As a former UCI World Cup competitor Chris Ball knows all about the cutting edge of downhill racing. As well as coaching the Scottish national downhill team, Chris runs his own MTB tuition company Dirt School. He has drawn on his knowledge of the sport and contacts with leading riders to author a new MTB skills and technique guide: Mountain Biking: The Manual

How did writing the book come about?
It was 2008 and I was standing in the rain under a tree next to a dirt jump when Wavefinder phoned me up and asked me to do it as part of their manual series. I’d been working in the industry for a while and developed a lot of training programs up in Scotland. I also work closely with the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale, mountain biking’s governing body) so I think it was a combination of things which got me the job.

This was your first attempt at writing a book. Did enjoy it?
I did actually, yeah. I holed myself way in the Scottish borders at a desk for six weeks. I learnt a lot and it was great to see it all come together.

Before you started coaching you were also a world-class racer. What made you stop racing and start coaching?
I was competing for a long time and then continued racing alongside studying for a degree in sports science and then fell into coaching really. I got a knee injury and it sidelined me so then I started working with Ruaridh Cunningham. He went on to be junior world champion and I went from there.

Is there a part of you that wishes you were lining up at the start line rather than watching or coaching from the sides?
With the coaching I get a different thing out of it. I get enjoyment from seeing the guys I work with do well, so it’s different. I’m not competing, but I don’t feel the need to compete anymore. I’m still heavily involved in the sport.

What does your role as a technical delegate with the UCI involve?
I’m like a liaison between the event organisers and the UCI – I make sure the tracks run well for the riders at all the World Cup events and also use my technical expertise to make sure that the course is safe.

This must give you great access to the riders – that must have been incredibly useful when writing the book?
Yeah, it’s a big help. Obviously I know all the guys, I’m working trackside with them when they are competing. Being able to go back stage and behind the scenes and see how the guys warm up and what they need before they race gives me a very thorough understanding – much deeper than what you would receive from working in the media and the restraints they have on them. I’ve also coached guys at the highest level and that gives me an all round understanding of the sport which offered a great insight when it came to writing the manual.

There are sections in the book on nutrition and psychology. How important are these factors to a modern rider?
I think a lot of normal riders could learn a lot of really basic things to make their riding more enjoyable. There’s a lot of knowledge out there – some of which I picked up during my sport and exercise degree – which is involved in cross country, and is starting to come into downhill. These are techniques which are already being used in rugbv and most major sports. Really simple things like psychology, nutrition, making sure you eat the right amount of the right food. The basic riders don’t have to be measuring amounts of food and drink like the top riders and it’s not meant to be an academic text book, but I tried to write the book to get the message across that the basic rider who’s just out and about can get a really good overview of the things they should be doing health wise to increase the level of their riding.

What would you say you enjoy the most: riding, coaching or your role with the UCI?
I really like being outside and active. I like having an active role in trying to develop the sport and seeing it change and instigating and facilitating change within mountain biking is what I enjoy the most. Whether that’s an athlete going faster, or making them happier riders or more comfortable – that’s what I enjoy the most.

Over 20,000 spectators watched the recent UCI event at Fort William. Would you say that mountain biking is more popular than ever?
Yeah, I’m always amazed at how popular it’s getting. Every week at the different events there’s a larger range of people: guys with there sons, wives and mums. It’s a wide ranging sport with a range of abilities and backgrounds. One guy said to me that he loves it because it’s the only sport he can do with his son and I think that sums it up why it is increasingly popular.

Your history and expertise is in downhill racing but all types of mountain biking are featured in the book. Do you have a favourite trick?
Not so much. I really enjoy making things flow. I love the feeling of effortless riding – that’s the most enjoyable part for me. Something I always try and teach people to do is carry the speed and flow through the route.

Have you got a top tip for somebody who’s a complete novice?
Read the book!

Some the photos in the manual are quite breathtaking particularly the images of the back flips. Can you do a back flip on a bike?
(Laughs) No, I’m afraid I can’t! I had to rely quite heavily on the guys who can. To be honest, if you want to do a back flip you’re going to try and do one whether or not you’ve read the book. I’m not sure a book can teach you the bravery needed! I want the book to be inspirational so people could look at that stuff and maybe if they’re only using the manual to find out tips on what energy bars to eat or how to go round a corner properly but at least they are getting a bit of an insight into what the guys at the top do. The book gives people an insight into how to pull off the amazing tricks which people see on the internet and then at least they can look them up in the manual, understand the moves a bit more, and then maybe give them a go once they’ve got some more confidence in their ability.

Mountain Biking the Manual is published by Wavefinder and is available now.

Well, the riders got the weather they were looking for out at Val di Sole over the weekend and that resulted in a fast, dry track. Marc Beaumont won the main race event with Greg Minnaar coming second and Gee Atherton third. The fact that Atherton qualified in first place combined with his third place finish in the race means that he scrapes past Minnaar in the overall rankings and now leads by the slim margin of just 7 points. Which all makes for a sensationally exciting finish to the season later this month in Windham, NY.

In the meantime, here’s a wrap up of the action:

Val Di Sole: Race Day >>

The UCI downhillers are in Val di Sole, Italy this weekend for Round 5 of the World Cup. Sounds like everyone is fed up with washing wet, muddy clothes and are really all hoping for a dry weekend. Anyway, should be a cracker with just 13 points separating current rankings leader Greg Minnaar from 2nd placed Gee Atherton.

Here’s the latest from DirtTV, with a walk down the track …

DirtTV:Val di Sole WC#5 Track Walk >>

In Champery this weekend, Gee Atherton won for the second time this season to close to within just 13 points of Greg Minnaar, who finished second.

The 1,500m course was deluged with rain during qualifying but slowly started drying during the race. However, this only seemed to make things worse with the mud thickening and clinging to the bikes.

“It was really tough,” said Atherton. “You know, some races you really enjoy, and others it’s a battle the whole time. This I was just fighting the whole way, the run was hard work; it was like a battle from top to bottom. It was a matter of just finding that line, hanging it out and having it pinned, and not pushing too hard and crashing. I guess I was right on that line and right on the limit the whole time. I was half crashing all the way down the hill, just holding on, and luckily I got it dialed.”

Greg Minnaar continues to lead the World Cup standings with 830 points but Gee is only 13 points back with two races to go. Highlights after the ad:

MPORA Action Sports >>

All the top MTB downhill riders are in Champery, Switzerland this weekend for the latest round of the UCI World Cup. Back in 2007 this was the scene of Sam Hill’s epic run in the wet. Here’s how Chris Ball describes it in an excerpt from his new MTB skills book:

“It looks like the finals of the 2007 World Cup in Champery will be on dry trails in mountain sunshine. Mid afternoon rolls in and all hell breaks loose. Torrential rain and storms smash into the mountain and the course goes from tough but dry to a near impossible river-cut run down the sheer mountainside. That day, the young Australian Sam Hill rode as though it was dry. His attack mode found grip where there shouldn’t have been any and he placed a time that beat most of the guys who’d come down in the dry. That moment changed many people’s perspectives on what can actually be done with a modern mountain bike. A lot of the younger guys, riding similar set-ups to Hill, suddenly found out just how far it can be pushed.”

Hill is currently 4th in the UCI rankings closely followed by current World & British National Champion Steve Peat. Greg Minnaar is leading the way and will be looking to stretch his lead from 2nd placed Gee Atherton.

Here’s a look at the course from Thursday practice from the guys at Dirt TV:

Dirt TV: Champery Thursday Practice >>

The British Mountain Bike Championships were held this past weekend in Scotland’s beautiful Ae Forest. With rain affecting the course throughout the whole day the conditions were tough, but nobody could match the time set by Peaty, despite having ridden with a badly cut arm which he picked up on a previous run. He won his ninth national title, finishing ahead of Gee Atherton (Commencal) and fellow Santa Cruz Syndicate rider Josh Bryceland.

Jess Stone won the women’s downhill event, with Katy Curd second and Helen Gaskell coming in third.

Here’s a great video round up from the guys over at Wideopen Magazine featuring a fair few face spills.

MPORA Action Sports >>

The top three riders – Steve Peat, Gee Atherton & Josh Bryceland – all feature heavily in Chris Ball’s new book “Mountain Biking The Manual”, available now for pre-order.

Episode Five of The Atherton Project kicks off in Vernon, New Jersey for the US Open. It’s a constantly changing, notoriously challenging track … and then it’s off to Fort William, where Gee blitzed the trail and won Round 2 of the UCI DH.

The Megavalanche 2010 will be running in Alpe d’Huez across the weekend of 9-11th July. Many of the world’s best MTB downhillers will be navigating a 30km, 2,000m vertical drop, starting at the snowy peak of Pic Blanc and finishing in the flowery meadows of Allemont less than an hour later.

Check out the highlights below from 2009’s event, featuring interviews with Chris Kovarik, Ruaridh Cunningham and photographer Sven Martin,who are all also major contributors to Chris Ball’s new book on mountain biking.