On the infamously steep and tech Val di Sole, Italy, course at the World Championships in 2008, Sam Hill was absolutely on fire. His speed through the technical sections was just indescribable, truly on another level.

Hill was about 10 seconds up and heading for the race win when he launched off the ski jump into the finish arena with just two easy corners to go. I was standing on the outside of the bend hoping for a classic Sam drift shot, but when his front wheel washed out and he went down I could not believe my eyes. I just mashed the shutter button as hard as I could and tried to keep the photo framed. The world moved in slow motion as everyone screamed for Sam to get back on the gas.

Sam jumped back on, but with his bike in the hardest gear, he crossed the line 0.5 seconds behind Steve Peat. Gee Atherton came down and took gold. But the run of the weekend was definitely Hill’s.