What does it take to go from a late start in the sport to a World Cup podium? Well Dakotah Norton knows. We sat down to find out more about him and his journey to the top. We cover his background in Motocross and BMX, how he found mountain biking, and his no compromise approach to becoming one of the best. Chatting to Dakotah really makes you realise what you can achieve if you’re focussed, and willing to put in the effort and make the sacrifices. From living in his van, to rolling burritos, he’s done whatever it takes, and it looks like it’s paying off. Hit play below and give it a listen.

You can follow Dakotah on Instagram @daknorton or check out his YouTube channel by clicking here.

This month, We Are One Composites are back to support the podcast. We Are One have been big supporters of what I’m doing from the start, and for that I’m really grateful. They also make amazing carbon fibre wheels which are hand made in Canada, and have recently added their DaPackage bar and stem to their line up. They hooked me up with a set of Agent 29er wheels which I’ve had on my bike for nearly 2 years now, and I literally haven’t had to touch them. They have remained tight and true through 2 years of use, and are an absolute joy to ride. They track and hold a line amazingly well, but aren’t punishingly stiff like some carbon wheels I’ve tried. They’ve got a whole line up of wheels, so there is always something to suit your needs. Head to weareonecomposites.com and check out what they have to offer. If you’re tempted, then as a Downtime listener they have kindly offered you 15% off until 30th April. All you need to do is enter the code ‘handlaid2020‘ at the checkout.

If you want to help support the show, then you can ‘share the love’ and make a financial contribution to help me keep this thing going and improving by clicking here. You can do this as a one off, a regular thing, or whenever you fancy. Or, you can get yourself a t-shirt, hoodie, sweatshirt or mug by heading to downtime podcast.com/shop. Shipping is FREE worldwide on orders over £30! As all the merch is top quality, we don’t make much profit on these items, but it is great to see people out and about in their Downtime gear.

If you are enjoying the podcast, then don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free, and it means you’ll get every episode delivered to your device as soon as it’s available. All the links you need are at downtimepodcast.com/subscribe. You can also find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and most of the podcast apps out there. While you’re there, you can also join our newsletter, which means you’ll get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday.

If you want to share tips and advice with other podcast listeners on anything mountain bike related, you can join our Facebook group, head to www.facebook.com/groups/mtbperformance/ request permission to join the group and get involved!

Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at downtimepodcast.com/episodes

Photo – Klemen Humar