From racing his first (BMX) World Championships aged eight to winning the Downhill World Cup overall title as a first-year Junior and then bagging his first Elite podium in 2023, Ethan Craik’s packed a lot into his 22 years on this planet.
That's especially impressive when you consider Craik has had his share of bad injuries.
Tom and Rob caught up with the Hampshire-born racer for the MBUK Podcast – here’s what they learned…
He started young – really young
“My dad raced mountain bikes, motocross, anything on two wheels really, and my mum did horse riding. So, it was horses or mountain bikes, and I chose bikes.
“I first got into BMX racing. That was at three years old, and I started racing at four or five. The local BMX track was 10 minutes away, so we’d go there any time we could get dad to drive us down.
“At six, I started racing nationals, and quickly got pretty decent at it. I ended up winning six National Championships, and then getting onto the Olympic development team at 13 years old. [Before that] my first World Championships was in Copenhagen, and I got into the final.
“I was eight years old, and the only one on flat pedals. Dad didn’t want me on clipless pedals when I was that young.”
He was bored with BMX as a teen
“I plateaued a bit with enthusiasm, really. [In BMX] every other week, you just go and ride the same track.
“So, I got really bored with it… I quit at 15. I’ve always ridden mountain bikes, and that was the fun activity, and BMX was – well, got to be – the boring activity. So, [moving to mountain bikes] was the natural choice for me.
“I did one year [2017] where I did both, raced the [British Downhill Series] national at Hopton [Woods, Shropshire] and won it. I was like, ‘Might as well do that then!’.”
MTB is a lot friendlier than BMX
“They’re all extremely friendly, everyone in the World Cup pits talks to each other. In BMX, everyone hates everyone, because if you take someone out [while racing] they want to punch you.
“There are some families I never talked to because I knew they hated me. Someone punched me at the finish line – that’s how it is, because you’re next to each other [on the track], whereas in mountain biking, you’re against the clock.”
There’s lots of crossover between the two sports
“Keeping your speed [by] pumping is the main one, I was never afraid of jumps. And just general bike handling.
“It took a little bit of time to get used to proper root and rock gardens, and going to the big tracks [compared to the two-minute runs he’d grown up racing] was a bit of a shock.
“[The fitness needed for mountain biking] was a lot more full-body, because in BMX you use your legs, you sprint out of the gate, you sprint around the track, but that’s about it. In mountain biking, you use your whole body the whole time, and especially your core.”
His junior World Cup series win was a surprise
“I didn’t believe it, really. I’d won two days before [at 2020’s third round in Lousã, Portugal], but then we had the second race there [the season was shortened to four races across two venues due to COVID] and I was just racing – there was nothing in my mind about the overall.
“We were doing all the calculations at the bottom of where Oisin [O’Callaghan, winner of the first two rounds] needed to finish [to take the overall win], and I think he got a flat, and I was just like, ‘What?!’.
“I was looking over and they were doing the maths, and they were like, ‘Yeah, you’ve got it’.
“Because the year before, I’d literally finished one race [due to breaking both arms], I had no perception of where I’d be nationally, let alone [compared to] World Cup riders. Going into that, I never expected to be winning.”
He's getting over his worst-ever injury
“I pulled my Achilles [tendon] off my foot, which wasn’t ideal. They normally snap, but mine just pulled off the bone [ruptured] instead.
“It was a bit better for healing, but still not ideal. I had an op two weeks after, had three months sort of immobilised, then started physio and now I’m sort of back riding again.
“It was in Morzine [that it happened], the day after the Les Gets World Cup. In the first corner, right at the top, the front wheel slid, and my toe landed first, and bent up and sideways.
“I instantly knew [the injury was serious]. I’d never had that amount of pain before – I almost passed out.
“[There] was 20 minutes of screaming, and then the pain went, and I was like, ‘Okay, adrenaline’s here, might as well get down [the hill] now!’ I got lifted back on the bike and pushed to the lift. It was cheaper [than a medevac]!”
He has a secret passion off the bike
“I’m probably going to get a lot of stick for this, but Lego, I like doing that. I have taken some [to races, to help wind down].
“I bought a mini [Lego] F1 car in America, and getting it back here, loads of bits fell off, and it took longer to find out where they fitted than it did to build it in the first place.”
