Meet Chris Hilbert - The CB Mountain Bike Expert
Meet Chris Hilbert - one of the younger coaches at Clancy Briggs - but certainly no less impressive!
Chris has been racing lots of different disciplines since he was very young.
Coach Ali Slater explains why Chris is such a brilliant addition to the team:
“Chris is a fantastic mountain biker. He’s got some amazing skills - doing lots of tricks such as wheelies and bunny hopping - and the kids love it. Although they’re not really things you’d initially say are core riding skills, when you break them down, they’re a great way to demonstrate balance. Because he’s been around mountain biking at a high level for so long, he’s really creative and can come up with different activities and approaches to coaching.”
Here’s a bit more from Chris himself about his background, how he got into cycling and why he’s enjoying working with the CB team.
Hi Chris, how did you get into cycling?
Me and my Dad used to do motorcross and we were looking for something to keep fit in-between. I started mountain biking when motorcross became too expensive about 12 years ago. Near enough straight away, I started competing at local races at Sherwood Pines, midweek mountain bike races and went from there. From never racing at all, to racing 3 times a week! Over the last 2 years, I’ve been more seriously involved with road cycling too, I really enjoy both.
What have been your proudest achievements?
I won the Youth National Mountain Bike Series in 2018. I’ve been on the podium at Nationals quite a few times and quite a lot of regional championships.
Where’s the best place you’ve ever been cycling?
My favourite place has to be Pila in the Aosta Valley in Italy - racing at 7000ft altitude, it was unreal, just brilliant.
How did you get involved with Clancy Briggs?
I’ve known Graham (Briggs) for a while, he’s always lived near us and we’ve seen him at local time trials, and then he suggested to come and try out coaching. I really enjoyed it so here I am! I really enjoy seeing the kids progress and improve and I’m really grateful to be involved.
Which is your favourite class to coach?
They’re all really enjoyable. I do BALANCE, LEARN, PEDAL & RACE but to be honest, I like them all, I couldn’t say I’ve got a favourite, all of them are great in different ways.
I like teaching BALANCE & LEARN as you see them from not being able to ride, to being able to ride.
PEDAL you see that transition from early riding tothe more complex stuff and getting more skills. With RACE it’s about fine tuning those skills, you can go really into depth and help them a lot.
What does the future look like for you?
I’ll definitely keep competing alongside the coaching.
I’d love to get picked up and become a pro. I’ll try to get some races abroad at some point soon and see what I can do out there. Probably mainly road bike races but I’ll obviously get some mountain biking in wherever I travel to!
I’m looking forward to working with Ed (Clancy) now that he’s back.
And I’ve heard whispers about some future mountain bike masterclasses for Clancy Briggs which I’d love to be involved with, so watch this space!
What Next?
Find out why Clancy Briggs is the idea cycling academy for your child