We sat down with
Luke Fitzpatrick to talk about the
Privateer Lounge hosted by his
Epic Bikeshop at the recent
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide. With a big change in the racing schedules and format for the 2023 season – certainly for
downhill, Luke’s initiative comes at an interesting time for the sport and it was great to hear his perspective on the difficulties faced by racers looking to compete on smaller budgets. From providing a spot to base their weekend out of, to helping fix bikes between runs and races, spares, the suspension
race sh*t, and all the way to family BBQs, the Privateers Lounge had it all (unfortunately, the red carpet was delivered too late). Luke even offers up the blue print for other shops aspiring to open up their own Privateer Lounges in support of independent racers at
other World Cup rounds (free hint: have plenty of spares!). Luke’s passion for the future of the sport doesn’t stop with privateers, though, as he is also one of the driving forces behind the
Lenzerheide Downhill Kids as well as the
Epic Junior Racing Team and we get to hear all about these youth programmes as well!
Have a listen to the episode below or find it on
Spotify,
Apple Podcasts or any of the other platforms where you find great podcasts! For more info on the podcast, check out the
Skids & Giggles website.
@thebryson