Coffs mountain biker Ryan Gilchrist wins at Thredbo Cannonball

A Coffs Harbour mountain biker has beaten some of the country’s best riders to take out two races at a highly regarded festival. The victories came as a complete surprise.

A journey that began while tearing up Coffs Harbour trails has taken Ryan Gilchrist to glory at the biggest mountain bike event in Australia.

Gilchrist, 19, blazed through last weekend’s Cannonball Festival Thredbo to win two of the five events.

He was five seconds faster than his competitors in the all-mountain assault and also took out the pump track by .9 of a second over his mate Luke Meier-Smith.

Ryan Gilchrist blazes a trail. Picture: Nick Waygood

“I knew I was competitive but I had no idea I’d be able to win it,” he said.

“I had a chat with my coach the night before, reinforcing that I could win it”.

But he said he didn’t have any pressure put on him.

“It didn't even feel like an exceptional run,” he said.

“I just stayed in my comfort zone.”

He relied on his experience to get him through.

“The first race of the week is always a little scary,” he said.

“I got my trademark dry mouth nerves, but once I got riding it was all good.”

Gilchrist said he was more accustomed to wet conditions having done most of his training in Coffs.

He said the track had “seen some abuse”, resulting in holes and rough terrain, meaning he had to be very tactical about which lines he took.

From the ground up

Gilchrist said his family had played a pivotal role in a thriving mountain biking community in Coffs Harbour, which was growing.

Geoff Gilchrist, Ryan’s father, said he had to “earn his terms” from a young age.

“He was always involved in making and maintaining tracks, he built an appreciation to look after the place, it doesn’t happen by itself,” Geoff said.

“They earned their terms.”

Ryan and his brother were always involved in the local community, building and establishing the Coffs mountain biking community.

Ryan Gilchrist as an aspiring young rider. Picture: Jaye Gilchrist

Growing up in Bonville, Ryan and his brother used to ride through tracks, consisting of cornfields and rugged tracks at Bongil for their daily school commute.

“We made a little creek crossing and had skinny planks that they would ride through very day to and from school,” Geoff said.

“He’s been on bikes every day in his life so he hasn't had to do training. He just rides.”

Ryan learned the sport through basic bikes rather than relying on expensive gear.

“His equipment was rudimentary, he relied on raw skill,” Geoff said.

Gilchrist was just 3 when he first hopped on a bike in the local Coffs tracks.

Ryan Gilchrist was born for it. Picture: Jaye Gilchrist

By 10, he had transitioned to BMX racing.

“BMX racing teaches you how to be smooth and efficient on the bike,” Ryan said.

He said BMX riding helped him become a more complete rider.

“It’s a cool trend that good riders also have a bmx background,” he said

“It’s a feeder sport.”

Ryan Gilchrist negotiates a jump.

Gilchrist specialises in gravity endurance races, which is a new form within mountain biking but is growing rapidly.

It combines multiple downhill stages, where riders downhill times are combined with untimed uphill sections.

“It’s young but has risen to popularity recently and is now one of the biggest disciplines,” Gilchrist said.

Gravity stages typically vary between 3 and 10 minutes.

“It’s demanding, you do 60 to 70km of total riding, including 2000 vertical metres of climbing,” he said.

Gilchrist is confident he can continue to thrive at the top level.

He aspires to enter a professional team but is also undertaking an engineering degree and has a passion for photography.

“Hopefully one day the Olympics will do gravity enduro and downhill,” he said.

After nationals, Gilchrist will be racing in the Enduro World Series across North America and Europe.