Eliot Jackson has been a busy guy after retiring from World Cup DH racing. He's a Red Bull commentator, an ambassador for various cycling brands, the founder of Grow Cycling Foundation, and the organizer of a brand new event called Aspire. As you can imagine from listening to him on live broadcasts, he's a really fun guy to chat with and Alicia, Brian and I were lucky to catch up with him earlier this month before he headed to Australia to commentate at Red Bull Hardline.

Our free flowing conversation ranges from his early days as a racer and how Pinkbike founder Karl Burkat mentored him on the business aspects of the bike industry, to diversity in the bike industry and the opening of Grow Cycling Foundation's Inglewood Pump Track in Los Angeles County in California.

Episode 228 - Eliot Jackson on the Early Days of Pinkbike, Grow Cycling’s 2024 Plans, & More

A weekly update on all the latest stories from around the world of mountain biking, as well as some frank discussion about tech, racing, and everything in between. Hosted by Henry Quinney and featuring a rotating cast of the Pinkbike editorial team and other guests.

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Sarah chatted with Christopher Blevins right after he got back from his whirlwind of a trip to Brazil where he won the first Olympic cross-country race of the season. The 26-year-old American former Short Track World Champion last won a World Cup XCO back in 2021 in Snowshoe, but he came out with all cylinders firing in Brazil with the goal of qualifying for the Paris Olympics and getting as many points for the United States to secure two spots for the men's team.

From getting stung by the most poisonous caterpillar in the world, to recovering on downhills, dealing with cramps, life on Specialized Factory Racing, to what he thought of the cross-country race courses in Brazil, this was a really interesting conversation. We also got into why he switched to mountain biking from BMX, his creative pursuits outside of cycling, and being a mountain biker right now in the US.

Episode 239 : Christopher Blevins on Winning the First XC World Cup of the Year, The Olympic Qualifying Process & More

We discuss our picks for this weekend's race, explain why your season won't be as easy as you think, and who are the likely winners.

Episode 238 - Who's In Your Downhill Fantasy Team?

While Henry enjoys riding shorter travel cross-country bikes, he doesn't follow the pro circuit all that closely. In this episode, Sarah gives Henry an idiot's guide to XC and why there's more to it than meets the eye.

Episode 237 - Is World Cup XC Actually Worth Watching?

We chat about how he got into riding as a teenager, how he bounced back and forth chasing summer in the UK and New Zealand for years, his time as a World Cup mechanic, why he left GMBN, some of his endurance feats including an attempt at the FKT riding across all of New Zealand and riding 1,000,000 feet in a year, and much more. Henry's an incredibly introspective person and so this was a really interesting conversation.

Episode 236 - Getting to Know Henry Quinney

Romain Dompnier and Madison Wallinger explain what goes into a season of in-depth mountain biking coverage, the power of archetypes and how race coverage can help the sport grow.

Episode 228 - Eliot Jackson on the Early Days of Pinkbike, Grow Cycling’s 2024 Plans, & More

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