Bernard pulls up at the services in his matt black Range Rover and is straight into Subway. Before I’ve even had a chance to glance at the menu he’s ordered his sandwich, picked up a few other bits and pieces, and is queueing to pay. It’s not that he’s a regular here, it’s just that he doesn’t hang about. By the time I get out he’s back in the car and posting on Instagram. “I hate unnecessary time-wasting,” he grins. “If you’re wasting time on your phone, that’s fine, but don’t be slow at getting dressed!”
Bernard Kerr is fast. Very fast. He talks fast. I suspect he even sleeps fast. But in particular, he rides fast. Fast, smooth and with style. All the ingredients required to look great on a bike and win races. Although he’s only 26, it seems like he’s been on the scene forever. That’s probably because he started racing mountain bikes when he was just 12 years old.
“I loved playing on bikes as a kid,” he recalls. “My cousin raced mountain bikes, and we’d had motocross bikes before that. In my family, if you do something, you do it competitively!” So he threw himself into racing, and started doing well pretty much straight away. “My first event was a 4X race, and I either won it or came second!”
It wasn’t long before Bernard found his way to the legendary Milford dirt jumps, and started riding with Brendan Fairclough, Olly Wilkins and their mates. “I must have been 13 when I turned up there,” he says. “They were learning how to do backflips and I wanted to do it too! I remember getting it just as I turned 14. The better I got, the more fun it was!”
As well as Milford, the Surrey Hills were on his doorstep, and it wasn’t long before he was bombing down the trails around Peaslake and getting bloody good on a bike. “Bernard was, once upon a time, the loudmouthed kid up at the trails!” remembers Olly Wilkins. “It was clear he had a lot of raw natural talent at a super-young age. That kind of thing is always really apparent on a hardtail at the trails.”
Pivotal moment
As Bernard’s riding improved he started racing the national downhill series and World Cups as a privateer. Then, aged 19, he was picked up by Pivot Cycles, through their UK distributors Upgrade Bikes. “I introduced him to [Upgrade owners] Matt and Damo, and the rest is history!” recalls Olly. “We always knew him as the kid who broke stuff,” laughs Rory Hitchens, marketing and senior brand manager at Upgrade. “But Pivot were very helpful, and a good relationship developed”. Bernard now rides for and manages the Pivot Factory Racing team, which also includes Swiss racer Emilie Siegenthaler and Kiwi champ Rupert Chapman. He has a deal with Reynolds Wheels too – another Upgrade connection, who’ve developed a signature 650b wheelset for him, using his feedback to make a carbon rim that works for his hardcore riding style.
The loud-mouthed kid is now a fully sponsored-up pro, who’s made it onto World Cup podiums and been crowned King of Crankworx. “He cut his teeth on the local trails, learnt to ride a bike, learnt to ride some more, applied himself, then applied himself some more till he could ride like the best of them,” observes Rory. Bernard’s savvy attitude has also helped him accrue a huge social media following, with over 100,000 Instagram fans following his every whip and scrub. Even more impressive than his riding is his work ethic. “The guy does everything from video shoots to flight booking,” says Olly. “That’s a huge amount of work even without the pressure and application required to actually race a full World Cup season.”
Speed and style
So what is it that motivates Bernard? “Fun!” he says. “Fun more than anything. Probably even more than wanting to be the best. Though being the best is also having the most fun! Now obviously I want to win too!” he grins.
On the day we shoot our pictures, Bernard and his brothers have been working on converting a Mercedes C-Class estate into a pickup. It’s painted matt black, of course – the colour of choice if you ride in the Surrey Hills, apparently. And the overriding feeling around this car conversion is fun. The same feeling you get when you watch Bernard ride – that reckless abandon and sheer joy that comes across when he hits a jump and whips it, scrubs it or pulls another trademark move. It’s that sense of fun that makes his riding style unique. Coupled with the desire to always look stylish.
“I want to look good,” he admits. “Some riders just want to go fast and don’t think about how they look. Not me!” A lot of it comes down to copying motocross riders, and a fair bit of it has been inspired by riding with Brendan Fairclough. “I don’t want to give Brendan too much credit,” he laughs, “but he has big style, so I want to look as cool as he does on a bike. If he drops the back wheel first off a jump, then I’ll try that too!” Bernard credits the late Stevie Smith as an influence too – “Stevie could scrub real well and I wanted to be able to do that”. And when he was younger he was in thrall to the riding of Steve Peat and Steve Geall. “They were definitely my two main influences back then,” he says.
Coming in hot
Bernard enjoys travelling. He’s spent the past few winters in New Zealand, getting his training in during their summers instead of sliding about in the slop in the UK. Those periods away from home have paid off, seeing him gain in consistency as well as speed.
He’s into riding motocross, which is kind of cross-training for downhill. But otherwise it’s all about riding mountain bikes. And in particular, it’s all about airtime. “I just want to hit jumps!” says Bernard. “The rest of the track is fun, but for me it just exists so I can get to the jumps. Turns are cool, but jumps are the main thing!” His least favourite track feature has to be rock gardens. “Miserable! If I never saw one again I’d be happy,” he laughs. He used to hate uphills too, but now that he’s fit he doesn’t mind them so much.
And the secret of his success? Bernard reckons it’s all about having fun, being happy and not worrying about stuff. “I try to always be happy, no matter what,” he says. “There’s no point getting angry with something that’s beyond your control. Like, I got a speeding ticket today, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so I may as well laugh it off.” He admits that’s sometimes easier said than done, but feels it’s important to take the emotion out of stressful situations. He also credits his mum with being a big part of his success. “It’s so cool to make my mum proud. She’s so happy when she sees me doing well at races. Without her there’s no way I’d have any of this, no matter how good I was.”
We’d also venture that Bernard’s persistence, determination and perfectionist work ethic have played a large part in that success. Some riders get fed up with being asked to hit the same jump again and again for the camera, but not Bernard. He’ll keep going long after most others have lost interest, knowing that he can hit it harder, faster or with more style, and won’t stop till he’s happy with the results. That’s an example of what sets him apart, gives him an advantage and has brought top results in a relatively short time frame.
Bernard was crowned King of Crankworx in 2015 after racking up high scores everywhere from the dual slalom course to the whip-off. Last year he was fifth at the Downhill World Championships and won the prestigious Red Bull Hardline. After a washout at this year’s Lourdes World Cup, where he qualified ninth but finished well down (with all the other top qualifiers), followed by a 13th at Fort William without a chain, he came fifth at round three in Leogang, getting his season back on track. But at Crankworx Les Gets he clipped a tree mid-jump and went down hard, and the resulting injury to his shoulder has put him out of contention this season.
His early mentor Olly Wilkins sums it up: “Bernard has the speed and skill to win a World Cup, and this season it really looked like it was going to happen. It’s a big shame he’s out for the year but I expect him to come back even harder next year. Now he knows he’s got it in him, I think the top 10 have something to be afraid of. The kid is coming in hot!”
Kerr’s killer moves
1. Whip
This is what Bernard is probably best known for, and his recipe is to ride like he’s on his motocross bike. “I like to try to be cool and get the back end as high as possible and the front end as low as possible, which is hard to do without a throttle!”
2. Scrub
Bernard’s second favourite manoeuvre, and again he’s pretty damn good at this MX-inspired move. “Obviously, keep as low as possible, but also get those bars as turned-down as you can. That’s what makes it cool.”
3. Toboggan
You’re not likely to see Bernard pulling this move during DH training, but it’s another useful addition to his Crankworx trick bag. “Get this as nosed as possible, with the front wheel low – and sideways too, if you can.”
Bernard’s five top tips for success
1 Have fun.
The cornerstone of Bernard’s philosophy, this little tip is pretty valuable. If you’re not having fun, you’re less likely to do all the other things necessary for success.
2 Do whips.
This is probably an extension of tip number one, and mostly applicable to Bernard. But do whatever it is that turns you on, be it whips, scrubs, fast corners or big jumps.
3 Don’t get angry.
There’s no point in getting frustrated about things that have already happened and are beyond your control. It’s best for your focus to stay calm and get on with things in a rational manner.
4 Pedal less.
Don’t overtrain, but ride more on your skills. You obviously need to be fit and in good shape, but skills are at least as important as fitness.
5 Ride more.