Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Laval, Quebec, Canada | October 14, 1983
Team information | |
Current team | Retired |
Discipline | BMX, MTB |
Role | Rider |
Professional team(s) | |
2001 | Rogers AT&T |
2002 | Balfa Cycles Factory Team |
2003-2005 | Norco Factory Team |
Hugo Donais (born October 14, 1983) is a Canadian retired cyclist who specialized in downhill mountain biking, four-cross and BMX.
Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a genre of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles.
Four-cross (4X), also called mountain-cross, not to be confused with fourcross, is a relatively new style of mountain bike racing where four bikers race downhill on a prepared, BMX-like track, simply trying to get down first. These bikes are generally either full suspension with 3 to 4 inches of travel, or hardtails, and typically have relatively strong frames. They run a chainguide on front and gears on the back. They have slack head angles, short chainstays and low bottom brackets for good cornering and acceleration. In recent years the tracks raced on have been rougher and less like those used in BMX.
Donais was born in Laval, Quebec, and grew up in nearby Terrebonne. [1] He began racing competitively in 1995 and turned professional in 2001, the same year he won the Junior Canada Cup Series. Donais spent much of his professional career with the Norco Factory Team and was twice selected as a member of the Canadian national cycling team. [2]
Terrebonne is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shores of the Rivière des Mille-Îles and of the Rivière des Prairies, North of Montreal and Laval.
During his professional career Donais starred in several cycling-related films and television programs, including Full Throttle, [2] ES2 – Fully Loaded [3] and episodes of Ride Guide. [4]
Donais represented Canada twice at the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, in 2001 as a junior and in 2003 in the Elite category. He also competed in several UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events between 2002 and 2004. [5]
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The first World Cup series – which was composed of cross-country events – was held in 1989. The Downhill World Cup was inaugurated two years later, and the Dual Slalom World Cup was launched in 1998. The dual-slalom format – which involved knock-out heats with two riders on the parallel courses in each heat – evolved into four-cross in 2002 before being dropped after the 2011 season. Riders win points according to their placing in each event. The reigning series leaders in each class are identified by a special jersey. The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is broadcast live and globally on Red Bull TV.
Donais retired from competitive cycling in 2005 and moved to British Columbia the following year. Since 2007 he has pursued a career in financial planning. [6]
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 5.016 million as of 2018, it is Canada's third-most populous province.
Marie-Hélène Prémont is a Canadian cross-country mountain biker. She is a 6-time Canadian Champion, represented Canada twice at the Olympics, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and from 2004 to 2008 was a regular medal winner on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross country circuit.
Steve Peat, nicknamed "Sheffield Steel" or more commonly just "Peaty", is a professional downhill mountain biker who was born and lives in Chapeltown, Sheffield, England. Prior to his career as a professional mountain biker Peat was employed as a plumber by James Lamb. He is married to Adele Croxon and has two sons, Jake and George Peat.
John Tomac is an American retired professional cyclist who competed in multiple disciplines in road racing and mountain biking during a successful senior career that spanned twenty years. He is regarded as a mountain biking icon and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1991. He is a true all-rounder, having won major national and international titles in four disciplines.
Leigh Donovan is an American former professional downhill mountain bike racer and current cycling ambassador and women's mountain bike clinic instructor.
Greg Minnaar is a South African World Champion mountain bike racer competing in downhill cycling. He currently competes in the Mountain Bike World Cup points series races, in the Elite Downhill event. Minnaar is currently the most prolific winner among male professional downhill mountain bike racers, with 21 world cup career victories.
Bryn Atkinson is an Australian professional mountain bike racing cyclist from Townsville, QLD. Mother Janet, Father Graham, brother Rhys Atkinson. He started mountain biking at the age of 14 in 1996 and became a professional rider in 2002. Bryn's first introduction to the sport was through his local mountain bike club in Townsville- The Townsville Rockwheelers. Competing in several cross country type events, Bryn evolved with the sport and later found downhill. As a teenager, he moved north to Cairns, a popular location for downhill mountain biking, and host of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 1996. Glen Jacobs was the course builder for that event and several other events on the World Cup, and mentored Bryn and several other downhillers in the area.
George David Atherton, known as Gee Atherton is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill and four cross mountain bike racing, and is a multiple national champion, multiple World Cup winner, and 2010 & 2014 Downhill World Champion. He is also a rally driver and competed in his first International event in 2017 at Wales Rally GB.
Daniel Simon Atherton, known as Dan Atherton, is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill, four cross and enduro-downhill mountain bike racing, and is a former national champion of Great Britain. He began riding BMX at the age of 15 and mountain biking a year later.
Rachel Laura Atherton is a British professional downhill mountain bike racer, and is a multiple time UCI World Champion.
Tracy Marie Moseley is a British professional racing cyclist who was born in Worcester, specialising in downhill mountain bike racing. Moseley's brother, Ed, was also a mountain biker, it was after he began riding cross country mountain bike races that a race was held on their farm in 1992; this was Tracy's first competition. Her first foray into downhilling came in 1994. Moseley's first international race was the World Championships in 1995 where she finished 8th. The following year she was funded by the Jason McRoy fund, to ride a French National event at Les Menuires. Moseley continued to race with increasing success, and despite sitting her exams late due to her racing schedule, graduated with a 2:1 degree in Biological Sciences in 2000.
Aaron Holmes Gwin is an American professional downhill mountain biker from Morongo Valley, California. He is a five-time World Cup overall champion.
Joshua Antonio Torres Bryceland, known as Josh Bryceland, and commonly referred to by his nickname, Ratboy, born 23 March 1990, in Manchester is a professional downhill mountain biker, who lives in Higher Poynton, Cheshire, England.
The Santa Cruz Syndicate, is a professional mountain bike racing team sponsored by Santa Cruz Bikes, competing in the World Cup and World Championships, as well as national level events, in the downhill category. The Syndicate was founded in 2006, and its early roster included Steve Peat, Nathan Rennie, Jamie Goldman, and John Waddell. From 2008 through 2016, the team roster consisted of Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, and Josh Bryceland. After the 2016 season, Peat retired and Bryceland left the downhill circuit, leaving Minnaar as the senior member of the team. Young riders Luca Shaw and Loris Vergier joined starting with the 2017 season.
Chris Kovarik, is an Australian professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill mountain biking and four cross mountain bike racing. He is a multiple Australian national champion and multiple World Cup winner.
Claire Buchar, also known as Claire Kovarik, is a professional racing cyclist specialising in downhill mountain biking. Buchar races on the UCI World Cup circuit and is a multiple Canadian national champion in her profession and is a multiple World Cup medalist.
Danny Hart is an English downhill mountain biker who currently rides for Madison Saracen. He won the 2011 and 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Manon Rose Carpenter is a professional racing cyclist formerly specialising in downhill mountain bike racing.
Madison Saracen is a British-based UCI trade team, specialising in downhill mountain biking.
Steve Smith was a Canadian professional downhill mountain biker.
Tracey Hannah is a Professional Downhill bike rider and Mick Hannah's younger sister. She raced her first national BMX title when she was 4 years old. Tracey chose to do MTB when she saw Mick Hannah was racing down a hill very fast on an MTB camp in 1997.