REECE WILSON

October 2020. Leogang, Austria. The World Champs.

For the first time in 13 months, the best downhill racers in the world are all in one place and poised for the starting beeps, after a year turned on its head. In the mix are all the big names – Minnaar, Bruni, Hart, Gwin – all experienced, calculated and deadly fast. A shrewd gambler would never have put money on a wildcard Scotsman – with one podium and a few top-10s – to shake things up. But from the instant the first practice session got underway, it became apparent that this Brit was on a mission and possessed a greater capability for taming the brutal track conditions than anyone else. Pulling gaps that were sending most of the field floundering through the tape and sticking lines where others could barely stay on board, it rapidly became apparent that there was a new player in the game.

So many times when we see a less well-known rider dominating practice, come the finals they crumble under the pressure. But that wasn’t the case for Reece Wilson. As each split time came and went, he was still up and the gaps were getting bigger. In a breathtaking display of bike handling, the Trek Factory rider somehow made it through