Mountain Biking: Young Canadian gets on his bicycle

Canadian teenage slopestyle star Anthony Messere in action. Photo / Shutterdreams

School is out and total free mountainbiking in for one of Canada's slope style stars Anthony Messere.

The 18-year-old lines up in Rotorua's five-day Crankworx mountainbike festival starting on Wednesday, when the competition will include his top-ranked compatriots Brandon Semenuk and Brett Rheeder.

Messere, the world No 3, is still so young he travels to overseas events with his mum or aunty. Having just finished school, though, he is ready to up the ante in this high-octane world where no petrol is required, a high-flying BMX meets X-Games deal. Messere, the first of the overseas stars to arrive, chats with the Herald on Sunday.

For the uninitiated, how would you describe this Crankworx festival and world tour?

It brings all varieties of mountainbikers together, from enduro to downhill. It is for the general population, whereas other festivals are more for people in the know.

You've already checked out the Rotorua course ...

It has the best dirt. Most courses have dirt with a lot of rocks in it. When you fall, it tears you apart like a cheese grater. Here the dirt is like butter, so smooth. My friend has a five-acre property where we practice and we built a metal grate to throw the dirt on with shovels, to get all the rocks out. When it's smooth, you have a better feeling to go for things.

Did you ever consider becoming an Olympic-style mountainbiker?

Never. I prefer to scare myself, to be on the edge. I like being in the air. I've also done extreme skiing for about as long as I've been riding bikes.

Is there an addictive element to that?

Absolutely. I'd say it is almost like an addiction ... just the feeling I have when I'm on the bike jumping, when I don't need to think about anything else. I was off the bike for a while when I broke a hand - am I going to ride my bike on the ground when that happens? No. I want to be up in the air, jumping.

How important is the bike setup?

I couldn't just hop on somebody else's bike and do the tricks. It takes a week to tune a new bike in, get everything perfect. I'm continually fixing and rebuilding them and tweaking for each course. For instance, on bigger courses, I have front and rear suspension, but on smaller courses just the front.

Major injuries ...

A lot of people look at us as guys risking our lives but we are very calculating. There are times when I scare myself. If it doesn't quite go to plan in mid-air, you have to think quickly and either try to land the trick or bail out. Instinct takes over. I've had bad crashes but for broken bones, only my hand. A lot of it is about knowing how to fall.

Are you superstitious?

Sometimes, when I get nervous and start thinking about that stuff. I used to have a lucky feather but I lost that, and a lucky rock. I carried a four-leaf clover in competitions. Maybe I'm over that phase, although I've got a travel angel.

There are a lot of highly-ranked Canadians ...

The first ever slope style was held in Whistler so I kind of feel it all started there. That got a lot of us into it, I guess. By the time I was about 14, it was almost a religious experience for me and my mates to go there. I was never into team sports. In Vancouver everyone is into ice hockey but I'm out of the loop.

Do you have time for hobbies?

My big hobby is building the jumps for us to ride on at my friend's property. There are tractors and excavators there ... it is like our big sandbox to play in, building whatever we want. There might be days when I'm too tired or sore to ride so I build jumps and the next day we have something new to ride.

Have you set your sights on becoming the world No 1?

Brandon and Brett have been in a league of their own but, now that I'm out of school, I can put in more time. But if I please myself, I don't really care about anyone else.