Former Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion Manon Carpenter joins the podcast! Manon Carpenter sits down with Olly and Davi for an in-depth conversation about her incredible racing career. Growing up in Wales, Manon reflects on her early years immersed in mountain biking, spurred on by her dad, Jason, who founded the Dragon Downhill Series. She shares memories of helping out at races and her journey from her first race to becoming a pro rider. Manon dives into her early successes, including her first national races, inspirations, landing her first sponsors, and the remarkable achievement of finishing second in her debut Elite World Cup. Manon also opens up about her decision to step away from downhill racing during the 2017 season. She candidly discusses the challenges she faced, including the evolving tracks, the pressure to perform, the balance of risk versus reward, and her personal battle with burnout. We hope you enjoy this episode and join us next week for part 2!   This episode's sponsors & News Everybody needs a WORX Hydroshot and other power tools, right? Get 15% off all WORX tools at https://uk.worx.com when you use code THERIDECOMPANION Health is wealth folks so why not get optimised, cover your nutritional bases and probably ride better with AG1. Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D + 5 FREE travel packs at https://drinkag1.com/RIDECOMPANION   Support our long term partners - Nissan Vans: https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/primastar.html - Sign up to and follow The Race Companion: https://www.theracecompanion.com https://www.instagram.com/theracecompanion - Get 10% off Troy Lee Designs with code 'theridecompanion' at saddleback.avln.me/c/OzduCWvjtcOr - Athletic Greens: Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs at athleticgreens.com/RIDECOMPANION - Compex: Get 20% off with code ‘THERIDECOMPANION’ at compex.com/uk/ - Peak Supps: Get 10% off the TRC bundle and everything on site with code ‘theridecompanion’ at  peaksupps.co.uk - Worx: Get 15% off with code ‘THERIDECOMPANION’ at worx.com - LAKA: Get 30 days of FREE insurance with code ‘RIDECOMPANION30’ at laka.co - HKT Products: Use code ‘PODCAST’ for 10% off the entire site. Follow & Engage Olly Wilkins Instagram @odub_23 YouTube @owilkins23 The Ride Companion Instagram @theridecompanion YouTube @TheRideCompanion YouTube clips and BTS channel @moreridecompanion Get official Ride Companion merch, find old episodes and more theridecompanion.co.uk 📝 Contact Us & Business: https://theridecompanion.co.uk/pages/contact Edited By: Doug Tucker, onlyflightdispatch.com & TRC Media House #TheRideCompanion #mountainbiking #mtbpodcast