Sam Hill (mountain biker)

Sam Hill

Sam Hill winning the 2009 Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom event
Personal information
Full name	Samuel Hill
Born	July 21, 1985 (1985-07-21) Viveash, Australia
Team information
Discipline	Mountain Bike
Role	Rider
Rider type	Downhill
Medal record Competitor for Australia Mountain Bike World Championships Gold 2010 Mont Saint Anne Downhill Bronze 2008 Val di Sole Downhill Gold 2007 Fort William Downhill Gold 2006 Rotorua Downhill Silver 2005 Livigno Downhill Bronze 2004 Les Gets Downhill
Infobox last updated on May 25, 2009

Sam Hill (born 21 July 1985) in Viveash, WA, is an Australian professional downhill mountain biker. He was two time consecutive UCI World Downhill Champion during years 2006-2007 for Iron Horse racing team. . He won the 2010 world championships in Mont Saint Anne, riding for the Monster Energy Specialized team on a Specialized Demo 8 II. He also won the 2007 and 2009 UCI Elite Mens Downhill World Cup (Overall). He is currently riding for Team Monster Energy Specialized.

Early Riding Career

In 2001, aged 16 years old, Sam Hill first came into the international mountain bike racing scene, attending his first overseas race traveling Canada and the USA. He came third at the Vail World Championships in the Under 19(Junior) Downhill event.

In 2002 he won the Under 19 Australian Championships. The same year he was crowned Junior Downhill World Champion, coming first at the World Championships in Kaprun, Austria.

In 2003, at just 18, Sam hill in the Elite category won both the Australian and Oceania Downhill Championships. He then went on to successfully defend his Junior World Champion title in Lugano, Switzerland.

He starred in the 2010 mountain bike movie Follow Me.

Riding Style

Sam Hill is known for his skill in riding steep, technical courses as opposed to flatter courses that require pedaling. He has regularly won on the steepest, most technical track on the World Cup Circuit, Schladming. His famous run in Champery is also testament to his remarkably high skill level on technical courses.

Notable Races

2003 Downhill World Championships, Lugano, Switzerland At the time Sam was only 18 years of age and still in the junior class (Under 19). He went into this race as the favourite to win the junior title. The track was also perfect for Sam's style, steep and technical. Eric Carter, the mtb legend saw Sam riding for the first time at this race and said of him, "He went through a section so fast, and it was so rocky and muddy and loose, that I couldn't understand... how he made his bike do what it did". During his race run he had a crash but still managed to walk away with the junior title, but somewhat surprisingly he came third out of all the times on the day. If he had stayed on he would have surely beaten Greg Minaar for the fastest time and the Senior Mens World Title at the age of 18.

2007 World Cup round 2, Champéry, Switzerland After placing fifth at round one in Vigo, Spain, all eyes were glued on Sam Hill in round two. The extremely steep and technical track seemed almost tailor made for the young Australian. All seemed to be going well for Hill when he qualified in first place early on race day, besting the second place qualifier by over 14 seconds! Hill was looking confident for Finals. However, with approximately 30 riders left to set off, on arguably the most dangerous course the world cup series has seen in many years, the skies opened up. It had rained every day at this time the whole weekend, but not this hard. Riders who qualified in the top ten, were seen finishing in the late forties, early fifties. When last man to down the track, Hill, set off, no one could believe their eyes. The World Champion at the time was ripping down the track faster than top riders were riding it in the bone dry, perfect conditions. Hill's split time was faster than second place (Steve Peat, who raced in the dry), but a fall later in his run meant the Aussie ended up in a very respectable third position, just 1.63sec off first place rider Matti Lehikoinen, who also completed his final run in the dry. Hill's run will go down in history as one of the greatest runs in the wet, if not one of the greatest ever. Dan Atherton later quoted "He showed us all that it ain't over, 'till its truly over". Further, eventual winner Matti Lehikoinen stated after the race "I played the tactics (referring to a 20 second pause in his practice run, ensuring a lower qualifying position to avoid any unfavourable weather changes), but Sam is the winner of the day. No questions". Steve Peat said "Sam is the King - give him the crown." Despite his remarkable and certainly unmatched talent for riding in unfavorable conditions, Sam admits that he rarely rides in the rain. In an interview with Steve Jones of Dirt Magazine featured in the film 'Earthed 5: The Law of Fives', when asked if he ever rides in the rain Sam replied "I don't even see raindrops in Australia" and "No, my bike gets muddy".

2008 Downhill World Championships, Val di Sole, Italy Sam Hill came into this race the reigning world champion. With four riders left on the hill Sam Hill started his final run. At the split he was five seconds up and no one could believe how fast he was going, even the commentator, Rob Warner, a former world level racer. Rob Warner yelled "Look how fast he's going!", "It looks like the film has been speeded up!". Sam was estimated 10 seconds up when he hit the final left hand turn at the bottom of the track. He pulled one of his classic drift turns around the corner but as he straightened up on exit his bike suddenly washed out from under him. He got straight back on his bike but it had cost him his lead and he finished 0.5 of a second behind eventual second place Steve Peat.

2010 Downhill World Championships, Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada

Results

2001

3rd Place Junior Downhill - Vail, Co, USA Age 16

2002

Junior World Champion Downhill - Kaprun, Austria Age 17

2003

Junior World Champion Downhill - Lugano Switzerland Age 19

2004

3rd Place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2004, Downhill - Les Gets, France

2nd Place, Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2004, Downhill

3rd Place: Fort William UCI World Cup DH

4th Place: Les 2 Alpes, France UCI World Cup DH

3rd Place: Schladming UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: Mont Saint Anne UCI World Cup DH

3rd Place: Livigno, Italy UCI World Cup DH

2005

2nd Place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2005, Downhill - Livigno, Italy

2nd Place, Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2005, Downhill

1st Place: Schladming, Austria UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Pila, Italy UCI World Cup DH

2006

1st place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2006, Downhill - Rotorua, New Zealand

2nd Place, Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2006, Downhill

1st Place: Fort William, Scotland UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Schladming, Austria UCI World Cup DH

2007

1st place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2007, Downhill - Fort William, Scotland

1st Place Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Downhill

5th Place: Vigo, Spain UCI World Cup DH

3rd Place: Champery, Switzerland UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Schladming, Austria UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Maribor, Slovenia UCI World Cup DH

2008

3rd Place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2008, Downhill - Val di Sole, Italy

2nd Place, Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2008, Downhill

1st Place: Maribor, Slovenia UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Bromont, Canada UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: Schladming, Austria UCI World Cup DH

2009 - Specialized/Monster Energy Team

5th Place, UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2009, Downhill - Canberra, Australia

1st Place Overall, Overall UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2009, Downhill

4th Place: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: La Bresse, France UCI World Cup DH

31st Place: Vallnord, Andorra UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: Fort William, Great Britain UCI World Cup DH

2nd Place: Maribor, Slovenia UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Mt Sainte Anne, Canada UCI World Cup DH

3rd Place: Bromont, Canada UCI World Cup DH

1st Place: Schladming, Austria UCI World Cup DH

2010 - Specialized/Monster Energy Team

1st Place: UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2010, Downhill - Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

5th Place: Maribor, Slovenia UCI World Cup DH

13th Place: Windham, USA UCI World Cup DH

2011 - Specialized/Monster Energy Team

8th Place: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa UCI World Cup DH

9th Place: Fort William, Scotland UCI World Cup DH

5th Place: Leogang, Austria UCI World Cup DH