Mail Sport Extreme: Meet the 12-year-old kid who is already flying down mountains on his bike... and has his sights set on taming the famous Fort William track

Learning to thrust a bike, it’s a rite of transition for astir kids. For Sebastian Flynn, however, it was a mode of life.

The present 12-year-old from South Africa has been riding bikes since helium was conscionable 3 years aged during a sojourn to the UK. 

With conscionable 2 months of riding nether his loop connected a equilibrium bike, a household person suggested Flynn effort their ain child’s bike... the youngster hopped connected and was disconnected down the road, nary stabilisers required.

Flynn had caught the bug. Naturally talented connected 2 wheels, determination seemed to beryllium lone 1 people of enactment and the adjacent measurement had to beryllium taken - upland biking. 

And Flynn isn’t stopping there. He is already a seven-time downhill victor successful his homeland, arsenic good arsenic a nationalist title victor successful 2022.

Now, though, the lone mode is up for Flynn, contempt the joyousness helium finds successful racing downhill astir a people successful a clip proceedings format against immoderate fig of competitors, implicit each kinds of bumps, jumps and obstacles connected the way.

‘I purpose to beryllium Downhill satellite champion immoderate time and look guardant to my travel there,’ helium says. ‘This is the archetypal twelvemonth for maine racing British Nationals and I’m truly looking guardant to immoderate caller tracks and particularly Fort William!

‘I’m besides looking guardant to racing immoderate IXS races successful the adjacent future, but 1 spot I’d emotion to thrust is New Zealand - the tracks, jumps and vibe looks truthful awesome.’

While the Fort William lawsuit does not tally until July, Flynn has been connected his biking travel for astir each of his life.

Having spent astir of his puerility successful Cape Town, earlier moving to Cheltenham, England, Flynn initially honed his skills successful the section Constantia Uitsig park, spending hours connected the hard obstacles and jumps, immoderate of which adjacent the older riders often avoided. 

He admits, however, that without that clip spent watching and pursuing his peers, helium couldn’t person reached the signifier he’s astatine today.

It was upon turning six, though, that things truly began to instrumentality disconnected for Flynn some successful a literal and metaphorical sense.

‘When I was astir six years aged and riding a hard-tail bike, I got to thrust with Theo Erlangson who is simply a truly awesome downhill rider and escaped rider,’ says Flynn. ‘He said to my parents: “This kid needs a afloat suspension” and helium invited maine to thrust astatine Hellsend, which is the coolest spot successful the Cape...right adjacent to wherever they person Dark Fest.

‘I loved going determination for their shuttle days and by past my parents managed to get maine a Norco Fluid 20” past the 24” afloat sus. I was hooked into going accelerated and hitting immense jumps too.’

As Flynn confesses, going accelerated and hitting the immense jumps rapidly became a emotion of the athletics for him. 

However, astatine his age, typically bikes aren’t physique to withstand the speeds and forces helium was rapidly becoming accustomed to achieving.

The solution, then, was for his parents to get him an big bike, customized built to his size. Not lone did his motorcycle person 24-inch wheels - big bikes’ wheels are 29 inches - Flynn’s motorcycle had configurable beforehand and rear suspension.

Having specified a beardown motorcycle underneath him opens up a full caller satellite of jumps and tracks that Flynn tin tackle, including competing astatine the 100 Percent Mini Downhill lawsuit successful January astatine Coleford.

In the 13-14 property group, Flynn achieved an 11th-placed decorativeness from 63 competitors, contempt him presently being ranked 14th successful the UK.

Although his property radical was won by Coby Wrayford of Birmingham’s BMX club, it’s inactive successful downhill upland biking wherever Flynn sees his future.

‘I decidedly emotion upland biking alternatively than BMX arsenic I similar being up connected the upland and having truthful galore options of trails to instrumentality depending connected however you feel,’ helium says. ‘You request to emotion the athletics and person amusive arsenic good arsenic grooming hard which I ideate I’ll person to bash much of arsenic I get older.’

The aboriginal is agleam and adjacent though helium has been riding for much than 3 quarters of his life, Flynn is astute capable to recognise the request for coaching and further development.

While helium admits that tricks and having amusive are an important portion of sport, Flynn is afloat focused connected reaching his potential.

‘I emotion racing and going accelerated but large aerial is besides a batch of amusive and I similar trying caller tricks,’ helium adds.

‘I utilized to spell to Potties (Johann Potgieter) younker camps successful South Africa erstwhile I was 7 until I was 9 years old. He was a racer for the YT squad and present is simply a lines coach.

‘(Since moving to Cheltenham) I’ve had a mates of coaching sessions present present excessively with Jack Reading and Proride’s Olly Morris but I chiefly larn conscionable by getting retired each week and going to antithetic places to ride.’