Video: Racing Fort William World Cup as an Underdog

Back in May we followed Dutch downhiller Tristan Botteram as he headed to Fort William for the 2nd round of the 2022 DH World Cup season to document and share the hard work and love that goes into racing as a privateer.

With top riders battling it out for podium spots, it’s easy to forget that beyond the shiny trucks and team setups there’s a whole other perspective that these races are viewed from when you’re a racer without a team, figuring things out for yourself.

Just getting into finals is cause for celebration, a task which only seems to be getting more and more difficult. Taking the 2022 season for example, on average there was 143 elite male riders lining up at the start gate for qualifying, and only 60 spaces available for finals. And whilst the pressure of qualifying and racing is one thing, privateers have to also juggle being their own driver, team manager, mechanic, chef and coach, as well as managing limited budgets and external work or school commitments.

The unique experience of the privateer environment is an awesome and important part of our sport. Some of the fastest racers have been shaped by their journeys from privateer to pro. Watching racers like Tristan grow as riders from Underdogs to contenders, cutting their teeth against the world's best, race after race, season after season is a truly unique part of MTB racing. And we love it!

We hope you enjoy watching what it's like to race one of the most physical and demanding tracks on the World Cup circuit as an underdog.

Huge thanks to Tristan and his dad for being involved in the project.

Rider: Tristan Botteram
Video and Photography by: Saskia Dugon
With support from: Canyon

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Videos Canyon Tristan Botteram