MATTHEW FAIRBROTHER
At 18, Matthew Fairbrother has made a name for himself thanks to his ‘Enduro-packing’ adventure in 2022, earning him a Pinkbike nomination for ‘MTB Performance of the Year’ and incredible ongoing support from the wider mtb community
Photo credit : James Vincent
I live in Christchurch, in New Zealand. It’s the largest city in the South Island, but even so it’s a sort of outdoors hub in lots of ways. There are ski resorts close by - so there’s an adventure park, a chairlift and heaps of hills; mountain biking is a pretty big deal here.
I’ve been biking for about 6 years. When I started, I didn’t begin in the hills though. I first got the bug dirt jumping with my mates in one of the local parks, and I basically did that for a year before I got into the hills. I wouldn’t even call them big jumps, they’re pretty tame really! But biking just got under my skin.
I tend to prefer janky trails I can get my teeth into. Smooth flowy stuff is really great, of course, but if I had to choose it’d be gnarly, rooty, technical stuff all the way.
Photo credit : James Vincent
I started off on a cheap hardtail - it was nothing special, really, but I spent a while on that getting my confidence levels up before I graduated to a full suspension bike. I think that using a hardtail really helped to dial my skills - you have to think more quickly about technique and line choices on a hardtail, so when you do go for a full suspension bike, you can really rip.
I’d been lucky enough to get a few local sponsors, when I first started out. They’re really helped me out, and I wouldn’t be in the position I am without them!
I think my main motivation is speed - I’m just really into going fast! I mean, sure, at the core of it all it’s just about having fun. But for me that involves speed - you just can’t beat the feeling of it; the narrowing of focus when velocity picks up, everything else goes blurry at the edges and you’re just absolutely laser focused on holding on, and wringing the most out of the bike.
At the same time there’s a real joy in just sessioning things with your mates. If you’ve got a good bunch around you, you can just session the same set of jumps for hours!
I guess I’m pretty competitive, but only really with myself. When I’m riding with my mates, or even if I’m racing I’m not all that bothered about what other people are doing. If I’ve hit the line perfectly; if I’ve hit it as smoothly, as quickly as possible, that’s what it’s all about. Of course, it’s great if I’m faster than anyone else, but if I work on being as fast as I can possibly be then that’ll take care of itself.
I had never been out of New Zealand before, but at the start of the 2022 EWS (now EDR), to make the most of the funds I had (which were minimal), I decided to ride from the Tweed Valley in Scotland to the next found in Jamnica, Slovenia. I really just had one goal - to make it in time for the next race. Before I knew it, I had the whole mtb community behind me, supporting me with anything from beds for the night to food on the journey.
The experience was incredible. I decided to continue bike-packing between all the European rounds which, at this time, were the only ones I entered. Going from never leaving NZ to covering huge distances of Europe in such a short period of time was incredible.
The momentum just kept going with so many people in the community wanting to help. Deviate setup a Go Fund Me page which raised enough funds to get me over to the North American and Canadian rounds. It was absolutely mind-blowing that so many people got behind what I was doing so of course, I had to continue my bike-packing (well, enduro-packing!) where I could there too.
This experience really started me on the journey I am on today - taking on new challenges to test where my limits lie. This year (2023), I have continued to race between EDR rounds but have also taken on new challenges, designed to find those limits and help me navigate my future in the sport.
Read more about Matthew’s EWS adventures on the links below:
Pinkbike Podcast
Pinkbike article
The Highland Trail 550 (HT550) was one of my latest challenges and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Based in the Scottish Highlands, the challenge is a race against the clock, with the route covering 885km & more than 15,240m of elevation gain in some of the most brutal terrain and conditions I have ever experienced.
My aim was to complete the challenge as quickly as possible whilst also discovering where my baseline limits lay. I can honestly say, this is like no challenge I have ever undertaken.
The fastest riders complete the course in around 3-4 days with approximately 10 hours sleep in total. I wasn’t able to take part in the official HT550 due to racing commitments so I took it on a couple of weeks earlier, with no other riders alongside me.
Despite it being May, I experienced storms, high winds, deep and seemingly never-ending bogs. These really hampered my progress and in the end, risked my health.
Watch Matthew’s challenge unfold in the Undefined Limits documentary
I feel a constant need for exploration, I can’t sit still. As soon as I finish one thing, I’m on to the next. Living on the other side of the globe, in the land down under means I’m geographically challenged when it comes to anything other than the island I call home. This ultimately means when I widen my horizons I’m either taking a huge gamble or putting a lot of faith into someone and taking a slightly educated gamble.
My latest challenge was based in the Alps - specifically the Mont Blanc Massif. The Tour Du Mont Blanc is a 160km, 8000m vert loop of natural single-track through some of the alps most rugged terrain. @kilianjornet had just set the running record with a sub-20 hour time, would it be possible for me to go even quicker on a bike?
The exact time to beat was 19h 49M 32S. The mini documentary that follows my journey can now be viewed on the right and accompanying Pinkbike article viewed here.
