Most tri-
umphant
year in
Peat’s
career
2009 was the most triumphant year in Peat’s career - a year that included welcoming his second child, surpassing Nicolas Vouilloz for the all-time World Cup win record, and winning the world championship title all at an unprecedented 35 years of age.
Vallnord, Andorra, 2009.
Craig Grant
Steve Peat has won more World Cup races (17) than any other downhill racer in history. He has won the World Cup overall three times, and netted a phenomenal 50 career World Cup podiums.
Vallnord, Andorra, 2009.
Sven Martin
Steve has carved out a reputation as a powerhouse, able to finesse the skill courses, but also capable of throwing down horsepower on the pedaling tracks. But until 2009, he’d never won that single-day crapshoot, that amalgam of skill and strength, timing, and luck known otherwise as the UCI Downhill World Championships.
Bromont, Canada, 2009.
Sven Martin
I’d lIke to
be called
world
champion
Steve Peat’s 2009 World Championship victory was a sentimental slam dunk. It could not have been choreographed any better by Hollywood. The star of the show—Peaty—as the grizzled veteran who finally beats the odds and throws a long-clinging monkey from his back.
Canberra, Australia, 2009.
Victor Lucas
I didn’t
have
much
before I
started
racing
“Mountain biking, more specifically downhill racing, molded me into who I am today,” he says. “I didn’t have much before I started racing, and I didn’t have any goals in racing. I just took every day as it was, race after race, enjoying myself. That’s why I think bikes have molded me. I was totally happy to sit back and let bikes do this to me.”
Sheffield, England. Circa 1977.
Mom
Early days of downhill racing. Peat pictured next to his downhill machine. Not much compared the long-travel technology driven DH bikes of today. But it was all his...
Got
myself
nick-
named
‘the Ka-
mikaze
Kid
Steve the youngest of three brothers got his first bike at age two. His dad was a service engineer and a motorcycle trials rider, and that first bike was a hand-me-down from his older bothers. “We used to build jumps and they would send me off first to check them out.” Peat recalls. “Got myself nicknamed ‘the Kamikaze Kid’ because of that.”
Sheffield, England, Circa 1977.
Mom
Faced
with the
choice
of taking
to the
trades
At age 16, he got into cross-country racing with a local club, which led to a sponsorship with Langsett cycles in his hometown of Sheffiled. His gravity skills brought him to the attention of Kona U.K. which led to him winning the 1993 U.K. DH series. From there, faced with the choice of taking to the trades and becoming a plumber or rolling the dice and making a living as a downhill racer, he gambled on the latter...
KAPRUN, AUSTRIA, 1995.
MALCOLM FEARON
I love to
hear the
start beeps...
“I love to race my bike. I love to hear the start beeps, figure the track out, set the bike up to feel best on different tracks, cross the finish line, hear the crowds, sign the autographs, stand on the podium, drink the champagne. For me, it’s all part of my life.”
Kaprun, Austria, 1997.
Malcolm Fearon
16 years
of
world
cup
racing
His 16 years of World Cup racing have seen nearly all of his early peers go into retirement while he has retained an almost ageless grace and competitiveness throughout his career. Even in his younger days, which fell smack-dab in throes of mountain biking’s brief flirtation with massive salaries, big-rig race support and purported media glamour — he has always maintained a gentlemanly equanimity.
Big Bear, CA, 1999.
Malcolm Fearon
In a sport that has evolved so dramatically as to be unrecognizable when compared to its roots — Steve has been able evovle with all these changes: from technolgy and equipennt advancemnts to course changes and riding styles.
Maribor, Solvenia, 1999.
Malcolm Fearon
A long, lucrative career as an enduringly popular athlete—shouldn’t that be enough? By dint of his personality alone, Peat is a sponsor’s dream. He’s unpretentious, friendly, hardworking, accessible and an absolute giant on the landscape of downhilling.
MONT SAINTE ANNE, CANADA, 1997.
Malcolm Fearon
“Enjoy and have fun. That’s all I’ve done and it seems to have worked out quite well.” No surprise revelations there, but the practice has served Peat quite well indeed.
MARIBOR, SLOVENIA, 2008.
VICTOR LUCAS
In terms
of wor-
ld titles
fate has
never
been kind
In spite of his win record, regardless of his other accomplishments, in terms of the World Championships, fate has never been kind to Peat. Bouncing back from a disastrous 1999 season that included a broken ankle and a broken arm, he suffered a heartbreaking 0.57-second loss to Myles Rockwell in 2000 that began a back-to-back-to-back string of second place finishes.
Val Di Sole, Italy, 2008.
Victor Lucas
How many
would have
been if not
for "nico"
"Peaty"
never back
-ed down
he perse-
vered
20,000
cheering
for me was
a special
moment
Always feeling the pressure and pride of racing in his home country of Scotland “Peaty” on a heater as the crowds waits in anticipation for his final time.
Ft. William, Scotland. 2009.
victor lucas
the rari-
fied air
of moun-
tain bike
super
stardom
Peat’s down-home accessibility, combined with his prodigious talent, has elevated him into the rarified atmosphere of mountain bike superstardom, with all the spoils that entails. He is one of the most highly compensated mountain bikers in the world. He has a very nice house, a loving wife and two healthy sons. And he is the winning-est World Cup downhill racer, ever.
Val Di Sole, Italy, 2010.
Craig Grant
With nothing left to prove after his World Championship victory and his unprecedented year in ‘09. “Peaty” returned in 2010 for the love of racing.
Champery, Switzerland, 2010.
Craig Grant
I honestly believe that downhill here in the U.K., in fact mountain biking in general, would be completely different without Steve Peat. There is no way that we would be where we are today—he is that important. He has helped and influenced generations of riders. He is an inspiration to anyone who races downhill.”
- Mike Rose, Editor DIRT.
LA BRESSE, FRANCE, 2009.
GARY PERKIN
Witness an unprecedented look into his amazing World Championship experience and career of Steve Peat. Get an intense look at two of the most competitive years in downhill mountain bike racing. See the rivalries, the friendships and history in the making as Steve proves to the world that even at age forty he certainly won’t back down.
Supported by:
Created by:
WON'T
BACK
DOWN
“A special thanks to my beautiful wife Adele and my sons Jake and George, Mum, Dad and my brothers, Rob and Lepa Roskopp and everyone at Santa Cruz Bicycles and anyone who has ever supported me in anyway whatsoever, way too many to mention, but I raise a glass to each and every one of you!” - Steve Peat
