Mail Sport Extreme: Meet the 12-year-old kid who is already flying down mountains on his bike... and has his sights set on taming the famous Fort William track
Learning to ride a bike, it’s a rite of passage for most kids. For Sebastian Flynn, however, it was a way of life.
The now 12-year-old from South Africa has been riding bikes since he was just three years old during a visit to the UK.
With just two months of riding under his belt on a balance bike, a family friend suggested Flynn try their own child’s bike... the youngster hopped on and was off down the road, no stabilisers required.
Flynn had caught the bug. Naturally gifted on two wheels, there seemed to be only one course of action and the next step had to be taken - mountain biking.
And Flynn isn’t stopping there. He is already a seven-time downhill victor in his homeland, as well as a national championship winner in 2022.
Now, though, the only way is up for Flynn, despite the joy he finds in racing downhill around a course in a time trial format against any number of competitors, over all kinds of bumps, jumps and obstacles on the way.
Sebastian receives his National championships medal in South Africa
The 12-year-old tackles a variety of courses, from hill slopes to forest tracks
‘I aim to be Downhill world champion some day and look forward to my journey there,’ he says. ‘This is the first year for me racing British Nationals and I’m really looking forward to some new tracks and especially Fort William!
‘I’m also looking forward to racing some IXS races in the near future, but one spot I’d love to ride is New Zealand - the tracks, jumps and vibe looks so awesome.’
While the Fort William event does not run until July, Flynn has been on his biking journey for almost all of his life.
Having spent most of his childhood in Cape Town, before moving to Cheltenham, England, Flynn initially honed his skills in the local Constantia Uitsig park, spending hours on the difficult obstacles and jumps, some of which even the older riders often avoided.
He admits, however, that without that time spent watching and following his peers, he couldn’t have reached the stage he’s at today.
Despite it his age, Flynn has raced over some picturesque courses around the world
It was upon turning six, though, that things really began to take off for Flynn both in a literal and metaphorical sense.
‘When I was about six years old and riding a hard-tail bike, I got to ride with Theo Erlangson who is a really awesome downhill rider and free rider,’ says Flynn. ‘He said to my parents: “This kid needs a full suspension” and he invited me to ride at Hellsend, which is the coolest spot in the Cape...right next to where they have Dark Fest.
‘I loved going there for their shuttle days and by then my parents managed to get me a Norco Fluid 20” then the 24” full sus. I was hooked into going fast and hitting huge jumps too.’
As Flynn confesses, going fast and hitting the huge jumps quickly became a love of the sport for him.
However, at his age, typically bikes aren’t build to withstand the speeds and forces he was rapidly becoming accustomed to achieving.
The solution, then, was for his parents to get him an adult bike, custom built to his size. Not only did his bike have 24-inch wheels - adult bikes’ wheels are 29 inches - Flynn’s bike had configurable front and rear suspension.
Having such a strong bike underneath him opens up a whole new world of jumps and tracks that Flynn can tackle, including competing at the 100 Percent Mini Downhill event in January at Coleford.
In the 13-14 age group, Flynn achieved an 11th-placed finish from 63 competitors, despite him currently being ranked 14th in the UK.
The South African-born youngster has been mountain biking for nine years already
Although his age group was won by Coby Wrayford of Birmingham’s BMX club, it’s still in downhill mountain biking where Flynn sees his future.
‘I definitely love mountain biking rather than BMX as I like being up on the mountain and having so many options of trails to take depending on how you feel,’ he says. ‘You need to love the sport and have fun as well as training hard which I imagine I’ll have to do more of as I get older.’
The future is bright and even though he has been riding for more than three quarters of his life, Flynn is smart enough to recognise the need for coaching and further development.
While he admits that tricks and having fun are an important part of sport, Flynn is fully focused on reaching his potential.
‘I love racing and going fast but big air is also a lot of fun and I like trying new tricks,’ he adds.
‘I used to go to Potties (Johann Potgieter) youth camps in South Africa when I was seven until I was nine years old. He was a racer for the YT team and now is a lines coach.
‘(Since moving to Cheltenham) I’ve had a couple of coaching sessions here now too with Jack Reading and Proride’s Olly Morris but I mainly learn just by getting out each week and going to different places to ride.’
