Pro biker's life in the fast lane
While most of us might spend our Wednesday evenings snuggled up on the sofa, professional downhill mountain biker Rob Smith heads out under the cover of darkness each week with 40 like-minded souls to tackle some of Shropshire's most challenging terrains.
While most of us might spend our Wednesday evenings snuggled up on the sofa, professional downhill mountain biker Rob Smith heads out under the cover of darkness each week with 40 like-minded souls to tackle some of Shropshire's most challenging terrains.
From the rocky outcrop of the Devils Chair to the tufted hillsides of the Long Mynd, Rob and the Wednesday Wheelers have cycled it all.
Rob, who lives in Bayston Hill and tweets from @RobSmithDH, has been involved with the increasingly popular sport of downhill mountain bike racing for the past ten years.
"Both my brothers are really into it too, so it's always been a bit of a family sport," he says.
More recently, Rob has been racing professionally and in 2008 he finished in the top 10 in the UK Championships.
Last year he competed in the World Championships, which took him across open hillside in France and the ski slopes of Andorra, where he ranked amongst the top 60 in the world until two punctures set him back to the top 80.
"We start at the top of a hill and there's a track taped out that takes you on a downhill course with lots of different obstacles like rocks, jumps and corners. Basically, the fastest person wins!"
When he isn't plummeting down a hillside, Rob coaches on and off-road and teaches on Shropshire Council's Bikeability training scheme, where he visits two primary schools each week to teach children cycle proficiency skills.
"We take them out on the roads around Shropshire where they learn about road awareness and safety skills and we also take them racing which is really good fun."
This year, Rob's hoping to get into the top 40 in the World Championships but despite being ranked professionally, he says the cost of competing can be restrictive.
"I'd love to do this full time but at the moment it's not a job - it's more of a hobby as I don't get paid by sponsors," explains Rob.
"I'm sponsored by an American drinks company called For Goodness Shakes, Santa Cruz Bikes and the clothing label Plain Lazy, so I get free products from them which is great, but paid sponsorship is difficult to get because pro mountain biking isn't yet a well-known sport."
He's currently looking for Shropshire companies to sponsor him to compete in this year's Downhill World Championships, which takes place in various locations across Europe including Fort William, Slovenia, Austria and Switzerland.
"British bikers are doing really well in the sport," says Rob. "Last year the downhill world champion was Gee Atherton, who used to live in Oswestry, so there's definitely potential although it's still very much an emerging sport."
To enquire about sponsorship opportunities or bike proficiency lessons, visit Rob's twitter feed at www.twitter.com/RobSmithDH or email him on smith.gt.smith@btinternet.com
