At the age of two and a half years old, Joe took his stablisers off and ever since loved riding a bike, whether it was having skid competitions with his Dad or riding jumps all day with his friends. Until he was about 12 or 13 it was never his main sport, so riding his bike was always just a hobby on the side. When he was 13 he started racing and soon stopped playing all of his other sports - to go racing! He currently competes in the Scottish and British National Series, World Cups and any other races he has the time and money to do. Lucky enough to be part of the Scottish National Sqaud with some other great Scottish riders, he's coached by Chris Ball and Kenny Johnstone of Borders College. For this year he'll be riding the Zerode G-1 gearbox bike and looks set to take the scene by storm. He's current Scottish Junior DH Champion and Junior National Series DH Champion.

Name: Joe Connell

Age: 17

Hometown: Strathkinness

Cycling Discipline: Downhill

Years riding: I've a ridden bikes since I can remember. Racing since 2007.

Sponsors: Zerode - Prestige Cycles - Morvelo

What draws you to the world of bikes? The pure enjoyment of riding, especially cornering, jumping and going fast.

Describe your current bike set-up in three words: Stiff. Slack. Long.

What or who inspires you to do what you do on a bike? All of the top MTB and MX pro's.

>>>>>>> Read Joe's blog here.