The 25 Greatest Riders of the Decade

As we head into 2020 it’s time to remember a decade of riding evolution in mountain biking. If you’re told us in 2010 that riders would be tricking on the Hardline course, spinning 1440s or landing 100 foot backflips, we might have been skeptical, but it’s all happened this decade, and much more. This was supposed to be a Top 10 list, but there have been so many legendary riders making their mark, it turned out to be an impossible task. So without further ado and in no particular order, here is Pinkbike’s list of the best riders to have done it inside and outside of the tape this past decade.

1. Rachel Atherton

37 World Cup DH Wins

25 World Cup DH Podium Finishes

2012 + 2013 + 2015 + 2016 + 2018 Overall World Cup DH Winner

2013 + 2015 + 2016 + 2018 DH World Champion

It goes without saying that no other rider can match the dominance of Rachel Atherton in the past ten years in World Cup downhill. With 37 World Cup wins, 25 podiums and four World Championship titles, she is clearly an unstoppable force in the sport. Her strongest period came between 2015 and 2017 where she stormed to 13 consecutive victories on a golden streak that may well stand for many decades to come.

After managing that huge successive winning streak, Rachel has continued to stay at the top of the sport. Looking at her score sheet for the past ten years, it’s hard to find any year where she wasn’t successful in one way or another. As we close out the decade, women’s downhill is in a really healthy place with new riders popping up every week to challenge for podiums. Rachel may have been the stand-out rider of the decade but she has also been a beacon for the other women, a target for them to aim at, and the entire sport has been lifted as a result.

2. Greg Minnaar

12 World Cup DH Wins

29 World Cup DH Podium Finishes

2012 + 2013 DH World Champion

There were probably a number of fans who believed Greg Minnaar was nearing the end of his racing career at the midpoint of this decade, but the South African simply refused to listen. Riders don’t come more legendary than Greg and he continues to teach the younger riders a lesson in how to win DH races. Taking an impressive 29 podiums and 12 victories across the past ten years, he has retained his reputation as a constant threat. You can never write off Greg Minnaar.

Although he hasn’t managed to score any World Cup overall titles since 2010, he has managed three second and two third-place finishes. Greg has also seen plenty of success at the World Championships with two rainbow jerseys in 2012 and 2013. More recently, he was still on the podium at this year’s World Championships with a fifth place in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Greg also gave his hand at racing the EWS and in 2013, he finished third in Val d’Allos.

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