Behind every successful racer is a dedicated mechanic, and in Canadian DH World Cup star Stevie Smith’s case that’s Nigel Reeve.
Path to the pits
As a kid I just wanted to ride and race my bike. To do that I had to keep it working, so I had to work out how to fix it myself. After spending 10 years in bike shops, from Brisbane to London, I ended up in Morzine, France, where I came to the attention of Kathy Sessler from the Santa Cruz Syndicate. When she asked me to wrench for Nathan Rennie it was a dream come true!
Apres-race antics
I’m waiting for Rennie to write Renoir’s Memoirs, because he has loads of good tales to tell! But I’ve got some stories too – riders breaking other riders out of jail, people so drunk they were drinking lit candles, police cars getting stolen and the famous boat ride in 2009 that ended in an entire team being locked up!
Standout moments
I’ve got some great memories, including things that were terrible at the time but in retrospect are pretty funny. Ultimately though, we’re there to win, so Stevie winning the World Cup overall title at Leogang in 2013 is a standout for sure.
Day in the oice
At races, a typical day would be to head to the pits at 8am, having already drunk a decent amount of espresso, unpack everything and then pressure check, bolt check and test ride the bikes so they’re ready for practice. Then I’m busy prepping things for changes riders want to make (tyres, suspension, etc) and monitoring their set-ups. Once they finish, it’s time to wash the bikes and service them ready for the following day. Every day is diferent and that’s one of the things that stops me getting bored.
Cocktails and bikinis
Travelling on the World Cup circuit’s definitely not all cocktails and bikinis. In fact, you’re more likely to see a guy in a bikini! There’s a lot of hard graft, and travel is only a small part of that.
Perks of the job
The biggest perk is that when I do get to ride, I have a nice bike, nice kit and can always find someone I want to ride with.
Time of
What little downtime I have is generally spent working on suspension tuning ideas, riding or trying to think of other new ways to make my riders go faster.
Training tips
How can you ride as fast as Stevie? That’s a trade secret I’m afraid. But I am open to bribes…