Jess
Blewitt
New Zealand
·
MTB
Date of birth | July 10, 2002 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Mount Maunganui, New Zealand |
Age | 23 |
Nationality | New Zealand |
Career start | 2019 |
Disciplines | Mountainbike Downhill |
New Zealand downhill racer Jess Blewitt has been rising through the mountain biking ranks with some attention-grabbing performances everywhere from Red Bull Hardline to the Enduro World Series.
Originally from Mount Manganui on New Zealand’s North Island, she grew up travelling over to the country’s South Island to compete in ski racing with Queenstown’s Alpine Ski Team at the Coronet Peak ski resort, before relocating there full-time with her family.
Transition and early successes
Blewitt decided to transition to downhill mountain bike racing in 2019, but Coronet Peak remained her training ground of choice due to its world-class track and facilities.
After that her MTB career took off with a series of big results such as first place in the under-19 category of Crankworx Rotorura, first place at Phoenix Enduro and winning New Zealand’s national championship title, which helped secure her a place on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup roster for 2021.
Blewitt’s standout performances earned her an invitation to showcase her skills Stateside at Red Bull Formation 2021 in Virgin, Utah. She followed that up with a string of impressive Enduro World Series and World Cup displays, but bad luck and disappointment came her way when she sustained a big crash at the final World Cup race of the year in Snowshoe, USA, which resulted in multiple injuries to her leg, spine, wrist and ribs.
A long period of rehab followed, but she returned to World Cup action in 2022, the highlights of which were fourth-place finishes in Arinsal, Mont-Saint-Anne and Val di Sole.
Making history at Red Bull Hardline
After that Blewitt became the first woman to be appear at Red Bull Hardline in Machynlleth, Wales. "The reason I wanted to go to Hardline was because I wanted to start pushing the women’s side of the sport there," she says.
"These events obviously have a huge risk factor involved, but everyone was motivated to go ride this super-gnarly course. I was feeling pretty good on the bike and I was eyeing up hitting The Renegade, but as soon as I hit the ground I knew there was something wrong and it wasn't really until the adrenaline wore off that I realised I'd done something to my shoulder, and then the realisation that I wouldn't be able to ride the rest of the week kicked in."
Despite breaking her collarbone, Blewitt’s efforts at Red Bull Hardline still earned her the coveted Rider of the Week award.
More success came in 2023 when the Kiwi rider secured first place on home soil in Rotorua as she won her first Crankworx World Tour gold medal in the downhill event.
Team changes and continued progress
Having competed as part of the Cube Factory Racing team for the past two seasons – securing a second national championship title in 2024 – Blewitt switched to Scott DH Factory Racing in 2026, saying: "The main goal is to come into 2026 stronger, faster and fully confident on the new bike."
Jess Blewitt in action at Rotorua in 2025
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
Jess Blewitt on the attack in Lenzerheide
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Jess Blewitt isn't afraid to send it
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
Jess Blewitt excelled on this technical track
© Karolina Krasinka/Red Bull Content Pool