Angus Maddern has been representing Intense Cycles here in Australia and after having a chat with him it was clear that Intense picked the right man to show case their bikes. Angus has amazing skills, a good work ethic and is a general all round nice guy, we had a chat with him and this is what he had to say;
Name: Angus Maddern
Age: 18
Hometown: Mount Gambier
Thanks for chatting Angus, lets start with the basics, how did you get into mountain biking:
I started off with motocross, then did some dirt jumps which was fun and found out about downhill, then I had a bit of a crack racing.
How long ago was that:
2011 was my first full Insideline South Australian season of racing, I have been doing it on and off for about 3 years now.
How long had you been riding motocross before that:
Four or five years, I raced that as well, I did a few Nationals but mainly state and club level. I still go out every now and then and have a bit of a go!
So you have previously raced a few National races but with an injury last year this was really yourA�first season of racing all the Nationals, what was your goal for those races:
Well there is always fast riders at Aussie Nationals so I wanted top ten at those races. I knew the track well at Eagle for the National Champs and was hoping for a top ten (Angus finished fourteenth).
The Eagle track was used for the National Champs for the third time in a row, what did you think of it:
Yeah it was pretty cool, a few steep chutes that were cool. Eagle suits my style with thatA�high speedA�bit at the top, steep chute and back down through the rocks is pretty cool.
How would you describe your riding style and what kind of tracks do you like, technical, pedally, fast:
High speed stuff is pretty cool, technical switchbacks, stuff like that is sick.
What kind of training do you do, is it a regimented program or are you a bit more flexible:
I train with a boxxing trainer three nights a week, I wasn’t sure if that was the right kind of cross training but then I read an article that Steve Peat trains the same way so I was pretty stoked. I ride as much as I can, the downhill isn’t the best where I live but I ride a lot on my hardtail. I also have fun smashing dirt jumps and the local bmx track.
Your hometownA�of Mount GambierA�is four and a half hours drive from Adelaide but you come up basically every weekend to Adelaide why is that:
I try toA�come up every weekend I can. TheA�tracks are better, it’s the stuff we race on, back home it’s all flat and there are no rocks. It has helped me out a lot.
This yearA�you’re ridingA�for the Monza/Intense team how did that come about:
They helped me out with parts on my old bike and then theyA�were putting together a team with the Crimmins brothers and James Kelly, they asked me if I would like to be on it and that was it.
The Crimmins brothers are some future stars of Australian downhill, what is it like riding with them:
Good, good to watch them and learn new things, they’re fast kids Andrew Crimmins is going to be right up there.
Do you guys help each other out and show each other different things or is it a bit more secretive:
Tracks like Thredbo that they know and I haven’t ridden I have watched and learnt off them, it was the opposite in Adelaide.
How do you approach a track like that, where you haven’t ridden before and it is being used for a National race:
I like to ride it first to figure out how fast you are going to go in sections, then walk the track to pick lines off how fast you’re going.
You have been filming with Sean Anderson quite a lot for his new film, Above The Noise, what has that been like:
It has been pretty cool, did some filming a little while back with Connor Fearon, it was good to watch him and see some different lines. It is good fun, I like coming out and filming.
So there youA�have it, an insight into Angus Maddern, definitely a threat at the top level here in Australia. Watch as he improves on the bike and the results that follow.
