Finn
Iles
Canada
·
MTB
Date of birth | August 15, 1999 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Banff, Alberta, Canada |
Age | 27 |
Nationality | Canada |
Discipline | Downhill MTB |
Finn Iles grew up in the Canadian town of Banff, Alberta, before moving to Whistler when he was 10. His parents love to ski and bike (his father is a ski patroller) and Finn and his older brother, Jack, spent every summer riding in the Whistler Bike Park, mastering their handling skills and honing the downhill style that would later make Finn one of the most exciting riders in the sport.
Persistence pays off
At 14, Iles wasn’t old enough to compete at the Whip-Off World Championships, held at Crankworx Whistler, but he lobbied the organisers until they agreed to let him take part. But he didn’t just enter – he won. The result instantly put the young Canadian on the international mountain bike radar and marked the start of a rapid rise through the sport.
Iles went on to deliver standout results on the junior downhill circuit, including back-to-back overall UCI Junior Downhill World Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, as well as the 2016 Junior World Championship title in Val di Sole, Italy. In 2015, he also appeared in Anthill Films’ mountain bike movie UnReal, in a memorable segment filmed in a fake dirt blizzard on his home trails in Whistler.
Victory at last
Since stepping up to the Elite class in 2018 with the Specialized Gravity team, Finn has become a must-watch rider thanks to his blistering raw speed, aggressive style and ability to find pace on the most technical tracks in the world.
He quickly established himself as one of downhill’s elite riders, earning multiple World Cup podiums, but a victory continued to elude him until the 2022 season. That changed in emotional fashion at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, where Iles claimed his first UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup win in front of a huge home crowd.
With three more podiums during the 2022 World Cup season, Finn finished third overall in the series, confirming his place among the very best downhill racers in the world.
A dramatic World Championships bronze
Finn continued to be a consistent podium threat in the seasons that followed, combining race-winning speed with the resilience needed to handle the highs and lows of elite downhill racing.
One of the biggest moments of his career came at the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships in Pal Arinsal, Andorra. On one of the sport’s biggest stages, Iles delivered a clutch finals run to claim the bronze medal in one of the tightest and most thrilling World Championship races in history. Just 0.169 seconds separated the podium finishers, underlining the razor-thin margins at the top of men’s downhill racing.
The medal was a major statement result for Iles, showing once again that he has the speed and composure to challenge for the biggest titles in the sport.
Battling through setbacks
Like many riders competing at the sharp end of downhill MTB, Finn’s recent seasons have included periods of disruption through crashes, injury management, and the physical demands of racing a full World Cup calendar. Those challenges have at times affected his ability to build uninterrupted momentum across a season, but they have also highlighted one of his defining qualities: the ability to reset, recover and return to podium-contending pace.
Through 2024 and into 2025, Iles remained one of Canada’s leading downhill riders and a constant threat whenever he lined up in a World Cup start gate. Whether racing for World Cup points, chasing another elite victory or representing Canada at major championships, Finn continues to bring the same mix of speed, style, and determination that first made people take notice.
Still based around the riding culture that shaped him, Iles has grown from a Whistler Bike Park prodigy into one of the most recognisable and respected downhill racers of his generation, and one of the sport’s most exciting riders to watch when the clock starts.
Back on top
After navigating a challenging stretch of injuries and interrupted seasons, Finn has come out swinging in 2026. His comeback gathered real momentum with a statement victory at Leogang in mid-June, four years after his first victory in Mont-Sainte-Anne, proving once again that he has the speed and composure to win at the very top level of downhill. He backed it up just one week later with a second win in Lenzerheide, taking back-to-back World Cup victories and moving into the overall points lead.
Back-to-back wins in eight days are a reminder that Finn is one of the fastest and most dangerous riders on the World Cup circuit, and the name to watch as the 2026 season unfolds.
Finn Iles Career Milestones
2026
- 1st Place: 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Leogang, Austria)
- 1st Place: 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Lenzerheide, Switzerland)
2024
- 3rd Place: 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships - Downhill (Pal Arinsal, Andorra)
- 2nd Place: 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Leogang, Austria)
- 3rd Place: 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Fort William, Scotland)
- 3rd Place: 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Val di Sole, Italy)
2023
- 2nd Place: 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Val di Sole, Italy)
- 3rd Place: 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - Downhill (Pal Arinsal, Andorra)
2022
- 1st Place: 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 (Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada)
- 3rd Place: 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 (Vallnord, Andorra)
- 2nd Place: 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland)
- 2nd Place: 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 (Lourdes, France)
2021
- 4th Place: 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup – DH Race 1 (Snowshoe, USA)
- 3rd Place – Crankworx Innsbruck 2021 - DH (Innsbruck, Austria)
2020
- 4th place - 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 (Maribor, Slovenia)
- 1st place - 2020 Crankworx Summer Series Overall
2019
- 4th place - 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 (Fort William, Scotland)
- 1st place - 2019 Canadian National DH Champion (Panorama, British Columbia)
2018
- 3rd Place: Crankworx Rotorua 2018 - Downhill Pro (Rotorua, New Zealand)
- 1st Place: Crankworx 2018 - Fox Air DH (Whistler, British Columbia)
- 5th Place: UCI Mountain Bike World Cup DH - Downhill Elite (Vallnord, Andorra)
2016
- 1st Place: UCI Mountain Bike World Championships – Downhill Junior (Val di Sole, Italy)