Henry in Year 7 has been riding mountain bikes since he was five years old, attracting top sponsors and achieving some great competition wins! Dad, Simon, told us more: “Henry started riding at five and a half. We quickly realised that he wasn't 'normal', trying to jump everything at every opportunity. He quickly caught the eye of his first sponsor, Propain Bikes, and by six years old he was a fully sponsored rider with bikes and kit supplied to him. At age seven he made his first trip to the French Alps to ride the downhill tracks that hide under the snow. Within days of arriving he had cleared one of the biggest jumps there, to the surprise of many onlookers – and his dad!

“From there, the jumps, drops and tricks just got bigger. Henry’s social media following started to grow and he moved onto his current sponsor, Marin Bikes. Henry is known for the ‘free riding’ element of the sport, big jumps and drops, and steep technical descents. He has had his fair share of spills, but accepts it’s part of the sport, and we manage the risk.

“At 10 years old he was given special permission to ride ‘Icon Way’, an Oakley-sponsored track at a bike park in North Wales. Trails in the UK are graded from green (easiest) to black (hardest), then on to double and finally triple diamond. These are as hard as it gets anywhere in the world. 50ft gap jumps and 20ft drops are the norm. By the end of the day, Henry had cleared the entire triple diamond trail, much to the surprise of the owner Dan Atherton, who rode at World Cup level for Britain.

“The plan this year is to get special dispensation for Henry to compete at regional and national level in the UK at age 12 (13 is the youngest one can usually officially race at). If this goes to plan who knows where he will go.

Regardless, to be at the level Henry is at such an early age is impressive and with a passion for the sport, we hope he will continue to progress in the sport and reach the top."

You can read more about Henry on the Marin Bikes website.