Sunday 09 September 2018 5:24 pm

Day in the life: Freeride mountain biker Sam Pilgrim

I don’t do anything like a typical athlete would.

I get up, eat and then slowly decide what I’m going to do that day, as I make videos.

I then head out to the woods in Essex, where I’m based, with whatever bike I’m using. I film YouTube videos, which can take all day, and then once I’m home I’ve got to edit it.

But I also compete in Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour events, so I’m travelling a lot. Most recently I’ve been away to Vigo in northern Spain. The practice at that event didn’t start until 5pm and I didn’t eat until midnight, so I’d wake up at 1pm to conserve energy. It was spun on its head there, but it varies from event to event.

The gaps in between events differ because I pick and choose which ones I want to enter, as I’ve been doing it for 10 years. I can still keep up with the younger guys, but I compete more for the fun of it now.

I don’t work out like other athletes do. I don’t train, because that makes you think it’s not fun, which is something I want to avoid. However, the fun stuff I do is still bike riding, but I don’t call it training.

Sam Pilgrim was Freeride Mountain Bike world champion in 2013 (Source: Haibike)

I keep ‘bike fit’ but I can’t run. I am only fit at my sport. It doesn’t feel like working out because I do it every day. I hate going to the gym. I’d rather be outside.

I have a training area at home in a field, which is a homemade track and ramp leading to a gigantic airbag for landing on. That’s as close to training as I get. You can practice your hardest tricks without risking injury.

When I’m competing I want to go to an event with as many tricks under my belt as possible. I can then decide when on the course and throughout the contest which I need to pull out to beat my competitors.

I don’t have a preset routine, but I study the course so I can get an idea which tricks I will do.

YouTube has taken over my life. I do three videos per week and if I don’t do one I feel like I’ve not achieved anything. It makes me go out and try different things. As a result I’m out more now than when I was winning contests all the time earlier in my career.

Sam Pilgrim has been competing for over 10 years (Source: Haibike)

It’s different stuff now. I recently took on an electric bike company as a sponsor, which has presented new challenges. It’s good fun but it’s caused a lot of commotion in the mountain bike world.

There are so many tricks and the level is so high, which means I still feel like I’m learning the same ones. You need to be confident with them as they’re still scary to do. That’s where the airbag comes in.

I still try to learn new tricks, but at this level it’s hard to do so. I am fortunate to have not hurt myself too badly, but I did lose my front tooth face-planting in my home town skate park.

Sam Pilgrim is a Haibike ambassador and rides a Haibike XDURO