Finn Iles is such a well-established name on the Mercedes-Benz UCI Downhill World Cup circuit that it’s surprising to think that 2019 is only his second season as an Elite. On the other hand, it’s not surprising that he’s already at podium speed (he finished fourth at Round 2 in Fort William) when you consider how hugely successful he was in his two seasons as a Junior – he won the overall title in 2016 and 2017, as well as the World Championships in 2016.

Finn Iles Specialized Demo

The 19-year-old Canadian out of mountain biking’s North American mecca, Whistler, is flat-out fast and fearless and a true talent on any bike. But he also has a driven approach to racing, a mentor in the form of team-mate and world champion Loïc Bruni and is on one of the hardest-working teams in the sport at Specialized Gravity.

We spoke to Kevin Joly, Iles’ personal mechanic for five years and owner of the renowned bike shop, Pit Stop, to find out more about the massive amount of work that goes into perfectly setting up Iles’ World Cup bike.

Getting used to a new

bikeSpecialized Gravity is using Specialized’s latest Demo 29 bike for the 2019 race season, a bike that was in development for several years under the guidance of Iles and Bruni. With the production bike finally ready, the team went to New Zealand pre-season to put in some serious time setting it up for racing.

The team leaves nothing to chance, as Joly explains: “This winter we spent one month in New Zealand working to make the bike dialled for the World Cup season. Plus, another month of testing in France and a lot of time thinking, trying different stuff and learning how the bike should work to be at its best.”

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