See this article and others in Hurly Burly 2023.

Words: Wyn Masters || Photo: Sven Martin

The Privateer Project started in 2023, and it’s been a great year to build it and see it come to life. Before we dig into it, I’ll better explain what the Project entails and why I wanted to develop it.

This Project is an extension of the Privateer Award, which I created in 2019, a cash award I gave to the fastest privateer riders at each World Cup race of the season on my WynTV post-race show. This began with crowdfunding the money via GoFundMe. Over time, it grew with support from some of my sponsors, starting with Shimano, who got behind it to the point where I gave away €2,500 per race to the fastest privateers.

Some of the more notable winners of that award include Camille Balanche, who, four years ago, was sleeping in her van in the pits at the Lenzerheide World Cup to save money but managed to finish fifth that weekend. She became a World Champion, multiple World Cup winner, consistent top three finisher and one of the best female racers of all time. Stories like that are one of the great things in our sport and what sets it apart from many others.

My motivations to support privateer riders stem from my road to becoming a professional rider, which started in 2008 and my first World Cup season. Prior to that, I had to move from my home country, New Zealand, to Cairns, Australia, to work labouring jobs and in the mines, as those jobs were better paid there. It was the only viable way to fund my trip to Europe and spend four months living out of my bag to race my first World Cup season.

I flew alone to Lisbon, Portugal, for my first races of the season. A friend of a friend, Bruno, was the only person I knew. He helped me out by taking me to that first event in Gouveia. As I was never one of the ‘Vanzacs’, did not have a van and was travelling alone, I was forced to introduce myself to everyone I met for lifts to and accommodation at the next events. There were a few people who helped me out along the way. That little help from each really went a long way for me at the time. I even remember Jason Marsh sneaking some new brakes from his team onto my bike after another brand’s ‘race support’ refused to fix my older ones. He also tried to bail me out of jail, but that’s a story for another day. These small gestures helped a great deal and truly made a difference.

So, now, 16 years into my career, to be able to return the favour and be a small part of some riders’ journey is something very special to me. Nothing is better than seeing people get out there, chase their dreams and make them happen for themselves. I am glad to be able to give back and help them realise their potential. I love nothing more than seeing the underdog taking on some of the top pros. It is the modern-day version of David vs Goliath. One of the best things about our sport is that anyone from anywhere in the world can pack up their bike in a box, fly across the globe and take on the sport’s best. If it goes well for them, they can become professionals and live out their dreams.

I remember spending many days either on a rainy worksite or inside a mining mill doing a 12-hour shift covered in rock dust head to toe, just dreaming of what I could be doing and my end goal. I truly am lucky that it all worked out for me. I am now eight years into riding for GT Bicycles, the brand that made the first mountain bike I owned. Even better, GT is backing me to help others chase their dreams.

So congratulations to all the riders we have selected to have on board our Privateer Project in 2023: Roger Vieira, Taylor Vernon, Ian Gionnet, Luke Mumford, Dani Castellanos, Josh Anslow (‘Joshy Frotha’), Connor Finnis, Chris Philogene and Léo Grisel. We have given them full support at one of the eight races of the World Cup season. They get the full experience of what it is like to be a rider on a factory team, having a mechanic, a catering team and even a brand-new GT Fury to race on.

Massive thanks to GT, Continental, Shimano, FSA, Yoshimura, Fox and Crankbrothers for making this possible.

I look forward to building up the Project and watching some of these riders realise their dreams.

If you enjoy reading this, you should check out the Hurly Burly. It’s got many features like it, plus round-by-round accounts of the UCI Downhill World Cup and pore over hundreds of the best images of the season in Hurly Burly Book.