Interview: Who is Neil Stewart?

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INTERVIEW: WHO IS NEIL STEWART?

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There's a name that becoming better known on the World Cup circuit and increasingly well known in the freeride scene too. It's not often you get a rider who's equally comfortable in both camps, especially when it's someone so young. With the hashtag #WhoIsNeilStewart emblazoned on his gear, we thought there's definitely a story to be told...

Neil Stewart started racing downhill in 2010 in the Juvenile category, as part of the Wolfpax team - a Scottish based mountain bike club for young riders - and within a year, his race history was filled with wins and podiums in the Scottish Downhill Association race series. In 2012, as a Youth rider and still with Wolfpax, Neil continued his trips to the podium at the Scottish Downhill Association race series and also started racing in the British Downhill Series, with his maiden win coming after just two races. In 2013, Neil's trophy collection grew although some races were tougher than others for him, notably at the British Downhill Series, but a successful string of wins at the Scottish Downhill Association races caught the eye of Tony Seagrave, Team Manager at Follow My Dream (FMD) Racing and in 2014, Neil signed with the team. Neil's move to FMD Racing also saw him move to Morzine, France, where the team are based, and when not training, travelling to the Shimano British Downhill Series races or UCI Downhill Mountain Biking World Cup races, he can be found sessioning the Portes du Soleil, arguably one of the best training grounds for any young downhiller.

Not one to stand by and let the old guns have it easy, Neil was eyeing a podium spot at the UCI World Cup from the outset, and continuing his previous successes in his rookie year at British Downhill Series, it only took him two races - this time on the brutal track at Cairns - to get his feet well and truly on those winning steps. Since Cairns, Neil has not only turned heads in the downhill team pits, but also attracted the attention of those who more closely follow the freeride scene. In between racing, Neil has gone back to his roots of trials and bike park riding, and has been entering some of the more expressive events, including whip-off and bunny hop competitions, culminating in taking the top spot at this year's Crankworx Spank Official European Whip Off Championships at Les Deux Alpes, France.

So who is the man behind these wins? What makes him tick and what are his aspirations for the years to come? We sat down with Neil Stewart to reveal the man behind the hashtag...

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This year has been a bit of a whirlwind start for you on the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit but how did you get into racing in the first place?

As a child I always loved riding my bike. Growing up on a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere - or as good as - I'd ride before and after school day-in, day-out, often just roosting the same muddy corner for hours on end. The first time I raced was when I was about seven or eight years old. It was the Scottish XC Series race at Laggan in the Highlands and I won! At the same time, I always looked up to my sister's friends who raced downhill and as soon as I was old enough, I raced a Scottish National at Dunkeld. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as my previous race in Laggan, and I ended up in hospital, but luckily that didn't put me off!


Do you have any advice for young riders who want to follow your footsteps and one day race the World Cup?

To me, the jump from racing only nationals to World Cups has all been about support. Without the support from my family and FMD Racing I would have only managed to race one World Cup this year. Personally, I think that a rider's last year in the Youth category is probably one of their most important; a good season there and you may well be lucky enough to sign with a World Cup team. If you're not successful, then don't worry about it because nationals are a good a place to get a name for yourself, especially in Britain with so many fast Junior riders to compete against. My advice is: be nice, be positive, get some decent results and you will get noticed!


What's it like being on a team like FMD Racing?

At first, being on FMD Racing was quite scary for me because I felt that with such great support, it would be ridiculous for me not to perform well, and that put pressure on me. After a few races I quickly learnt that the only pressure that there was, was what I put on myself. I soon started to learn that the whole point of FMD Racing is to take riders on who are young and train them up, taking each race at a time, and gain your own knowledge, as a rider about progressing on the international stage. Admittedly, it's a steep learning curve and you can't learn how to get it right straight away. I've made loads of mistakes this year and none of them have ever let the team down. After each race, we all talk about what was good and what wasn't so good. It's really good thing to talk about the mistakes and leave the race knowing that it was a mistake you know you won't make again.


What is it like racing in Juniors at the World Cup? What's the pressure like, especially at such a young age?

Like I said before, the only pressure at a race is what I put on myself, which is a lot of pressure. At Fort William I had put more pressure on myself than any other race for a number of reasons. I think I proved to myself there that I can perform well under pressure even though the race didn't go to plan for me in the end. Even though the team has great knowledge, we all still learn every week and that also comes back to what I said previously about taking positives away from what seems like unsuccessful weekends - we are always learning.


How did you feel when you won the whip off comp at Fort William and then at Crankworx L2A this year?

The whip off comp at Fort William was kind of behind-the-scenes and not promoted in the way it was at Crankworx L2A. At Fort William I was more focused on racing than I'd ever been before. I qualified 4th and had loads more to give and in the finals, I was up at the first split so when I came into the finish with a flat, I was devastated. They told me at the finish about winning the whip comp but in all honesty, it wasn't something I cared about, it was the race I was there to win. Crankworx L2A was completely different! Such a chilled-out environment, loads of guys having a laugh and getting sideways. I was stoked to just be riding at the event not to mention winning it!


So where and how did you learn to whip so stylishly and have you got any tips for those wanting to learn?

I can't remember a thing about how I learnt to whip, I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. I think the key is being driven to learn and improve - trying each time you ride the last jump of your local trails isn't enough - push up and do it again and again and again...eventually it just clicked for me.


How do you balance school work with life on the World Cup circuit?

There is no balance. I left school not long after signing with FMD Racing. It was a very difficult decision to leave school and not one I took lightly and to be honest, one I still feel I may well regret in the future. If I had stayed at school, the World Cups would have clashed with exams and made racing and training even harder. Although education is extremely important, I felt I couldn't focus on what I wanted to do.


What's it like when you go back home in-between travelling the world racing?

Haha! I've not been home much! Going home is very strange for me. Although it's lovely seeing family and friends, riding my local trails in Scotland is nothing compared to Morzine. There is great trail riding near to where my family live but it's far from the perfect training ground for racing World Cups. The Portes du Soleil has it all!


What are your favourite trails to ride at the moment?

Currently, my favourite trails are in Chatel or Morzine but it depends how I feel on the day, as I'm also happy riding a set of dirt jumps just as much as I would be sending myself off some huge drops on the downhill bike. I definitely like to switch up my riding as much as possible, keeps things interesting and skills from trials riding for example, can regularly come in handy on a gnarly downhill track.


Seeing that you spend a lot of time in Morzine, given that's where FMD racing is based, how's speaking French coming along?

I know some of the basics! Morzine is like a county in the UK! There are so many British people in town and everyone wants to speak English so it's pretty easy to get by. I do envy Kaos and Tahnée for being able to speak both languages though!


What's your typical training regime like?

On most days, Tahnée and I meet Chris, our coach in the morning for a coffee before going to the gym. Chris, is a coffee nut and it is insane what he knows about the ‘black gold’. Unfortunately, there isn't a big gym in Morzine but the team has access to a small private one. Chris is there with us to help us through our sessions, making sure we get the most out of training. Then we go and do some downhill or trail riding in the afternoon. During the season, we train towards each race so training is altered depending on where we heading next.


When you're not at the gym, what do you get up to?

Nothing this year, I've dropped everything else basically. One day I will have enough money to buy a nice MX bike to play around with in my down-time, but for now, my bikes are more than enough to keep me busy!


So far, what's been the moment you'd like to forget and the one you want to keep with you forever?

My worst moment so far was when I heard my rear tire going flat about half way down the track in my race run at the World Cup in Fort William. A mechanical is by far the worst way to end a weekend, and it's no fault of our mechanic as Matt [who runs The Bicycle Service] does an amazing job! My best moment has to be sitting on the hot seat at the World Cup in Cairns watching rider after rider come in to the finish - all down on my time and with only two riders to go - I knew that I had made the podium at my second World Cup. It certainly made the 23 hour plane trip worthwhile!


What are your aspirations for the rest of the year, and beyond?

The World Cups are at the top of my list for sure, but the sport has so much to offer so I definitely want to achieve highly on all my bikes! Racing is rewarding but filming is another thing I really enjoy and have always been keen for ever since I started riding. It takes a certain type of rider to look good on camera, speed alone isn't enough so I think I can make a good compromise there!


Who or what inspires you?

Many people inspire me, mainly within the different sports that I take an interest in. Obviously these include downhill racers but with racing so much and always having the mountain bike scene at my doorstep, I find myself inspired more-so by people outside the scene. I first heard of Caroline Buchanan when she won the 4X World Champs and since then I've followed her successes in BMX Super-Cross and am inspired by the fact that she achieved so much there and then moved on to something else and won that also.


Is there anyone you'd like to thank whilst you're here?

I want to thank my personal sponsors and the team sponsors for making everything possible. A special thanks to Tony Seagrave who puts all his time and effort in to making everything easy for us riders. Most of all, I'd like to thank my family for believing in me and allowing me to get to where I am now.

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Photos by Damian McArthur, Nathan Hughes, Simon Nieborak, Chris Davison and Paris Gore.
Follow Neil Stewart via his Pinkbike profile, Facebook page or Twitter account.