_02Mont Saint-Anne World Cup track. That place has been good to me always. And I love the crowd, I love the people. Home race. I've won there. World Cup track, that's the best one.
SPEAKER_01Perfect, perfect. What's the hardest track for you mentally?
SPEAKER_02My hardest track for me mentally is Ludonville. Not the hardest track by any means, but I have really struggled there. Two, three years ago, I got disqualified when I was in the leaders' jersey. I lost the overall because of that race, basically. The following year I crashed twice. Last year I crashed twice. And I just there's something about that place that I don't quite love. And I think it played so I'm trying to bring a lot of positive energy there this year.
SPEAKER_01Got it, got it, got it. When did you feel like you really belonged at like elite downhill racing?
SPEAKER_02I think in junior I felt that I belonged too much and I was a bit arrogant, a bit cocky, bit bit head like big headed, um, more than I already am. And uh and then I think I sort of came down to earth and I had a lot of humbling experiences, and then it sort of really rebuilt when I started to find my own process, find my own reasons, find my own motivation, other than just being like, I want to beat everybody and win. It's like I'm gonna be the best I possibly can. So end of 2021, I won qualifying, finished fourth, second in qualifying, and then I crashed. But to be like back-to-back races, I'm right there. And then coming into the next season, I had so much motivation, and I felt like at the end of that season, I'm here, I belong in this spot, and I will continue to stay here. And then I did. So that was a really cool that was a cool weekend. That was in Snowshoe, and Loick won the overall. It was just a really good vibe all around.
SPEAKER_01That's so cool, man. That thanks for sharing the journey on that one. What's the the best feeling about downhill racing that someone who doesn't do it can't know?
SPEAKER_02The feeling of doing the thing you are best at the very best you possibly can. And I think in sport, there's nothing else close. I would say it's like the closest thing to being like flying. I don't know. It's a cliche, it's a really cliche thing. But like I said in the beginning, I'll drop into a run. And if I'm if I like I'm getting down the bottom, I'm like, I need to go faster and faster, and like I want more, and I like I need to hit this corner this way. And it's not even like thinking about it, it's just like happening naturally, and I get to the bottom. And like some days I'll like have like two or three runs like that for some reason. I don't know why I've so focused on those days, and I'll get to the bottom. And like I will seriously like just scream at the top of my lungs because I'm so like everything, it's like I got goosebumps, you know. Everything is like, rah, that was like the best thing ever. And it's like, not like there's no like anger or sadness or anything related to it, it's just like that happened, and it was I don't know, it's just the best thing ever.
SPEAKER_01The experience of that experience of that. Love that. All right, other other side of the coin. What's the worst thing about downhill racing that someone who's not in it can't know?
SPEAKER_02Injuries suck. That's it. The hardest thing that I experienced in downhill is is injuries. I don't feel a lack of love for the sport, I don't feel like I have to do anything, so for me, it's just always injuries. Yeah, it's tough. Got it, and I think brain injuries, like concussions, that's the hardest part.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. All right. So you grew up emulating, you know, riders that went before you, and now you're one of those riders that young riders emulate and look up to. What would be something you would share with them? Some wisdom related to riding or life, whatever. Like what would you share?
SPEAKER_02I'm fortunate enough to have had the sport that I have had in into sport and to do this. But if I was able to find something that I love, I think finding something that you love is the first step, and then figuring out how to become the best that you possibly can at that. And for me, it's working hard, and it's like I have some natural talent for sure, but it's working as hard as I can has allowed me to be the person that I am now. So I think finding what you love and working as hard as you can at it is how you're going to find the most fulfillment from it. And I think that for kids, having fun is really important. But if you love what you're doing, working hard is really fun, and that process is really, really enjoyable. And I think that that is sort of my my advice would be like find something that you really want to do and just do it to the very best of your abilities. Whatever that takes, it's different for every specific person, but being like, I'm gonna be the best that I possibly can at this because you know, working hard, trying hard, being the best that you can is a really cool thing because it gives you the most fulfillment as a person, and there's real longevity in that where you can look at a goal 10 years from now and you're like, it's not gonna happen right away, but over these 10 years, I'm gonna become a way better person, I'm gonna become a better athlete, or even if it's a different thing, I'm gonna become a better whatever that may be, and it's also gonna teach you life lessons. You're gonna be a stronger person at the end of it, and you're gonna go, you're gonna get that gratification being like, even if it isn't successful by a certain standard, you still gave everything. And I think that that is like a really cool feeling to have. And it's hard to be upset with yourself if you do that. And you know, the outcome is the outcome, but the input you know, you get out what you put in, and that for me is like everything with racing, with riding. And I think, like I said, it's always fun if you love what you're doing. And I'm lucky enough to do that.
SPEAKER_01That is solid advice, dude. Find what you love, pour yourself into it, do the work.
SPEAKER_02I mean, even being here, like we've been around the office. I went out on the lunch ride yesterday, I got like I got dropped. Like the people here, like they work for the brand, but obviously they care about the fitness. And we came into the gym yesterday, and there was a guy that was on the ride, and he's on the treadmill running like he must have run like a sub 40-minute 10k. And he's like, Yeah, no, just love running, love riding. And it's like people work hard and they also work hard on themselves. And I think like just putting yourself into the stuff and just working for it is how you achieve what you want, and that's the best way you can live your life.
SPEAKER_01I love it, man. I don't have any other questions except like if there's anything else that's on your mind that you want to take the opportunity to share.
SPEAKER_02I guess it's been 11 years of specialized, and I'm just stoked to be working with a brand like this, and through everything that we've been through and all the things that we've developed, it's really amazing to be able to work as a team within specialized gravity, but then as a team within specialized. And I think for me it's been an incredible thing, and I'm just, you know, stoked to be where we are with the demo 11, with the helmets, with the shoes, with I don't know, we basically ride specialized everything, and everything is extremely top-notch. So right on.
SPEAKER_01Well, the feelings mutual. I mean, it's a big team, you know. It's we're all rooting for you guys when you're when you're racing, when you're qualifying, we're glued to it. We're sending messages back and forth. And yeah, just know as you go into 26 and looking towards those goals, whistler, world championships, and and this kind of year of of feeling good, riding good, the equipment there, we're there with you. And I know the whole everyone tuning in on the audience will as well. And just thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate you big time, man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you as well.
SPEAKER_01Right on. Well, that's it for today's show. Hope you enjoyed the conversation with Finn as much as I did. If you enjoyed the show, please like us, follow us, subscribe anywhere you find your podcasts. And if you want to check us out on video, go ahead and do that on YouTube. Like us, subscribe to us on YouTube. You'll find us there. If you want to follow Finn, you can on Instagram at FinnIles. And if you want to check out the whole gravity team here at Specialized Gravity, you can do that on Instagram at specialized gravity to keep up with all they're doing, to race, to train, to prep, all the behind the scenes stuff. So until next time, thanks so much for listening. Ride your bike, have fun, keep the rubber side down. We'll see you next time.