50 minutes of Reece Wilson: The Flying Scotsman

Only one more week to go (yessssssssss!) until the Downhill World Cup season kicks off in Lourdes, France. To help tide us all over until the pre-race coverage begins in earnest in a few days, here’s a 50 minute film detailing Reece Wilson’s 2021 season.

Armed with a point to prove, along with a new nickname, The Flying Scotsman, Reece had something of a topsy-turvy, roller coaster ride of a race season.

After becoming World Champ in 2020, Wilson was all set to establish himself as the man to beat. He had the talent, and crucially, a new found confidence, but… a vocal online commentary discounted his win.

Sleeper Co quote: “In such a pressured environment such as World Cup DH, this is important as when the highs are high we can share the thrill, but when the lows arrive, we can be trusted with a rider’s innermost thoughts. We had no idea how the story would pan out when we began filming, but such is the beauty of a sport with so many variables, there inevitably ends up being a story of intrigue to tell. And so it was throughout 2021.”

Reece Wilson quote: “Ironically, this film was never planned by myself, Max or Glen. We had agreed that Sleeper Co would do their very best to archive as much footage from the year as possible so we could make a short video recapping the season’s events. As you’ll see when you watch it, you can’t plan out professional sports that have this many variables… you can only document what you see and hope you’re gifted with a compelling story to tell. The 2021 season ended up being one of my wildest ones yet. This film takes you through that in its entirety as I go from the lowest lows to the highest highs. It’s equally exciting as it is nerve racking for me to put something with this much detail out into the world but it’s really highlighted to me how much I develop and change throughout the experiences of a race season. I hope this film helps shed some light on the completely invisible, but critically important aspect of World Cup racing; the mental game.”

While you’re here…

Ben Haworth

Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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