PEATY’S PIES

“I’M INVOLVED IN ALL SORTS AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN. MAYBE IT’S THE YORKSHIRE IN ME!”

Northerners and pies – the two just go together, don’t they?Like steak and kidney, a pint and a packet of crisps, or Steve Peat and mountain biking. Any time ‘British’ and ‘downhill racing’ are mentioned, the name Peaty is never far behind. And with good reason, because for nigh on two decades the big man from the Steel City was at the sharp end of World Cup racing, chalking up 17 wins, three overall titles and a World Champs gold medal during his time at the top. But what do you do when the racing’s over? Go back to being a plumber? (Steve’s trade before he realised he was too fast for fastening faucets.) Sit back, rest on your laurels and sink Stellas? Peaty’s done none of these things – apart, perhaps, from the Stella drinking. Even though he’s technically ‘retired’, the 46-year-old is keeping busy. A man with his fingers in a lot of pies, his name’s appeared on everything from beer to biopics (the must-watch Won’t Back Down, releasedin2014)andcoffeetable books to disturbingly phallic valve caps! Five years after quitting World Cup racing, Peaty continues to influence the MTB world. We thought it high time we paid him a visit, so we headed to Sheffield to find out whether he might just have slowed down enough for us to keep up…