Video: Looking Back at the 2023 World Cup DH Season with Trek Factory Racing

Nov 20, 2023
by Mike Kazimer  

bigquotesThe Trek Factory Racing Downhill squad raced at the absolute limit in 2023. Nothing came easy, from podiums and champagne one week, to crashes and heartbreak the next. Ride along with Loris Vergier, Kade Edwards and Bodhi Kuhn in one of the most revealing looks at life on the DH World Cup circuit you'll ever see, and learn what it takes — both mentally and physically — to compete in one of the most cruel and thrilling sports in the world.


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Videos Riding Videos Trek Bodhi Kuhn Kade Edwards Loris Vergier


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73 Comments
  • 58 18
 kade is indisputably the best all round bike rider ever
  • 17 10
 "Ever" Really?
  • 10 3
 @on-the-move: whos better? if your going to disagree you should at least be able to spit out some riders who are a better all around rider than Kade
  • 15 6
 Not Brett, Brandon or Goldstone? How about Atwill or the Rat then if has to be British?
  • 3 0
 The correct answer is Brian Foster.
  • 4 11
flag grizwald (Nov 20, 2023 at 19:01) (Below Threshold)
 @on-the-move: How about Kirt Voreis, Eric Carter, or Peter Sagan?
  • 3 2
 Estaque
  • 32 0
 You say it’s indisputable, sure but have you ever seen me ride?
  • 4 14
flag on-the-move (Nov 20, 2023 at 21:57) (Below Threshold)
 @brigstevenson: Gee, Brendog, BK.
  • 17 6
 @brigstevenson: I can disagree with whatever I like, without elaborating at all. This is Pinkbike comments not a scientific journal.
  • 7 2
 @on-the-move: So you disagree with someone sharing their opinion, then get upset when someone disagrees with you sharing your opinion?
  • 12 1
 @a-green: I'm not upset at all. But I can't say that without seeming more upset lol.
  • 15 3
 @robito: Kade is a top level dh racer also is pretty incredible at slopestyle and a true freerider. Brandon and brett can't ride dh speeds like kade and Atwill and Josh can't do anywhere the amount of tricks as kade
  • 2 1
 @robito: and no, its not because he's british
  • 1 0
 @on-the-move: Fair point lol
  • 3 3
 yes. yes he is. end of
  • 2 0
 You need to watch more bike racing......
  • 15 9
 @itsjack: Bryceland's won a world cup overall, Gee has won a one and been world champ twice, competed in rampage, does all these cool freeride things, I've seen him dirt jumping in old videos pretty well too, I bet he did some tricks in his day. Wining world cup overalls and/or competing in Rampage automatically puts you ahead of anything Kade has done, dude go to your local DJs there are kids doing insane tricks like Kade does. Who's not won anything really. Brendog did well at world cups for a long time, has made a first class MTB movie and is working on another one, still competes in Rampage, has impressive tricks too.

Not hating on Kade here, but Brendan and Gee are definitely ahead.
  • 6 1
 even with all the suggestions listed (gee, BK (srsly? Big Grin ) ratboy, etc.) i still see kade on the top. on par with semenuk maybe.
  • 18 1
 Casual Goldstone double backflip for context. youtu.be/nMr7Gj9kdto
  • 6 8
 BK is faster, and arguably better at freeride. Probably doesn't have quite as big a bag of tricks, but who cares, tricks are for kids. Gee in his day was faster and better at freeride. Still has the freeride, dunno who would win a race these days. Brendog - ditto Bryceland - ditto Semenuk - Much bigger bag of tricks, better at freeride. Probably not quite as fast. Kade is good for sure, but he certainly isnt the best of all time.
  • 5 0
 @gregs22: queue people getting lost in Road Fools videos and productivity falling across businesses as people realize, in fact, you are correct. The Blue Falcon!
  • 2 0
 @grizwald: peter Sagan? What tricks is he throwing down?
  • 1 0
 100%
  • 7 2
 There might be people more successful in various discipline, that's for sure. But from a bike handling stand point across the board there aren't that many people that come even close to Kade. Who can film an edit together with Semenuk in one week and potentially get a top 20 a week after? You can't really compare him to Gee and some of the older riders either. Winning a downhill 10 years ago or competiting in Rampage was something totally different back then. Goldstone might be up there and Atwill, maybe too. And Semenuk and Rheeder if you look at freestylers who could be making it in racing.
  • 1 0
 @Xaelber93: Lol. Winning a dh 10 years ago was totally different? Tell that to Minnaar.
  • 2 1
 Just to be pedantic but I guess if we’re going best all round bike rider ever . . . Including downhill enduro jumping xc cyclocross road racing etc then it might be Tom Pidcock . . . But Kades pretty damn good at it!
  • 2 0
 @Xaelber93: Winning a Downhill 10 years ago? What when Gwin, Minnar, Gee and Hill were dominating, or when Peaty was dominating before that. Lmao. And that's actually winning, whice Kade has not, and yeah competing in Rampage was harder back then, the bikes have only gotten better. We need to see Kade at Rampage, he's good enough to do well there.
  • 5 0
 @itsjack: I don’t know. Sounds like an argument for Goldstone then if that’s ur rationale. He’s actually won something and would probably be on the podium at this point in slope if he stuck to doing tricks. Hope to see your boy on the slope circus now that it sounds like he’s giving up racing.
  • 1 0
 @mcwag23: Outwitting WADA and wheeles.
  • 2 0
 @brigstevenson: John Tomac ?
  • 1 0
 Brendog [got robbed]
  • 2 0
 @itsjack: Brandon has been a top DH racer in the past lol. Kade hasn’t won anything or even come close. He barely qualifies at half the events.
  • 5 0
 @brigstevenson: I would make a case for Goldstone. Compare Kade vs Goldstone in tricks, style, and race results.
Goldstone way ahead in race results, ahead of Kade in whip off wins. They both have a big bag of tricks, but have you seen Kade double flip or Cork 7. Jackson has.

I'd love to see them do an edit together, they both are super stylish and incredible to watch.
  • 2 0
 @itsjack: Brett beat Finn at Crankworx Dh a few years ago. Kade is nowhere near Finn in terms of speed.
  • 29 1
 36 mins long, now that's a Trek!
  • 49 1
 Looks like a youtube session
  • 14 0
 Gonna need to slash everything on my schedule and fuel up before watching.
  • 2 0
 @sspiff: Sounds like an appropriate remedy to the problem
  • 16 2
 Thanks Sleeper for such amazing content this year! Music in the credits would be appreciated because you make the best music clips, if I hear a song you have used then I see the images you captured and edited. There were some great tunes in this vid and some stunning edits this season. Thanks for capturing the atmosphere so darn well.
  • 6 1
 Really really enjoyed that. A lot of the stuff on PB i don't watch as it has no relative context to me, like the DJ stuff etc, but this and the PinkBike Racing stuff is what makes me think, makes me feel and makes me passionate. Awesome content, thank you.
  • 6 1
 The common denominator there is Sleeper on the production. They honestly smash it every single time.
  • 1 2
 @slopsupernova: Maybe, not sure. Maybe it's the 'human element' and relating to humans more than i can relate to 50' gaps Smile
I'm also the parent of a DH racer, so again a lot of this is information for me to absorb when dealing with him.
  • 7 0
 Papering over the cracks of not letting Kade race his final world cup?
  • 1 1
 I'm sure I heard on a podcast that it was a helmet issue with Red Bull but not sure how much truth there is to that
  • 10 0
 @krystianj: Contractually he as to have a Redbull painted helmet but broke all his 100% helmets so they borrowed Jacksons fox lid apparently it didn't sit well with 100%. Henry Quinn said something around these lines on a PB podcast.
  • 5 2
 @daugherd: If I had to choose between the two, I would go with Redbull 100%.
  • 4 0
 @daugherd: couldn’t put a big 100% sticker all over it? That’s ridiculous if true. He barely gets camera time on race day anyway. Let him race.
  • 7 0
 @robito: 1996 David Coulthard used a Michael Schumacher helmet for the Monaco GP, and it was not an issue....
MTB brands are a bit 'anal' with their sponsorship sometimes......
  • 3 0
 I hope next year there domination cones back with Reece coming back and Lori's having someone to ride with there gunna crush it ....I was big fan Charlie Harrison befor he retired I used to race with him almost 10 years ago
  • 6 0
 Makes me want a session, 1st Kade, 2nd External cables, 3rd Alloy
  • 2 0
 They're both internal and external depending on preference. Ours (white one) came internally routed and i've not bothered swapping to external yet, but the brackets are present for it.
  • 1 0
 @weeksy59: how’s it ride?
  • 1 1
 @jimmythehat: Like a dream jimmy. It's a little fussy on torque on pivot bolts and bearings, but apart from that it's just superb.
  • 1 0
 @weeksy59: don’t tempt me
  • 5 0
 such great team. love u PA and Loris so much adrenaline to watch you race.
  • 5 0
 Does Reece even race?
  • 12 0
 hopefully not if his head isn't right. dh isn't going to set him up for life.
  • 3 0
 nice vid, although vibe seemed bit off / low in the trek factory racing pits?
  • 1 6
flag HappyBiker19 (Nov 21, 2023 at 4:02) (Below Threshold)
 Vali leaving them, maybe
  • 2 0
 Ack, nevermind, wrong team.
  • 3 0
 What happened to Pedro Burns?
  • 3 0
 Got signed with trek however many years ago and just never really was able to live up to what I think he himself and many of us figured he'd do on the world circuit.
  • 3 1
 brilliant, just that. Treks media has been the best this year congrats
  • 2 0
 Way to go sleeper and TFR. Excited for next year!
  • 1 0
 Sleeper Co killed it this year. The dunce in the class was the official coverage
  • 1 1
 Was Vali Holl not featured because she's leaving the team? Ironic since she brought them more wins than any other rider.
  • 1 0
 She’s not on TFR, she’s a Rock Shox SRAM rider.
  • 1 0
 Great video, well done Trek!
  • 9 10
 Maybe I'm alone in this, but the longer that elapses between the race and the video coming out, the less interested I am.
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