Forged by Speed

In a little over two and a half minutes on 6 September 2009 Steve Peat cemented his place in mountain biking history, becoming downhill world champion at the seventeenth time of asking and by a winning margin of just five hundredths of a second. But 'Peaty's' road to the coveted rainbow stripes began almost two decades earlier on the woodland trails of Northern England. Born and raised in Sheffield, he narrowly avoided going down the wrong track and instead chose to race cross-country mountain bikes before switching to the rapidly emerging discipline of downhill where he would compete alongside other young British racers including Rob Warner and the late, great, Jason McRoy. Since then, Steve has competed against the greatest riders of all time, including Nicolas Vouilloz, Shaun Palmer and Greg Minnaar, and his name has become synonymous around the world with downhill mountain biking. In Forged by Speed, Steve shares his incredible story, from the Steel City to the top step of the world championship podium. Honest, compelling and funny, it is the autobiography of a British sporting legend.

Steve Peat is one of the greatest mountain bikers of all time. In a racing career beginning in the early 1990s with Beighton All-Terrain Squad (BATS), he has competed and won in all mountain biking disciplines, but it is in downhill that he has achieved legendary status. He is a winner of three downhill world cup overall titles and a then record seventeen downhill world cups, and in 2009 he became downhill world champion. He is also a two-time European downhill champion and a nine-time British champion. He retired from racing in 2016 after over two decades at the highest level but has continued his longstanding relationship with Santa Cruz Bicycles where he is now head coach for the Santa Cruz Syndicate downhill team. As well as founding business ventures Royal Racing and Peaty's Products, he has been a long-time supporter of up-and-coming racers, offering coaching and mentoring to young talent including Josh Bryceland and Brendan Fairclough, among others. His local race, Steel City Downhill, raises money for charity, helping to develop and maintain local Sheffield trails. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield, and in 2018 he was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. He lives in Sheffield with his wife, Adele, and sons, Jake and George.