Forrest Riesco Interview: A year of World Cup Racing

Tell us a bit about your World Cup career so far.  How long have you been racing?

I raced my first World Championships in 2012 as a junior, so I’ve been racing internationally for 12 years now. 

What results are you most proud of?

Qualifying for my first World Cup in 2013 at Mont Sainte Anne was a memorable one for me. I then finished 33rd in finals. It was a super cool experience because it was also the first year that Stevie Smith won on home soil. 

My best finish at a World Cup was in 2019 at the Val di Sole World Cup where I got 15th in finals so I'm very proud of that one. I had some crazy luck in qualifying with rain coming down right after I finished my run, so I somehow qualified 4th. It was pretty surreal to drop in fourth to last in finals next day. I backed it up too which was nice, I even remember Loic Bruni coming up to me at the finish line and congratulating me for it.

How was your 2023 race season? 

It was tough.  I didn’t really find my groove until the end of the season, and then I crashed and flatted at the last two rounds.  There was a lot of traveling involved to do the full World Cup schedule and that took a toll on me.

I was really happy though to get a spot on the Canadian National Team so was able to compete at the Fort William World Champs where I finished 21st, which was my best result of the year.

What did you think of the new changes this year? Did you like the new semi final format? 

I’m personally not a fan of the semi finals. It seems redundant to do so many timed runs.  

How was the switch from Red Bull to Discovery?

It was a big change and there was a lot of uncertainty from the riders and teams.  There is definitely a big push to make the sport more “elite” and this is noticeable in how the organization keeps making it harder for smaller teams and privateers to attend and perform.  Registration fees doubled for us and we were given a lot less, we didn’t even have a place to park at a few of the races.  And information about practice times would be told to the big teams the night before, but privateers were not told till the following afternoon. 

What was your favourite new venue of the season?

Loudenville was an amazing track! In the dry, that is, ha ha.  I don’t think they were set up or prepared to handle the rain, but that's another story.  The track was fast and steep and so off camber! It was a little scary to ride and I think they could have done more to make it safer for the riders. 

You have been one of the top privateers at the races for years now, how do you make it work as a privateer?

Yeah it’s a lot of fun, but a lot of work as well.  I’ve definitely gotten more efficient and better with everything over the years.  In the off season it's a constant juggling act between talking with sponsors, arranging travel plans, building bikes and training.  Plus working a few jobs to make ends meet.  One nice thing about being a privateer is you can travel where you want and with whoever you want.  This has been a lot of fun over the years, I have good friends from around the world now, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.  On race day it can be a lot though when you’re trying to get in laps and working on your bike in between.  If things go wrong, say you blow up a wheel, it can be a real time crunch to fix it and get back out in time to finish the practice session or get up for your race run.  I’m doing everything I can to put myself in a place to receive more support in the future.

You have suffered quite a few significant injuries, especially last season. What motivates you to keep going? 

Yeah last year I broke my Tibia while training in Switzerland.  And in 2019 I broke and dislocated my right wrist pretty badly.  These injuries definitely put you in your place, you have to accept that you will crash every once and a while no matter how good you are.  A lot of sh$t goes through your head moments after a crash and in the following weeks.  But for me the desire to ride my bike and continue learning and getting faster always just builds up in me throughout the recovery and by the time I get the “okay” from the Doc I can’t wait to get back.  It’s a bit of a mystery even to me as to why I love it so much.  

Are you gearing up for another World Cup season in 2024? What are your goals?

Yeah I’m working on some plans for 2024.  It’s a hard time in the mtb industry right now so the opportunities for support are very minimal.  I will have to be more creative in marketing myself and receiving support to do a full World Cup season in 2024. 

Goals for next year are to get in that top 30 for finals consistently. 

Do you have any big changes or improvements you want to make for the 2024 season? How do you see yourself improving upon this past season?

I have a lot of things to work on over the off-season.  I’ve learnt so much this year and am figuring out a plan to apply all of that to my training now.  I was happy with my form near the end of the season, so just making some tweaks and adjustments to that.  Any changes I make I like to have them finalized a month or so before the first race so I can build speed and then just go through the motions at the races with minimal changes. 

What advice do you have for racers trying to make it as a privateer pushing onto the World Cup scene?

I’d say make sure to stay true to your goals and aspirations as a rider and put that first and foremost.  Then look at ways you can market yourself to sponsors and make yourself useful to them.  Don’t stress about the results too much, I guarantee those won’t be the things you remember 5 or 10 years from now.  It will be all the stuff in between you remember.  Enjoy the experience.  And definitely double down on your strengths on and off the bike.  Tell people what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.  People want to help you reach your goals.  Build as many connections as you can, talk to people at the races, those relationships might help you down the road when your looking for a spare part or a new sponsor.