Martin Whiteley is someone who likes to work behind the scenes, however, many of you will know his name. From the mid-80s onwards, Martin has been involved with the growth of mountain biking, and through his time as CEO of Australian Cycling, working at the UCI and running some of the biggest downhill race teams in history, Martin has played a role in shaping our sport into what it is today. With all this history, it’s hard to pick and choose what to cover, so this episode is pretty long and I’ve split it into two parts. Part one covers Martin’s background and his time at the UCI. We hear about his work with Global Racing, G-Cross Honda, Trek World Racing and the YT Mob, and get his thoughts on talent development. Part two will be dropping tomorrow, where we’ll talk about Red Bull, the Discovery takeover, athlete management and plenty more. For now, here’s part one. So sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Martin Whiteley.

You can follow Martin on Instagram @captain23mw, the HQ on Instagram @23___hq and find the website to arrange bike hire, uplifts and see the history over at hq.23degrees-sports.com.

Supporting Partners

Wahoo

A market leader in Road cycling, Wahoo are relatively new to the mountain bike world, but are serious about getting involved. They are already supporting top athletes like Tahnee Seagrave, Danny Hart, Wyn Masters, Brendan Fairclough, and Loic Bruni, along with many others too.

Wahoo were kind enough to support my training for the EWS100 and since November last year I’ve been using Wahoo’s products and found them intuitive, robust and a great addition to my training. Their GPS watch the ELEMNT RIVAL, their GPS computer the ELEMNT BOLT, and a Wahoo KICKR smart trainer were my choices, all combined with the super comfy TICKR heart rate strap. You can also check out their online one stop training and virtual racing platform, Wahoo X.

You can check out all that Wahoo have to offer over at wahoofitness.com.

Podcast Stuff

Downtime EP

Downtime EP issue 2 is now available at downtimepodcast.com/ep. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast. It expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hold, and a timeless piece of mountain bike history.

Just head over to downtimepodcast.com/ep to save yourself £5 off of the cover price with an annual subscription for just £20 plus postage or you can purchase EP1, or EP2 on their own too.

Merch

If you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop.

Follow Us

Give us a follow on Instagram @downtimepodcast or Facebook @downtimepodcast to keep up to date and chat in the comments.

For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast.

Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don’t forget to subscribe. Each episode will get delivered to your device as soon as it’s available and it's totally free. You'll find all the links you need at downtimepodcast.com/subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. While you're there, why not join our newsletter to get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday. Full of interesting bike-related stuff, competitions, product recommendations and more.

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

Photo - Isac Paddock