From the fast and furious world of racing, to the biggest mountain epics and the daft stuff that made us chuckle,2015 was one for the books.
After another stellar year for all those involved in riding, talking about, thinking about and generally becoming consumed by bikes, we’ve trawled through the archives to bring you our 2015 highlights. As curated by Web-Editor Pete Scullion.
Martyn Ashton – Back on Track
If your eyes were dry after watching this, then you have no soul. Watching Martyn Ashton ride again was truly a great moment. His run of Antur Stiniog with friends Blake Samson, Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg makes me smile every time I watch it. Bravo Mr. Ashton, bravo.
Loic Bruni is World Champion.
After qualifying first at 3 of 5 World Cups this year, only to have mechanicals or crashes get in the way, 2015 looked to be another bridesmaid year for Loic Bruni. With only two riders left on the hill, and a big race specialist in Minnaar in the hotseat, Bruni put together a champions run to take gold in Andorra.
Ratboy Back on Top.
After Josh Bryceland’s horrific ankle smash at the Hafjell World Champs last year, nobody expected him to be anywhere near the sharp end in 2015. A 7th in Lourdes was encouraging before he crashed his brains out at Fort William. Nobody could have seen his win at Mont Saint Anne, one the longest and roughest on the circuit, coming.
The British Downhill Series Legends.
The final round of this year’s British Downhill Series saw the inclusion of the Legends category. This was a special, one-off category to remember the passing of the late, great Jason McRoy. All the pros from yesteryear turned up looking no slower and planted a tree at Antur Stiniog to remember the legend himself. You can read our story from the British Downhill Series Legends race here.
Return of the Dudes.
2015 was sparse in bicycle-related tomfoolery coming out of Fort William. Thankfully, Joe Barnes and crew put that right with their latest Dudeumentary, Big In Japan. Just the dose of turn slapping, river washing silliness we were missing.
Laurie Greenland Doubles Up.
We were stoked as anything when former Team Wideopenmag yoof Laurie Greenland landed a ride wth Trek World Racing. We all knew he was super talented and capable, so imagine the stoke-o-meter going into the red when he won not only the World Cup series, but the World Champs as well. Rainbow stripes forever!
Matti Lehikoinen Returns to Top Level Racing.
Matti Lehikoinen is one of the greatest bike racers out there, but also one of the unluckiest. Several major, life-threatening injuries saw him take a sabbatical from racing, and many wondered if he’d ever return. Thankfully, the answer was yes and he set about the Euro EWS rounds in his inimitable style.
Greg Callaghan Wins the Emerald Enduro.
Nothing quite beats winning on home soil, just look at Peaty’s Fort William win in 2004… Greg Callaghan was a relatively unknown quantity coming into 2015, and at the second EWS round of the year, his home race, he shut it down in what was to be an amazing weekend of racing.
Peaty Back Racing Downhill.
Even before we knew the greatest in our sport was retiring, it was good to see him back at the World Cup finals aboard his XXXXXXXL V10. World Cups aren’t quite the same without Peaty!
Red Bull Hardline.
This event, in a similar way to the Rampage, is one where even just watching makes you scared and gives you a wincy bottom. Dan Atherton created yet another masterpiece and by the time racing came about, only 8 riders remained. Impressive stuff!
Trans Provence
It’s hard not to get excited about big mountain, epic, back country mountain bike racing. When Team Wideopenmag’s Mark Scott got an entry we were stoked – when he scored a killer result we were over the flippin moon. The race saw Mark and fellow competitors race for 6 days over 270km of incredible terrain. You can read Mark’s story about the 2015 Trans Provence here.
