Rossland downhill mountain bike rider Bodhi Kuhn raced to a podium finish at the 2023 UCI Cycling World championships in Scotland on Aug. 4.
Kuhn finished second on the rugged Fort William track, coming in less than half-a-second behind Germany’s Henri Kiefer.
The UCI Cycling world championships was the first time all classes of mountain biking and cycling were included. Junior downhill racers kicked off 11 days of racing on Aug. 3, followed by road, track, mountain bike, BMX, cross country, short track and more, all for the right to wear the rainbow stripes.
Kuhn was just 0.4 seconds from topping the podium, after four minutes and 30 seconds of racing on the rough, physical track in Scotland’s Nevis Range.
“Silver for the Rocket Man @bodhi_kuhn at World Champs!!,” wrote sponsor Treck Factory Racing on Instagram. “Fort Bill was a brute, but Bodhi seized the podium in just his second World Champs appearance.
“This kid can fly.”
Kuhn earned his first gold medal finish on the World Cup DH circuit on June 30, as he stormed to an impressive victory in the junior men’s downhill in Val di Sole, Italy.
“To be honest, it was a bit of a struggle today,” Kuhn said after the race. “Conditions in practice were hard, with a lot of dry and a lot of wet – working through that was tough.
“I didn’t really feel like I had that edge that I needed. But I felt confident in the start gate. I mean there was mistakes and close moments, but I feel like I found that edge that worked well for me.”
Kuhn earned his first World Cup podium of 2023 in the first race of the season June 6 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, where he finished second in the junior men’s downhill.
He earned another silver the following week after a phenomenal ride in the rain at Leogang, Austria.
Kuhn is currently the overall leader in World Cup points following his third round win in Val di Sole. The Seven Summits graduate now leads the junior men’s standings with 160 points to Kiefer’s 125 with five races remaining.