Maghera's Conor Bate planning for a successful 2016

If there was ever a sign you were destined to be a highly successful downhill mountain biker then Maghera’s Conor Bate definitely has a story worth telling.  At just two years of age he begged his father Richard to take off his stabilisers.  Despite the odd wobble Conor took off and hasn’t looked back.  Stabilisers? Conor didn’t need them back then and the Irish U16 champion has taken his bike handling to a whole new level. 

We caught up with Conor and his father Richard last week in Garvagh Forest.  It was another busy Saturday.  After a brief spin in Garvagh it was on to Rostrevor and a workout in the surrounds of Kilbroney Park.  Conor is the current Irish U16 champion and is hoping this season will take him further afield in search of his dreams.  Conor is currently completing his GCSE studies in St Patrick’s College, Maghera and hopes to continue to A-Levels although he doesn’t plan to study PE.  “I think I’ll keep my sport separate,” explains Conor.  “I hope to go into Professional Mountain Biking and hopefully make a career out of that.”

Conor has lived his entire life in Maghera but his roots are from further afield.  His father Richard’s West Midlands accent is a giveaway.  “We moved to Ireland when Conor was born.  I am a retired Fireman but now I’m a bike mechanic and kinda [looking at Conor] this man’s manager.”

“I did BMX when I was a kid and I have awards and trophies.  Even my Dad would have done cycle speed racing so it is in the blood but we haven’t pushed him,” insisted Richard.

He may not have pushed him but Richard’s early days as a bike mechanic was the beginning, albeit an unexpected one. Conor was two years old and was just after getting his first bike.  Richard takes up the story.  “Conor came in crying because his [older] friend across the road had his stabilisers taken off.  My intentions were to take Conor’s off, let him fall and say, son this is why you need them.”

Conor didn’t need them; he was simply a natural.  He took off down the road heading into the cul de sac.  Richard added, “and I thought he’ll never make the turn.  He made a couple of wobbles and never fell off and he has never had stabilisers on - so it must have been in his blood.” 

That was the beginning but what makes a two year old start the progression towards becoming an Irish Champion?  “I got a bike as you do for Christmas [aged 6] when you are young and playing out on the streets for a while.  Then Da took me to a forest for a while and I found a few wee hills and ripped about up there and just loved it.  It was so much fun.”  That was on a ‘cheap mountain bike’ but the progression continued.

“It was my birthday and I got a bit of money from family and relatives and just bought my first ‘real mountain bike’.  I started picking up magazines and found online a few websites where there told you all the information about races and the dates.  I turned up to my first one and loved it and kept racing since then.”

Racing has been good to him and he has been no stranger to the podium.  Last year Conor was Irish National Champion (U16), finished 4^th overall in the British Downhill series, was winner of the Irish Downhill series and winner of the Red Bull Foxhunt Downhill. 

Like all ambitious sportsmen Conor is already looking ahead.  He hopes to retain his Irish title but this time he is in the U18 category.  After that he is thinking toward the World Cup. His modesty is apparent, as it’s difficult to get Conor to outline exactly what he wants.

This season Conor will be moving up to junior category and will be racing in the World Cups, the British and Irish Downhill series as well as a few Gravity Enduro events.  “My goals are to consistently podium in the British Downhill Series and challenge myself by moving up to the Elite category in the Irish Downhill series.” 

In the World Cup Conor is aiming for a place among the Top 10 and in September to represent Ireland in the World Champs at Val Di Sole in Italy.

To be competing for World Cups riders must be Top 5 in their country and earn enough points to be nominated for the World Championships.  Conor’s record on the podium gives him a chance but there are small margins at stake so he will need a similar focus this season to maintain his form.

It’s difficult to fathom how fine the margin’s are but Richard puts it in a nutshell.  “He missed out one podium last year when he finished sixth but three of them split a second.  It was a four minute run down a mountain but they all split a second.  On one other occasion he came second by one hundredth of a second.”  It comes down to one pedal stroke or pulling the brake one second too early.

The rain has started to fall during our interview but Conor’s spirit certainly hasn’t dampened.  You can tell he is buzzing for the season ahead.  He is a lad totally engrossed in his sport.  The big obstacle though is sponsorship as all the travel doesn’t come cheap and many of the cycle events are planned in around family holidays.

This summer Conor aims to make good use of his passport.  “I have World Cup rounds, the first is in Lourdes, the second one is in Scotland, the third one is in Leogang (Austria), there is one in Canada and one in Australia but obviously we won’t be doing that.”

All the sponsorship and grant funding tends to be funnelled into road cycling and many see Downhill MTB as kids messing about on a bike.  Nothing is further from the truth.  These guys are serious about sport and if Downhill mountain biking makes it as an Olympic sport then circumstances will change.  For now the sponsorship is vital as trips to Italy don’t come cheap.  “We’ve got the help of Biking Dirty in Dublin.  He has gave us a cracking deal on the bike.”

Conor goes to the gym two or three times a week and watches what he eats.  “I try and eat healthy, I cut out anything that is sugary or fried and keep them as a treat.”  His brother in law is Gaelic Footballer Paul Doherty who looks after his fitness needs.  His father looks after all his bike needs leaving Conor to concentrate on his game.

Weather is never the friend of a cyclist but this is irrelevant.  “On a morning like this I just throw on a pair of waterproofs and make the best of it.  I sometimes go out after school with lights on and in the longer evenings head to Davagh or here [Garvagh] and take a wee rip around.”

The longer the conversation develops, the more interesting Conor’s story gets but we are conscious about time.  Rostrevor is calling and a day of preparation.  When Conor outlines the range of bikes it becomes more apparent how expensive this sport really is.  “I have different bikes for different disciplines.  I have my Downhill bike, my Enduro bike, a BMX and my Dirt Jumper just for playing about on.”

Conor explains that all bikes have their purpose and the BMX “is useful in skate parks which helps with bike handling and overall fitness as you are using the same muscles.”  

Despite being very athletic and football teams asking him to join, Conor was never really motivated by the team environment.  There are too many variables to success.  Mountain Biking is different; it’s him against the clock. “If I make a mistake or have a bad day it’s my fault, I can’t put the blame on anyone else, it’s all down to me.  If I do well there is no one to drag me down.”

Conor also let’s us into another aspect about the camaraderie in the sport.  Despite the fine margins the riders have a great relationship.  “What I like about it as well is we are all competing against the time and not each other.  Everyone is all really friendly, we practice with each other and basically have fun.”

Like all sports there is an element of performance analysis and despite not being allowed to wear a camera whilst racing Conor makes good use of the technology in his preparations.  “In practice I can wear my camera so I can look at all my lines [of attack] and if I make a mistake or I crashed then I’ll look back. I’ll see if I hit a stump or something I didn’t see, or I missed a line or if I was going too slow I’ll watch my head cam and learn from that.”

The obvious enthusiasm in Conor strikes you, not only that he is very talented and focussed in his sport but it is a way of life.  He get’s a kick out of it right from the age of two right up to planning his 2016 adventures.  He is also very keen to pass this on and help spread the sport, after all cycling is one of the fastest growing sports around.

 “I’d say definitely get out.  You don’t know until you try it, just go out to the local forest and if they want I’ll go out an show them the tracks.”

Young people will have a sporting hero, a person that will inspire them to greatness.  Conor’s is Josh Bryceland known in Mountain Biking circles as Rat Boy.  “Every time you see him he is always having fun. He never takes it too seriously but he’s one of the best in the world.”

Bryceland may be one of the best in the world but did he go through his entire career without stabilisers?  Maybe this is a question Conor can ask him if he rubs shoulders with him at a race in the future.  Conor’s story is a very interesting one and hopefully it’s only the beginning.  They say every great journey starts with a single step.  This sixteen year old from Maghera has already taken a few steps and who knows where they will eventually lead.

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