Nethy Bridge mountain bike teen breaks into the world's elite
A Nethy Bridge teenager rider has joined the world’s elite, with stunning back-to-back performances in the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill in Lousã in Portugal.
Nineteen-year-old Jamie Edmondson secured fourth place in Sunday’s race, coming just two days after his best-ever result in the top-flight – a 10th place finish – in the double header.
The former GB junior downhill number one, propelled himself into the big time in his debut season with his two performances in the last outing of the elite UCI downhill competition of 2020.
Edmondson told the Strathy: “I am really happy with the results – they were kind of unexpected. I was aiming to finish in the top 40 and maybe even the top 20 at Lousã, after my results in Slovenia the week before.
“The goal for the year was to be finishing in the top 40 to give me a good base and some consistent results to start off with.
“I was comparing my times in the Junior World Cup to the Elite World Cup last year as a yardstick, and I was not quite where I wanted to be, so to get there so quickly is a relief and also very exciting at the same time.”
It means the ex-Grantown Grammar School pupil has reassessed his goals for next season in the UCI World Cup.
“I’ve already achieved my first long-term goal, so for next year I want to be finishing in the top 20 on a consistent basis,” he said.
“I’m in a good place to build from and I would love to get back onto the podium again soon.”
Edmondson said he had received a few inquiries from bike manufacturers on the back of his showing in Lousã, and hoped to get a contract signed and turn professional.
The young bike star said learning to race and honing his skills at Laggan Wolftrax from eight to 15 years of age was 'definitely a big help' in launching his racing career.
The Covid pandemic caused a shake-up to the UCI World Cup season with just two downhill competitions rather than the usual seven, the other being at Maribor in Slovenia where Edmondson finished 29th and 34th.
His results mean he finished 11th overall in the world rankings.
For the coming winter it will be a case of Edmondson putting the hard miles in on his bikes and in the gym before pre-season overseas starts in March.
His parents Barry and Karen run Nethy House cafe in Nethy Bridge and Bike Glenlivet.
The race star thanked his parents for their support which included Barry driving the 3600 miles round-trip to the Portuguese venue to support his son at the weekend.
Greg Minnaar (RSA) and Loïc Bruni (FRA) won the two men’s elite downhill races in Lousã.
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MERCEDES-BENZ UCI MTB WORLD CUP - DHI (60 racers in final)
Top ten leaderboard
Downhill result (Lousã) 31st October 2020
1 BRUNI Loic (FRA) SPECIALIZED GRAVITY 00:03:54.288; 2 MINNAAR Greg RSA SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE 00:03:54.458; 3 WALKER Matt GBR MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM 00:03:55.703; 4 EDMONDSON Jamie GBR 00:03:56.332; 5 ATWILL Philip GBR CUBE GLOBAL SQUAD PROTECTED BY BLISS 00:03:56.353; 6 BROSNAN Troy AUS CANYON COLLECTIVE FACTORY TEAM 00:03:56.726; 7 DAPRELA Thibaut FRA COMMENCAL / MUC - OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION 00:03:56.967; 8 SUAREZ ALONSO Angel ESP THE YT MOB 25 00:03:57.154; 9 TRUMMER David AUT THE YT MOB 00:03:57.252; 10 BREEDEN Joe GBR POLYGON UR 00:03:58.117.
Downhill result (Lousã) 29th October 2020
1 MINNAAR Greg RSA SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE 00:03:55.239; 2 WALKER Matt GBR MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM 00:03:57.072; 3 BRUNI Loic FRA SPECIALIZED GRAVITY00:03:57.199; 4 GWIN Aaron USA INTENSE FACTORY RACING 00:03:58.301; 5 NORTON Dakotah USA UNIOR DEVINCI FACTORY RACING 00:03:58.312; 6 DAPRELA Thibaut FRA COMMENCAL / MUC - OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION 00:03:58.743; 7 COULANGES Benoit FRA DORVAL AM PRO RACE TEAM 00:03:59.303; 8 WILLIAMSON Greg GBR COMMENCAL / 100% 00:03:59.859; 9 BROSNAN Troy AUS CANYON COLLECTIVE FACTORY TEAM 00:03:59.867; 10 EDMONDSON Jamie GBR 00:03:59.924.
