Getting to Know Luca Shaw
Until recently, the United States has been a sleeping giant in the world of downhill mountain bike racing, that is until Aaron Gwin woke it from its slumber with an almighty thump. Once a dominant force in the sport, a series of contributing factors took root and the stars and stripes became absent from World Cup podiums for far too long. Things have thankfully changed and following in Gwin's footsteps are an increasing number of young, talented and committed American racers, eager to prove to the world that the USA is well and truly back in the game. One such rider who epitomises this to its fullest is Luca Shaw. Fresh out of the junior category and thrust head first into the major league of Elite men's downhill in 2015, Luca showed the world what's to come with an 11th place finish at the season opener in Lourdes, France, which he then followed up with two top-10 finishes at Fort William and Mont Saint Anne - two tracks that just like Luca, mean business...
Who is Luca Shaw?A 19-year-old kid, fresh out of high school.
Where are you from and where do you live?I was born in San Francisco, California and moved around a bit when I was younger. We moved to Hendersonville, North Carolina when I was eight and I’m still living here now.
Who do you ride for?I ride for the SRAM / Troy Lee Designs team and Santa Cruz bikes.
Where are you happiest?I’m happiest when I’m riding some awesome trails with my buddies. Generic answer, but true!
What’s been your favourite race/contest venue?My favourite race venue is probably Vallnord, Andorra. It’s such a fun track to ride and it’s a cool little country in the mountains.
Where are your favourite trails?Probably somewhere around Morzine, France. I spent some time there this summer and had some epic days riding some really fun trails. Nice not having to pedal up too!
What are your strengths?I’m pretty smooth on the bike and I don’t make too many mistakes.
What are your weaknesses?I can be a little too conservative when I race sometimes - I need to learn to ride on the edge more.
What’s been your worst crash over the years?I broke my chain at the BMX track one time, right before a jump face. That did not end well...
What’s been your luckiest escape?I was on a trail ride with my brother a couple years ago near my house. We were riding this new trail that was really fast and had lots of cool gaps you could do. I came up on one blind crest thinking it was another
Which bike from over the years, conjures up the best memories?I have the best memories riding my first BMX bike - a HARO Dave Mirra signature 16-inch. Probably weighed more than I did at the time and I remember racing my brother around the block and getting up before school to ride. We would have long jump competitions in the street outside my house and had some ferocious battles on that thing.
What bikes are you riding right now?I’ve got a whole fleet of Santa Cruz bikes at the moment. A V10, 5010, Jackal and a Stigmata in the shed.
Who’s your favourite rider?That’s a tough one! There are so many riders that I look up to and have learned so much from watching them ride. I would say Sam Hill and Greg Minnaar are the two guys I enjoy watching the most. Both of them are so smooth and have a unique style that sets them apart from the rest.
Who or what inspires you?Watching athletes from other sports succeed. It motivates me to succeed in mine.
What do you enjoy doing away from bikes?Riding motocross, playing basketball, hanging out with cool people, eating food and watching a good football game!
What are you listening to right now?Nothing actually, I’m trying to focus on answering these questions!
What’s your favourite bike movie?Earthed 5!
What’s your favourite movie/ TV show?My favourite movie is probably Wolf of Wall Street and TV show would be South Park.
What’s your favourite non-bike website?Don’t really have one to be honest.
What’s your favourite motto or saying?"YOLO!"
What grinds your gears?You know those old people that probably shouldn’t be allowed to drive anymore? There’s a lot of those where I live...
What makes you happy?Nice weather, cheap gas, free food, new bikes and good coffee to name a few.
If you weren’t a pro mountain biker, what would you be doing?I’d be going to college somewhere and hopefully playing some ball while I’m at it.
If you were in charge of the sport, what changes would you make?I’d throw social media out of the window. I think a lot of people in the industry put too much emphasis on something that can be very deceiving.
When you hang up your racing/ riding shoes, how do you want to be remembered?Hopefully as that guy who won a lot of races had a hot wife and drove a Ferrari.
What does the future hold for Luca Shaw?If I had a crystal ball I would tell you, but I don’t so I have no idea!
MENTIONS: @SramMedia / @troyleedesigns / @oakley / @natedh9 / @benstevens / @davetrump / @mdelorme / @IanHylands
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word. applies not only to the bike industrie....
"Hopefully as that guy who won a lot of races had a hot wife and drove a Ferrari. "
You mean CG? I think we all want to be remembered as CG.
He actually naled it
European Football is WAY better...