Riding through a couple of berms with barely a bike length between them and then taking off on a huge, hipped step-down at virtually the same time, two of the world's best mountain bike racers land pretty much on top of one another - much to their own amusement, and a sharp intake of breath from me, behind the camera. One hailing from Sheffield in the north of England and the other from Bristol in the south, the pair are separated by geography. Not to mention age - one will celebrate his 50th birthday next year, the other his 27th. And background - one famously worked as a plumber before catching his big break, the other went pro aged 16. But none of that matters on the track, where they banter like old friends and jostle for position, each trying to outpace the other.
Steve Peat and Laurie Greenland may be from different generations, but the two British riders are now together as master and apprentice on the Santa Cruz Syndicate squad, where - along with Peaty's old mucker Greg Minnaar, hard-charging German rider Nina Hoffmann and Canadian phenom Jackson Goldstone - they form a formidable team. They're here at BikePark Wales for a couple of days to take part in the Vanta Jam and then film a video, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch up with two of the most exciting riders on the British - and world scene, to find out how their styles differ and how MTB has changed during the four decades they've been racing.
The early days
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von Mountain Biking UK.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von Mountain Biking UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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BIKETEST BACKCOUNTRY HARDTAILS
We see whether carbon fibre or steel, big-name value or boutique attention to detail comes out on top on the trails
NUKEPROOF MEGAWATT CARBON 297 RS
The original Megawatt proved itself almost instantly, winning our inaugural E-Bike of the Year award in 2022.
CALIBRE LINE T3 29
£1,100 (with £5 GO Outdoors card) Cost-effective proper' mountain bike
FIRST RIDES
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX & ONTO THE TRAILS
ROUTES QUICK BLASTS
Facing shorter days and inclement weather, Max finds three satisfying routes that show it doesn't have to be an all-day ride or nothing
GRIME TIME
EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE
TRAILCREW HAVOK BIKEPARK
A hand-cut, rider-built bike park, Havok reopened earlier this year at a new site in West Yorkshire and is still expanding
From dust it did rise
Steve Thomas traces the birth of British mountain biking, from 'tracker bikes' to Muddy Fox
THROW DOWN THE CAUNTLET
In our final challenge of the series, we see if e-bikes really are as good at climbing as they're cracked up to be, as we tackle Antur Stiniog back to front
THE RIDER OFF YEAR' 23
THE BIG REVEAL! You voted in your thousands - now meet our winners...