Year 10 student Seth Buckley has been riding bikes since before his second birthday. His skills and his passion were on show over the summer when he placed third in the U15 section of the NZ Open Downhill Competition run by Gravity Canterbury.

Seth’s Mum, Peta-Lee, says that he has participated and competed in many local events and races over the years but that his passion is definitely downhill mountain biking. Unfortunately, there are a lot fewer opportunities to compete in this discipline as a younger rider. Lucky for Seth then, that over the last couple of years he has been old enough to enter more races and events and is now old enough to compete at national level.

Seth is justifiably proud of his recent achievement. "Wow! I was really happy and proud of myself for placing third and I hope that I can place again in the next race."

Dad Glen says that it’s “awesome” to see his son excelling in this way in his chosen sport, while Peta-Lee counts any injury-free race as a win.

Next up for Seth is competing in the second and third races of the MTBNZ Downhill National Series. All the best for your next races Seth!