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5 of the best all-round mountain bikers
Meet the super talented riders who excel across a wide variety of two-wheeled disciplines.
Most people would be happy excelling at one discipline within mountain biking, but some riders are able to transfer their skills across multiple specialities. In an age where specialism usually wins over versatility, this is pretty incredible. With that in mind, here are five of the best all-round mountain bikers to look out for in 2017.
1. Kenta Gallagher
Think those cross-country folk are bad bike handlers? Think again. Top 20 Downhill World Cup rider Kenta Gallagher was previously one of the Lycra-clad crowd, racing Olympic cross-country and Eliminator for Great Britain. He even won an Eliminator World Cup, although these days he’s all about downhill.
The fact is, being able to excel at the gruelling training and suffering involved in XC racing and then transfer over to gnarly downhill takes some serious determination and skill – two things we’re sure Kenta isn’t short of.
2. Tracy Moseley
T-Mo on fire
© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
Although she’s technically retired, it would be hard not to include Tracy Moseley on our list. She has a collection of victories longer than a very long arm, including a Downhill World Championship, three Enduro World Series titles and even cross-country success.
Transferring your skills from downhill to enduro may sound easy, but many downhill riders have tried, with mixed success – especially at the top level. The fact that Tracy excelled at two disciplines, while being a great ambassador for the sport, means she definitely deserves a place on our list.
3. Richie Rude
Richie Rude poses for a portrait
© Matthew DeLorme
Another rider who excels in multiple disciplines is Richie Rude. He’s bigger than the average mountain biker and has a seriously powerful style that’s hard to miss. He’s also pretty hard on bikes, so Richie has needed to finesse his style in order to make the transition from downhill to enduro. But it didn’t take long and he was soon dominating on the world stage. Being so prolific at 22 years young, we expect to be seeing Richie at the top for many years to come.
4. Cecile Ravanel
Cecile Ravanel in the final of the XC Eliminator
© Marius Maasewerd / Red Bull Content Pool
French rider Cecile Ravanel is the current Enduro World Series Champion, having won every round bar one in 2016. Interestingly she lost to Tracey Moseley in the other round. Being an enduro badass already makes for great all-round riding ability, but Cecile’s history lies in cross-country racing, where she was Junior World Champion in 1998. After hanging up the Lycra, she successfully transferred her skills to enduro and as they say, the rest is history.
5. Jared Graves
Jared Graves – a true all-round machine
© Cameron Baird / Red Bull Content Pool
No list of all-round mountain bikers would be complete without mentioning Jared Graves – arguably one of the best all-round mountain bikers of the present age. The reason? Excelling at a wide variety of disciplines at a world class level, including BMX, four cross (4X), downhill, enduro and even XC. These days he gets his kicks racing enduro for Team Specialized, but somehow still finds time to boss it at the front of cross-country races. A true all-round machine.
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