Who is Jay Williamson - Interview and Video

The downhill racing scene in the UK is a simmering hot pot of talent that can be pretty hard to get your head around sometimes. But surveying the results from a World Cup race will only backup that this small island in the Atlantic does a fine job of producing rapid downhillers. With that in mind, we wanted to find out a little more about one young elite racer with his eyes on the prize, Cornishman Jay Williamson.

Age?

22.

Where are you from?

Cornwall.

Away from bikes?

To be honest, to make ends meet, I get involved in most things and always have since a pretty young age, right back to the washing cars in the village, back in the day, ha-ha! I also run coaching days at the Gawton Gravity Hub, which I really enjoy! It’s great to give something back for the help I’ve received over the years and it’s so good to see riders getting stoked with the day and seeing their riding improve.


With all the travelling around, getting to the races, most of the money goes fuel unfortunately. A good example would be 10.5 hour drive - with no stops – up to Fort William, which is a 1200 mile return trip and helps lighten my pocket to the tune of £100. But hey, don’t get me wrong, we all have to travel to go racing and I love every minute of it!

How long have you been riding?

Always been riding a bike and from a young age. I got my first full suspension DH rig when I was 13, but the thing I always regret was not starting to race national standard tracks until I was 16 – I always felt like I’ve been playing catch up ever since then, but we’re getting there now!

What got you into downhill racing?

One of my best buddies, Adam Lock, was into it and I went along to watch him race and it just blew my mind! The bikes, the jumps you could do on them… I tried to reenact what I saw on my Toys R Us 'MTB' but I have to say, I didn’t get a great return on that bike after that outing I can tell you!


Are you just a downhiller or do you ride or compete in any other disciplines?

Sorry to say, but I am Downhill rider through and through. Nothing gets me going the same, but then motocross comes very close and I of course like to ride the trail bike. To be honest, I’m into anything that I think will help certain areas of my riding and racing. But my favorite thing away from bikes would have to be surfing - I just love the freedom and the challenge. It's great to totally switch off and actually find a completely different kind of fear and adrenaline rush, which surfing offers in droves!

How would you describe the DH scene in the UK?

I think the UK scene is great! Man, we are right at the top of what we do right now, but I am however, regularly questioning the hugely disappointing lack of support from the governing bodies and the big commercial brands - it’s a great shame! I was at the Meribel World Cup two years ago, and there was one big pit of all the different sponsors – a right mix of bike brands, riding kits, etc and it looked like a right pick and mix of colours. But what did all these riders have in common? They were all from the same countries and many without the support they needed and deserved, and instead, grouped together and supported one another. It was great to see, but at the same time, we should be focusing on our racing and doing the best we can. Racing is racing and if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

What’s the riding like in the South West and what are your favorite spots?

Riding down here in the South West is great and we have a great community of riders across all categories. We have some good local races, such as the Woodland Riders Series, which is based near Gawton where I grew up riding and like to go back to in the winter and get. While it's not half bad for DH, the possibilities for getting rad on the trail bikes is endless down here - I often give myself a hard time about where I live, especially when relating it to where the majority of the best riders and races are, but really, I know that I’m not missing out. From all the great trails to the amazing Flyup downhill service that runs a professional shuttling operation at the Gawton Gravity Hub, which has helped me a lot. So I would say Gawton in Devon, Triscombe in Somerset, Grogley Woods in Cornwall and if you want to throw in a awesome dirt jump session, ‘THE TRACK’ in Portreath, Cornwall… Well that’s always a great day!


What’s it like on the Steve Peat Syndicate?

Relaxed with some great support, which comes from every angle. But it is left down to how much you want to put in and how you want to make the best use of the resources the team has to offer. For me, I was almost too serious and just wanted to know how I was doing everything, so having some great characters involved in the team as well as having Steve (Peat) around to kick start the banter, it's just what I needed to balance me out and I think this change of perspective has been reflected in my results this year.

Where would you like to see DH racing go?

Simple. It needs to go more mainstream and get some recognition for what we do. The opportunity to get salary would be great too I guess, as there seems to be a very harsh drop off amongst elite riders. The time each rider has to put in just to be there and walking the track on a Thursday at a World Cup – it's massive. For me, I have to look at elements of my training and racing and view them as a job, even when some would say it's all just a bit of “good fun” - I simply think they are covering up for what is a truly tough and demanding sport… I have fun, don’t get me wrong and I’m always one to make the most of it, but do you really have fun every day at work?


What are your goals for 2016?

Continue the progression. I feel like I’m ready to jump a few steps on the old ladder now, so I’m excited to see if I can back up this comment for myself. The British national series (BDS) - there’s some big old names in there now, with most of them sitting inside the top 10 World Cups, so that’s a challenge in itself! And the World Cups of course - I would like to think that I can get into the top 30! Throw in some surfing in between races and try to look a little more in control when the beach babes rock up in the summer would good too, ha-ha!

Thanks for your time and see you on track!

Cheers!

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MENTIONS: @FelixSmith / @ollyforster / @StevePeatSyndicate / @FlyUpDownhill / @Royal-Racing / @foxracingshox / @SmithOptics / @Maxxis / @FiveTen

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