The 2018 DH season is fast approaching and teams are working overtime to get everything ready for the event. Ewen Turner talks to FSFunn team manager Harry Molloy about bikes, logistics and racers and all the work that goes into the making of a successful downhill team.

The 2018 DH Season is no longer on the distant horizon and is now approaching at speed. Soon, racing will return, and we'll be glued to our screens or maybe even lucky enough to be trackside to witness the fastest riders on the planet.

This season will no doubt be as competitive as ever over the seven rounds as they battle it out for supremacy and glory. Teams have shifted here and there as riders sort out transfers through the offseason, but the dust has settled, and riders are now firmly established in their new livery. Bikes, have been released and developed, and as always, the tech geekery will be high, and debates will rage.

This year sees a new venue and an overdue return to another, giving this season slightly fresh look. Will 29ers take over the world? Will we see Sam Hill turn up on his Enduro bike? With one new venue and a return to an old favourite, this year will no doubt keep us entertained.

To perform at the top level it's more than just riding fast (although that must help), the team is everything, without which life would be pretty hard. This year we are supporting the FSFunn Team as a way to help out a young team on the international stage and to put something back into the sport too. It’s a bit like fantasy DH, but with a lot more at stake now, we’re really excited to be working with such a talented and dynamic group of riders and we’ll he heading to the tracks as often as possible this season to cheer them on!

We catch up with racer and team manager, Harry Molloy and get some inside knowledge about running a successful team and the coming season.

Tell us about the team for this year. What is the rider line up and what have you all been up to in the offseason?

So this year Funn Components have been a lot of help to the team and are not only a title sponsor but have been taking some weight off my back too. Myself, Veronika and Bryn will remain the line-up. Bryn has been doing his thing in the New Zealand summertime, he coaches and has been doing a few edits for hot riding spots where he is based. It’s the race season over there, and he has smashed some sick results in the Downhill and Enduro scene already! Veronika is currently staying in San Diego with McKenna Merten and family. She is upping her game, training hard and living the Californian dream!

We are a couple of months away from the start of the season. What are you up to at the moment, and what work goes into the off-season, both management and prep as a racer?

Crazy, has it come around already? For me, the skids and wheelies have been a lot colder, and roosting dust can be replaced with waves of muddy water. I’ve been juggling the balance of training and managing the team. This is only the teams second season, and after a cracking first, I have been working with our sponsors and negotiating with some more of our dream brands to work with. I’ve been testing and training of course too, and I’m not the kind of guy to give you the ‘well… there’s not as much time these days’ kinda excuse. It does mean that the time for sleep has taken a bit of a hit.

What's the recipe for a successful downhill team? Is it enough just to have fast riders?

In my opinion, the ingredients for a tasty recipe can be made a lot of different ways. On our menu we have a quintessentially British pork pie to start, a strong New Zealand leg of Lamb for main and a beautiful yet punchy Italian Tiramisu to finish. Heston Blumenthal made his award-winning pork pie from ice cream, and I think the recipe for a downhill team is also left to the imagination and of course support! 2017 saw us on TV racing against Olympians in Canary Wharf, London, drifting down active volcanoes in Sicily for MET, racing through the streets of Grasse, France and even featured on the Val di Sole World Cup poster. Bryn contributed his first top 20 World Cup result to the list of ingredients last year, and speed is paramount to a team. The support from sponsors is a big part of the recipe in more ways than financially. This industry is full of passionate and innovative characters and collectively brought together make one heck of a dish.

You race and manage the team, is this difficult to balance?

Yes and no… it’s a joy most of the time choosing the brands that we want to promote as a team. As much as I am the guy to bring everyone together, we are a very open team, and I don’t just call the shots… We work collectively on which events to attend, brands to promote, some admin of course and even down to what we want for dinner at the races. There’s no ‘i’ in team, and ten heads are better than one.

Talk us through a typical World Cup race, from arrival to the finals. What are the key events and what do you have to get right and do well? (Other than just going fast)

We arrive the day before, set up the pits, do the food shopping, check-in and unload Tony (our Transit from @HendyGroup).

Day 2 is pretty chilled… I go and sign us on in the morning, we walk the track in the afternoon go for a skid around to loosen up. Choose a good all-round tyre; High Rollers or Shortys, maybe hide Bryn’s chocolate milk and see if he kicks off when I say I drunk it. Receive the inevitable Insta filter advice from Veronika (after its posted)… that's about it really.

Day 3 is all go! Time to ride bikes fast from here on for the next few days. This can go both ways from here on; you’ve got to love the good days but also there comes the not so good ones, that's racing bikes. On Quali and Race days it's not a good idea to hide the chocolate milk, and we all just crack on. Hopefully, we are all stoked at the end of it and can celebrate.

Everyone has their individual quirks, and special touches, how fussy are you as racers and how do you and the team approach bike set up?

I am really fussy when I can hear any noises of chain slap etc. on my bike. In terms of set up, after the Fox testing last year, I pretty much kept it that way. Bryn is pretty particular about his bike set up and changes it slightly to suit each track. Veronika has ridden out of the pits on my XL bike before and come back saying something feels odd… haha, I am joking… she is actually pretty particular too.

What does the team never travel without? Do you have any strange, quirky habits or any crazy pop-star demands?

Hmmm… so as I have mentioned, Bryn is partial to the chocy milk; it has its own bloody holder in Tony (the van). Bryn's track walk featuring kinder surprise star, “Turbo Tim”, who is always road-tripping with us. A few packs of Blockhead energy gum are pretty key to keep us all going on those too. If Bryn or I have forgotten something, Veronika seems to travel with 'the kitchen sink’ so we ask her first… Bryn borrowed Veronika's straighteners in Andorra last year… I think I have some evidence of that for when I need it!

The year sees a new venue in the form of Lošinj, Croatia and a return to the French classic of La Bresse. What can we expect from these venues? Will they cover anything new and different?

I have got to say I am absolutely buzzing about the return of La Bresse. I have no idea if it will be the same track that Greg took the win on in 2011 but that was foot to the floor and definitely wild! I think its great to start the season off at a completely new World Cup venue and I think Lošinj will really mix things up. I’ve heard it’s very rocky, on the shorter side of tracks and finishes sprinting through the streets sounds like a good move to me, let's see!

Do you and the team have a favourite venue and why?

Val di Sole is pretty hot on the team's favourites. Val di Sole (the Valley of Sun) brings its obvious perks to the table. As a venue its one of the best organised, best pit areas, best track, best gelato and best pizzas… At the finals last year, Bryn got his first top 20 result. It is Veronikas straight up favourite, and she’s had a 7th place there, and I’ve had a 25th too… It's a place we all have a little something more for.

29ers made their debut last year on downhill bikes, with more tyres now available do you think this will become the norm for 2018 and those on 650b be at a disadvantage?

If you’re rolling with 27.5” then the extra 1.5” in my opinion isn’t going to make a difference. The winners of last year were pretty mixed, so I think the proof is in the pudding already.

With blurred lines between enduro bikes and downhill bikes, will we see more variety of bikes at races? Will anyone else pull a 'Sam Hill’?

The alleged frosted window between the two bikes is quite clear to me. Enduro bikes are absolutely stunning and these days, way more than just a compromise. Take the new YT Capra for example; it’s the winner of the Formula 1 series in a playful supercar. The Tues is the ultimate; no expense spared F1 machine but my god you can shred their supercar!

Other than your own riders, who do you think will be the dominant forces to reckon with this year?

Cecile Ravanel came from XC, has dominated the EWS and now maybe even fancies her chances at WC Downhill… whether she could affect the clear leaders from 2017, Tahnee and Myriam is a long shot but who knows. There has been a lot of movement across the teams for 2018 and for the men’s this year I’ve got a feeling that there is going to be even more in the results. I wouldn’t be confident enough to say, but I have my thoughts for sure.

Who should we be looking out for in the juniors this year?

Valentina Höll will be undoubtedly the woman to watch through her transition to the world cups. She’s got what it takes, and it will be very interesting to see where she will sit amongst the Elite field too! With Finn Iles, Matt Walker and Joe Breeden moving up to Elite, its time for the next group to shine through.

Do you feel that the World Cup could be more true to the word, 'World' and visit more continents?

I think it would be good yes, the sport is growing, and in many ways, I think this would also help it grow further.

What's your opinion on the new qualifying rules for 2018? Can you explain the new rules and how this will this affect racers?

So for 2017, the ladies were cut down from 20 to 15 qualifiers and this year will be the men from 80 to 60. The points needed to attend a World Cup was raised from 20 to 40 too, and through last season already the numbers have dropped in terms of racers. Times are changing, and it is becoming more of an Elitist program. I am neither for or against this movement; there are arguments both directions that it could help the sport grow and a reverse effect… I am pretty sure that's the reason behind it though, we are in a transitional period for World Cup downhill right now and I just wish the best for the sport.

More competitive than ever, the DH Season is packed with events once again this season, from the elite level World Cups, to the fast paced European events like the iXS Downhill World Cup and Crankworx. With fresh venues, new teams and plenty of new bikes 2018 has the potential to be a vintage year of downhill racing.

Thanks to Harry and the FSFUNN Team proudly supported by IMB.

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By Ewen Turner
Ewen Turner is a self-confessed bike geek from Kendal in the Lake District of England. He runs a coaching and guiding business up there and has a plethora of knowledge about bikes with an analytical approach to testing. His passion for bicycles is infectious, and he’s a ripper on the trails who prefers to fit his working life around his time on the bike.

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