Pinkbike Awards: Comeback of the Year

Aaron Gwin jumped ship from motocross racing to try his hand at downhill, and in less than a year was winning national-level races aboard a Yeti. With a tenth place at the 2008 Mont Sainte Anne World Cup, Gwin became the highest placing US male pro since 2004. Smelling success, Trek World Racing quickly signed Aaron, who shocked the world in 2011 by winning a record five out of seven World Cups, earning podiums on the other two. Gwin “only” won four out of seven the next year and again managed to podium at every World Cup DH venue for 2012.

With back-to-back overall wins, Gwin left Trek World Racing for Specialized – a move which embroiled him in controversy. Bitter fans, however, were only the beginning of Aaron’s bad fortune, as the trajectory of his meteoric flight into the record books abruptly fizzled, and the once great hope for US DH racing spiraled into the World Cup’s middle ranks. Gwin was only able to post one top five WC result in 2013.

Aaron Gwin redoubled his efforts and announced his return in 2014, by winning the first round of the WC DH at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Pitted against the fiercest competition we have yet to see in World Cup DH racing, Aaron podiumed four times and took the number two spot in the overall series behind Josh Bryceland. Aaron Gwin receives this nomination for retaking his place on the blocks, but more so for recapturing the fierceness of his riding style in competition. Few DH riders are more inspiring than watching Gwin on form and he certainly was this year.

Fabien Barel, who earned three World Championship gold medals and a number of World Cup downhill victories before retiring from DH racing in 2011, could have been nominated for this award when he returned to win the inaugural round of the Enduro World Series at Punta Ala in April, 2013. Those who know anything about the Frenchman would tell you that Barel’s fitness and speed did not change much after his retirement. Some say he improved. Maintaining XC-racing fitness and Pro DH-racing skills takes a level of dedication that few are able to keep up without the pressure of competition. Barel is the exception, but a terrible crash in the first stage of the first EWS race in Nevados de Chillan this year would put his resolve to the ultimate test.

Fabien Barel knew he had broken something in his back, but pushed through to finish the first day’s stages. Sternly advised and stunted with pain, a trip to the hospital revealed that his number eight vertebra was shattered – the place where the nerves which control the legs and lower body enter. Fabien was lucky to be standing at all, and it may have been a miracle that he was not paralyzed after two stages of racing with such a dangerous injury. Barel underwent risky surgery and was confined to bed, and to wearing a brace. Adhering to a strict rehabilitation regimen, Barel worked his way back to strength and managed to get on the bike, “to see if he was fit enough to ride,” only one month before the last EWS event at Finale Ligure, Italy. Barel, who announced that he had no intentions of the sort, crushed the field, winning the race by nine seconds.

Few names evoke the loyalty of downhill fans more than Sam Hill. The king of flat pedals raised the bar for technical descending so high in his heyday, it is safe to say that the rest of the best have only recently caught up to his game. In the brief history of downhill racing, only the legendary Nico Vouilloz has had as much influence over the progression of the sport. Like Nico, Hill had the entire package: massive talent, peak fitness, a keen understanding of bike setups, and an analytical mind. Most of all, he had the ability to envision lines that few others could perceive - and keep them secret. Nobody knew exactly where Hill would be riding on his race run, which often sent photographers scrambling. The only sure bet was that Hill would be going blisteringly fast when he arrived there.

Hill struck gold the World Championships five times (twice as a Junior) and took the overall World Cup series title twice in an eight-year winning streak that ended abruptly with his World Championship victory at Mont Sainte Anne, racing for the Specialized Monster Energy team in 2010. Hill suffered a shoulder injury in 2011 and for two seasons, the Aussie superstar languished somewhere in the top ten, scoring as high as fourth place at Fort William in 2012. Hill was released by Specialized and signed on with the Chain Reaction Nukeproof team – an unlikely alliance with one of the larger on-line retailers in the UK.