|Natural born downhiller|
|Around the Academy:
To be a downhill mountain biker you must have the kind of skills and ability on a bike which I think you are born with.
You can work on improving stuff but to be honest the majority of the skills required to race downhill come naturally.
Downhill isn't like cross-country where you need to have strong legs and strong lungs
You have to be fit all over - mentally, physically, everything.
You need to be an all-round generally fit person - not a specialist in any one area.
I don't follow any particular diet but I do try to eat healthily.
Body size and body physique isn't a big factor in downhill whereas in cross-country you need to be lean to get yourself up a hill.
In downhill there is a huge variety of body-types racing - from tall guys to small guys, heavy guys to skinny little guys.
So, no matter what shape you are, the best thing to do is to ride a bike from a very young age in order to develop the skills you have.
Get a group of friends together, go out and ride and enjoy it.
If you get a chance to go to a race just go for it, but racing isn't the be all and end all of it.
Just riding your bike, getting out and having fun is the most important thing.