Forged by Speed: The making of a mountain bike world champion

by Steve Peat, Tim March

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.

319 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2024

Reviews

[Chloe Shuttlewood · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who loves watching downhill MTB racing, I have always wondered about what sort of person it takes to have such courage and physical ability to have the burning desire to take part and win, despite this being such a dangerous sport. Steve Peat shows us in this excellent book exactly the kind of mindset you need to have to persevere, and succeed, in this incredible sport.

It is fascinating to read about the origins of MTB and downhill. Steve began at a time when the scene was only just picking up. If you are into downhill or any bike-related sports (or sporting history), it's really interesting to read about the early days of the sport and the challenges he faced (e.g. getting sponsorship, getting the right gear etc).

Steve's voice shines through this book, and is jam-packed full of his experiences. I have no idea how he has managed to remember so much, so it's really impressive how he delves into the details of his training, his travels, his colourful social life and his sheer determination to keep going and being the best.

My favourite section is at the end, when Steve really delves into his feelings and describes how he goes from almost pulling out of a race to winning it; slowly realising that actually he could do this. It really gives you an insight into the mind of an elite athlete.

Reading about all of Steve's injuries does make you wince, but his sunny personality never lets this set him back and he keeps bouncing back. This is a really inspirational book.

[Emily Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love watching MTBing and Steve Peat was the first legend of the sport so this is a fascinating read.

I loved learning about how he got into the sport from trials biking and how he turned his passion into a successful career. It’s interesting to have the insight into what makes a champion in a sport which requires a level of bravery as well as skill.

Highly recommend if you love MTBing

[michael steinbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

World class story

Anyone who loves biking on dirt can relate with Steve. Nice guy in real life. Thanks for a great story.