.......................................................................................................... Five minutes with ... Brandan Fairclough
It ’ s been a hectic year for the Brit downhill MTBer , mixing a tough season of racing with the release of his and Clay Porter ’ s movie : Deathgrip . So how did mixing creativity with the hard work of competition go ?
Words : Jamie Edwards ..........................................................................................................
So Brendan . It ’ s the off-season and there ’ s not been any racing for the last few weeks . How are things ?
Things have been good . I ’ m back on my bike now after a bit of a wild crash testing in Switzerland .
It was the last run of the day as always and I just lost my front wheel . At first I thought “ wow ! I must have broken something ” but all looked good . I was confused . There was no blood , nothing . I lifted up my knee pad to reveal I had a huge cut across my shin . 40 odd stitches later and a few weeks rest and I ’ m all good and enjoying the off-season .
Aside from a bit of an injury , how ’ s your year been ?
This year has been mixed . In many ways with the launch of Deathgrip and the incredible response we had from this movie it was the best year ever . I am so proud of what we achieved with Deathgrip and grateful to everyone that made this dream come true .
But at heart I ’ m a racer and racing World Cups is the most important thing to me . I want to be on that podium and this year it just didn ’ t seem to come together for me at the races .
Making a movie takes a huge amount of effort and I sometimes wonder if I was a bit burnt putting so much focus into it on top of training for World Cups . I ’ m not one to make excuses though , and at the end of the day I just didn ’ t get the results I was aiming for . But I ’ m fired up for next year and can ’ t wait .
Deathgrip was obviously a huge project . How do you feel looking back at it now it ’ s done ?
I am really proud of what myself and Clay achieved . It was a huge commitment and I can ’ t thank the crew behind it and the riders enough for everything they did to make it possible . I am probably my biggest critic and I watch it back both hyped on what we achieved but also wondering what we could have done better .
My goal was to make a movie that people watched and it just made them want to ride . The feedback I have had from people is that we did exactly that and I couldn ’ t ask for anything more .
What was the hardest thing about creating your own media project ?
I think it is just the sheer level of personal investment , not financially speaking but in terms of putting your whole life into the project .
This was a project of passion , and working with my closest friends to make it a reality is certainly an incredible experience , but it ’ s also a taxing one . I wasn ’ t just turning up to ride a pre-built course with a film crew . I was out in the desert beforehand , scouting and building the lines . You are completely accountable for the project , so you have to believe in it and have the right people around you who trust you - but also who you trust to advise , help and support you .
And the best thing about it all ?
Every time someone comes up to me who has watched the movie and tells me about their favourite section or that they were inspired to ride because of it . Hearing that is so rewarding and makes it all worthwhile .
And now it ’ s done , would you do anything differently ?
I don ’ t know . You can look back on it and criticise it for sure but if we had done something differently it wouldn ’ t be Deathgrip as we know it . I don ’ t think I would do anything differently but I have definitely learnt a lot from the experience that I will carry with me into the next project .
Will we see a Deathgrip 2 ?
I can ’ t say yes or no . I would love to continue to make content like this and if I got that opportunity again it would be incredible . For now though , I want to get back out there and back on the podium .
Let ’ s talk about racing then . How did your year go racing downhill ?
This year is one of those where it felt like the gods just weren ’ t on my side .
It started out well in qualifying at Lourdes and then the weather changed for finals . The same happened in Mount Saint Anne too . I had a mechanical in Fort William and a front puncture in Lenzerheide . It was a rollercoaster of a year . I have to not dwell on it though and use it as motivation for 2018 .
What ’ s the plan for the off-season ?
The off-season ? What ’ s that ?! ( laughing ).
Actually , it ’ s crazy . We have close to seven months until the next World Cup race . I ’ m going to continue training with Alan Milway and we will be out testing all winter long , getting the most out of the bike and ensuring myself and the Scott-Velosolutions team are ready to come out charging next year .
Last question then . What ’ s your big goal for 2018 ?
I ’ m a racer at heart and for 2018 this is my core focus . I would be lying if said I didn ’ t have a few media plans up my sleeves but honestly , after Deathgrip my focus is 100 % on the 2018 world cup season . I can ’ t wait to get out there . t