Downtime with Seanan O'Riordan

Downhill mountain biking champion and the UK's latest Relentless Energy Drink sponsored athlete speaks

Riding a motorbike at the tender age of six isn’t something the average kid thinks about, let alone is actually able to do. Raised amongst a family who are all passionate about motorbikes, that is exactly what Seanan was doing back in his formative years. No stranger to charging around on two wheels at an early age, at 13 the Irishman had his first introduction to downhill mountain biking through meeting an enthusiast at his local track. “I had a go on his bike and was hooked since then,” he tells us. “A couple of months later, I got my first downhill bike and won my first race. Ever since then, I’ve been going at it.”

Challenges along the road to success

When you live in a place where downhill mountain biking isn’t vastly accessible, a combination of raw talent, focus and dedication is vital to achieve success.

“I don’t see just doing downhill training as the sole thing to get faster. There are all these other disciplines you know; they are all towards a common goal in getting faster on a downhill bike. Everything helps,” Seanan explains. “It’s not easy staying focused when you are so far away from the large race series that you’re concentrating on - like the world cup. When you come back to Ireland, you’ve got all your mates around you and everyone’s doing something different, so just trying to keep your eyes on the prize is quite difficult.”

"It’s not easy staying focused when you are so far away from the large race series"

Home is clearly a special place for Seanan when it comes to keeping that all-important focus: “Having a track that is as fast and difficult as a British national track or world cup track can be hard to come across, so staying focused [is important]. You really have to just set dates down in your head for when you will go away.”

Staying true

It’s not all about the relative glitz and glory of big global tournaments however, as Seanan is keen to point out. “Obviously, you’ve still got to do all the Irish races to support the local scene as well,” he says, underlining the importance of grass roots and camaraderie. “Coming from a country that doesn’t have the best infrastructure for downhill mountain biking is the toughest thing I’ve come across so far - but I’m keeping at it.”

Seanan shares where he gets his inspiration from with us, naming heroes of the sport as the ones he really looks up to. “Just guys that are top of their sport: legends like Travis Pastrana, Jeremy McGrath, James Stewart, Sam Hill and Sebastien Loeb. All these guys that are just unbelievable at what they do.”

"I feel I’m only starting to get going in terms of my potential and how fast I can be going"

Although he’s already ranked within the top 10 downhill bikers in the world – and is currently Irish champion of the sport – he’s far from resting on his laurels. When asked about his progression, Seanan points to the frustrations of always looking to go one better. “I feel I’m only starting to get going in terms of my potential and how fast I can be going. The last couple of years I’ve been banging my head against the wall in terms of knowing that I can go faster, but it’s just finding out how to go faster.”

“I found having a personal trainer and bringing my fitness up has changed my riding completely without me even knowing. I thought I was going the same pace at the world cup tracks but times were showing I was going 20 seconds faster.”

Looking forward

“I want to concentrate on the fitness side of things, try and get away during the winter instead of being in Ireland,” he says of his plans for the remainder of 2011. “Maybe try and get away to places like New Zealand, the southern hemisphere, where it’s nice, warm and dry. Pretty much keep focused on riding, getting fit, keeping the confidence up and just really immersing myself in the whole thing.”