B-lake Nielsen: Party Out The Back - Interview and Video

Most people who know of B-lake would know him because of his last few years on the 4X World Tour Circuit, which were plagued with bad luck and injury. He came ever so close to the big win without actually achieving his dream. We recently caught up with the Aussie champ himself to get a glimpse on what this year has provided with discipline changes and how he hopes to spend the future in mountain biking.




Tell me a bit about yourself, what have you been up to in the last few years?

The last few years have been pretty full on. I have done multiple 6-month stints living out of a backpack and bike bag while racing overseas. Then coming back down under, working way too much just so that I am able to fund the next overseas adventure. It's been a hell of a ride!



Where do you live, and do you have any plans on changing that to benefit your career?

I live in the Blue Mountains, about an hour west of Sydney. I don't have any plans on moving any time soon, but you never know what the future may bring! Growing up it was an awesome area to learn how to ride. But unfortunately, most of Sydney's best trails are getting destroyed one by one.



How did you decide to take the path that you did in mountain biking?

Growing up my old man worked in the bike industry and rode mountain bikes himself. I started racing BMX when I was 9 years old, I raced that for a few years then went onto golf, football ect. Following that I got into riding mountain bikes and even a little bit of racing when I hit high school, since then I have never looked back.



What gets you most excited about riding?

That's a tough one to put into words. I don't think I could single out one aspect of what riding gives me, nor could I pick what discipline is my favourite. I love to challenge myself. If I have a goal I'll take it and run.


You’ve raced 4X for the last few years, what’s the reason you decided to come back to the bigger bikes and what was it like making the switch to enduro and downhill?

4X has been my only focus for the past 3 years straight. In those 3 years I've had some awesome results at the highest level and achieved some of the goals I had set myself. I've also broken 3 collarbones in the same amount of years. While that's not the hardest thing to recover from physically, after the third break I was well and truly broken mentally. It happened the day before practice of the first round of last years 4X Protour. I'd lost the love for the racing and the season was tough to finish. I pushed hard and ended up getting my best results after all of the drama I went through. Finishing the season off well I was happy, but I wanted a fresh start.

My mountain bike career started back in the day with downhill racing. I have always ridden trail bikes so the transition back into riding the big bikes again was easy as! The racing side of things is difficult though. I tried to change my whole race mindset and the performance required from my body is the total opposite to that of 4X, but I'll get there soon.



What influenced you to start riding?

To start riding bikes in general, I would put that down to being an absolute terror of a child. My family dubbed me "The Blake Monster". My first memory of anything on wheels was setting up my trike on the top of my elderly neighbors driveway when I was still in nappies. I would go balls out into their garage door! That explains a lot about me really.



How did the deal with My Mountain and Intense come about?

The deal with My Mountain came from an Instagram comment of all things. I'd followed the page for ages because they're always posting crazy high end bike porn. The joys of social media!



Do you have any other hobbies aside from riding?

Not as much as I'd like to. I'm a classic example of "not enough hours in the day". I've been meaning to get out for a round of golf for about 5 years now, it'll happen eventually.


Who do you look up to?

Being an Aussie, we have so many badass dudes to look up to. When I first started racing downhill I would watch videos of Bryn Atkinson, Chris Kovarik and Sam Hill for hours. I would then go out to try and mimic everything they did on a bike, on tracks that I'd built near my house. From a pure idol point of view, I think Jared Graves would have to be the #1. No-one can beat him for being an all round bike athlete, which is something I have always strived for. Shout out to the man himself for putting up a the fight this season, it takes a whole lot more mental strength than you would believe to have as much bad luck and a roll of injuries to then be able to turn around and put down such a dominant result at the Aspen EWS just last weekend!



What is the biggest problem you have faced in your racing career and how did you overcome it?

The biggest problem I've ever faced would be backing myself. I go through periods where I can race the way I ride on any other day and that's where I get results. Other times that's not the story, and I start to doubt myself and end up way off the back. That's something I'll never stop working on - that and turning right.


What are your plans for the next few years?

Right now I have no idea. I'm enjoying getting into the groove on enduro racing and spending some quality time on the M16, getting up to speed for this coming National Series. I have some big goals from off the bike I really want to tick off. Mainly, I just want to have fun riding and racing my bike which is what it's all about!




Sponsors: My Mountain Melbourne, Intense Cycles, Maxxis Bike Australia, Fox Head Australia, USWE Hydration, MRP Bike, Steve Cramer Products, Zelvy Carbon, Cropthorn, Promount Billet, Toe Jam Sock Co., HT Components, Super Sports Australia, Magneto Industries, and MTB Suspension.

Instagram: @blakenielsen122

Shoutout to Jaime Black for extra photos!

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MENTIONS: @MattStaggs / @RideDirtWake

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