If you stop and think of who will be "generation next" in the world of mtb, you have to ask yourself, "who's got the potential?" Ask any man or woman or child savvy of our sport and their's no doubt the name Ben Reid will often be mentioned in such a conversation.

 

 

For such a young rider, you have made quite a name for yourself in your home country, across Europe, and beyond. Does that have any effect on you in terms of applying more or less pressure on yourself to perform? I try not to put pressure on myself at races as it can affect my performance but I am rarely happy with how things go at a race even if I am at home and win a race by 4 seconds I always think I should have won by more. I guess you have to keep wanting more or you wont get any better.

 

               
                                          * The Dirt Agency

When Gamut wrote the press release on you, we mentioned you were from the UK and that you were an "Irish ripper". That spawned some interesting conversation in some UK forums regarding your true orgins, not to mention some fan mail from some your countrymen asking us to clarify. So set the record straight, are you a 2 passport man? I could go into a lot of politics here and tell all about how I am from Ulster but I won't. I am from Northern Ireland which is part of Britain and I have a British Passport but as I am from Ireland I can choose whether to have a British or an Irish cycling license. I think of myself as an Irish man and ride for Ireland.


What are some things that mtb has brought to your life that you may have not expected? When I first started racing I never expected to be going all around the world having as much fun as I am.

 

Who has a cooler van, the Athertons or you? That is a stupid question. With an inventor genius like my dad on the job it is not possible for anyone to match the standard of the Thunder Truck. It must be seen to be believed!


What type of downhilling does Ireland have to offer that differs from other parts of the world? Most of our trails here are really tight and technical, we have some good tracks but I don't ride DH at home a lot because the forests gates are always locked and the only options of getting to the top is to walk or ride.


What location have you yet to ride that you are dying to get to? I see lots of cool spots on videos that look awesome to ride but I'm not too sure where they all are!

 

              
                                       * The Dirt Agency

What is the best thing about winning the Irish National Championships? I have won the Irish Champs since I started racing and it is a very important event to me. The best thing is winning in front of all my family and friends. Like this year, I was racing in front of my mum, dad, brother, sister, granny, Granda, girlfriend and loads of my mates it's not very often I get so much support.


Tell us about one Irish band that you think everyone should listen to. Rigger are from my local town and there are named after the town drunk! They are awesome. Contact them for a CD at riggermusic.co.uk


Word association with Ben Reid

Yankee Cars
Budweiser Tasty
Ft. Bill Tough
Ali G Funny
Clay Porter Zip line
Chain guide or device, Gamut