Aaron Holmes Gwin (born December 24, 1987) is an American professional downhill

mountain biker Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

from Morongo Valley, California. He is a five-time World Cup overall champion.

Race career

Aaron Gwin started his cycling career racing

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

from the age of 4. By age 8, Gwin was racing at a national level. At age 12, Gwin moved on to

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

and raced up until he was 17, when he quit due to constant injuries. In 2008, at age 20, Gwin was loaned a bike by fellow professional downhill racer and good friend Cody Warren and was encouraged to compete in a race. In his first race in the Fontana Winter Series, he placed 3rd, and began racing from then on, quickly signing with Yeti Cycles. He became well-known for breaking into the international

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

scene after only 8 months of riding downhill. Many saw Gwin as the savior for US downhill racing on the international scene, since his 10th-place finish at the

Mont Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical d ...

in 2008 was the first American top 10 finish since 2004. He has since won eight United States National Championships for Downhill, in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2011 and 2012, Gwin dominated the UCI World Cup downhill series. Gwin won 5 out of 7 World Cup races in 2011, and finished 13th at the UCI World Championships in Champery. In 2012, Gwin once again dominated the circuit, taking first place in 4 out of 6 World Cup races. He finished in 128th at World Championships in Leogang. The year 2013 was a disappointing one for Gwin, with unexpected poor results culminating in an accident involving a tree at the World Championships. In 2014, Gwin's racing improved from 2013, although with only one 1st in the World Cup along with the USA National Championships. His racing showed recovery from his 2013 setbacks, but suffered several mechanical accidents, such as his run in

Leogang Leogang is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the state of Salzburg in Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying i ...

at the UCI MTB World Cup in 2014, where he suffered a flat tire as he left the start gate, which resulted in the tire coming off of the rim; or his 2015 race run at the Leogang UCI MTB World Cup where his chain broke on the start line, and he raced without pedaling for his race run, managing to hold his speed and win the race.

Riding style

Much of Gwin's style and skill come from his motocross experience. His

racing experience has also contributed to his ability to ride smoothly, bringing him success in Dual Slalom and Mountain Cross.

Teams

Gwin was sponsored in 2008 by Yeti Cycles. He left the Yeti team in November 2010 to join the Trek World Racing Team after relocating to Temecula, CA. During his time at Trek World Racing, he won two World Cup Overall titles, in 2011 and 2012. On January 7, 2013, it was announced that Aaron would be riding for Specialized Racing, replacing Sam Hill on the team. His teammate at Specialized was Troy Brosnan. Aaron_Gwin_2015

After a successful season with Specialized, Gwin announced that he would be leaving the big brand to ride for up and coming brand YT Industries for the 2016 season. In 2019, Gwin signed on with Intense Factory Racing, for whom he currently rides.

Results

;2008 ::10th place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill ::7th place, MSC #2 Chalk Creek Stampede Mountain Cross ::1st place, MSC #2 Chalk Creek Stampede Dual Slalom ::4th place, Deer Valley National Dual Slalom ::4th place, Deer Valley National Downhill ::1st place, MSC #5 Blast the Mass Downhill :10th place,

2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included four disciplines: cross-country, downhill, marathon and four-cross. It was sponsored by Nissan. Cross-country Downhill Marathon Four-Cross See also *2008 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials Wo ...

#4 Mont Sainte-Anne,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

Canada :34th place,

Bromont Bromont is a city in southern Quebec, Canada, at the base of Mont Brome; it is in the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality. The Bromont area and its resort, Ski Bromont, is well known as a tourist destination for its downhill skiing, mou ...

, Canada ::1st place, MSC #7 Snowmass G3 Downhill ::1st place, MSC #9 MSC Gravity Finals Downhill :8th place,

Schladming Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the F ...

, Austria ;2009 :17th place,

2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included three disciplines: cross-country cycling, cross-country, downhill cycling, downhill and four-cross. It was sponsored by Nissan. Cross-country Downhill Four-Cross See also

*2009 UCI Mount ...

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

:14th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

France :16th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

Vallnord Vallnord () is a ski/snowboard resort in the Pyrenees mountains in the country of Andorra, close to the border with Spain at Tor, Pallars. Overview It encompasses the linked sectors of Pal and Arinsal (the sectors were linked by a cable car ...

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

:9th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

#4 Fort William, Scotland :14th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava sta ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

:1st place, USAC National Downhill Championships, Sol Vista

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

United States :3rd place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

#6 Mont Sainte-Anne,

, Canada :5th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

, Canada ::1st place, MSC #3 Blast the Mass Downhill,

Snowmass Village Snowmass Village is a home rule municipality in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,826 at the 2010 census. A popular winter resort location for skiing and snowboarding, the town is well known as the location of the Sn ...

, United States :21st place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Stromlo,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia :4th place,

*2009 UCI Mount ...

, Austria ;2010 ::2nd place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill :7th place,

2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included three disciplines: cross-country, downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British com ...

::1st place, IXS German Cup,

Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle o ...

, Germany :4th place,

#2 Fort William, Scotland :3rd place,

, Austria ::24th place, MSC #3 Blast the Mass Downhill,

, United States ::1st place, MSC #4 Blast the Mass Downhill,

, United States :1st place, USAC National Downhill Championships, Sol Vista

United States :8th place,

#4 Champerey, rance:14th place,

Val di Sole Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

, taly:4th place,

#6 Windham,

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

, United States :4th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Mont Sainte-Anne,

, Canada ;2011 :1st place overall for the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series, the first American to ever win a World Cup Overall Title and the first man to win 5 World Cup DH races in one season: :1st place,

2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included three disciplines: cross-country, downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British com ...

, South Africa :5th place,

#2 Fort William, Scotland :1st place,

, Austria :1st place,

#4 Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec :1st place,

Windham, New York Windham is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,703 at the 2010 census. The town was probably named for the town or county of Windham, Connecticut, as many of its earliest settlers came from that state as well a ...

, USA :3rd place,

, FRA :1st place,

, ITA ::1st place, US Open ;2012 :1st place overall for the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series :2nd place,

2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included two disciplines: cross-country and downhill. Cross-country Downhill See also *2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The 2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships was ...

, South Africa ::3rd place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill ::2nd place, Port Angeles Grand Prix Downhill :1st place,

#2 Val Di Sole, Italy :1st place,

#3 Fort William, Scotland :1st place,

#4 Mont Saint Anne, Canada :1st place,

#5 Windham, United States :5th place,

#6 Val D'Isere, France (After this race he clinched his 2nd UCI Mountain Bike World Cup championship) :83rd place, Leogang, UCI MTB World Championships 2012 Austria :DNF,

#7 Hafjell Bike Park, Norway ;2013 ::1st place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States :20th place,

2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included three disciplines: cross-country, cross-country eliminator and downhill. Cross-country Cross-country Eliminator Downhill See also * 2013 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships Re ...

#1 Fort William, :6th place,

, taly:10th place,

:1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Angel Fire

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

United States :5th place,

#4 Mont Saint Anne, Canada :67th place, UCI MTB World Championships 2013

;2014 :1st place,

2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included three disciplines: cross-country cycling, cross-country, cross-country eliminator and Downhill mountain biking, downhill. Cross-country Elite U23 Cross-country Eliminator Downhill Classifi ...

:4th place,

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Australia :4th place,

#3 Fort William, :78thplace,

, Austria :1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Angel Fire

United States :6th place,

#5 Mont Saint-Anne, Canada :2nd place,

#6 Windham,

, United States :6th place,

#7 Meribel, France :14th place, UCI MTB World Championships 2014 Hafjell Bike Park, Norway ;2015 :1st place overall for the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series :1st place,

2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup included two disciplines: Olympic Cross-Country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI). The overall World Cup titles in cross-country were won by Nino Schurter and Jolanda Neff. The downhill titles were won by Aaron Gw ...

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

, France ::1st place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill

, United States :2nd place,

#2 Fort William, :1st place,

, Austria :8th place,

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. The ...

switzerland :1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Mammouth

United States :7th place,

#5 Mont Saint-Anne, Canada :1st place,

#6 Windham,

, United States :1st place,

, taly ;2016 :1st place, Overall for the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup :1st place,

2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was a series of races in two disciplines: Olympic Cross-Country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI). The cross-country series had six rounds and the downhill series had seven rounds. Cross-country Elite Under 23 ...

, France :4th place,

, Australia :2nd place,

Fort William, Scotland Fort William ( gd, An Gearasdan ; "The Garrison") formerly ( gd, Baile Mairi) and ( gd, Gearasdan dubh Inbhir-Lochaidh) (Lit. "The Black Garrison of Inverlochy"), ( sco, The Fort), formerly ( sco, Maryburgh) is a town in Lochaber in the Scottish ...

:1st place,

#4 Leogang, Austria :2nd place,

Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical d ...

:1st place, MaillotUSA

National Mountain Bike Championships - Downhill :55th place, 2016

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The first World Cup series – which was composed of cross-country events – was held in 1989. The Downhill W ...

, Andorra ;2017 :1st place overall for the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series :DQ,

2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup The 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup was a series of races in Cross-country cycling, Olympic Cross-Country (XCO), Cross-country eliminator, Cross-Country Eliminator (XCE), and Downhill mountain biking, Downhill (DHI). Each discipline had an Elite ...

, France :2rd place,

#2 Fort William, :1st place,

, Austria, :5th place,

, :51st place,

switzerland, :1st place, 2017 USAC National Downhill Pro Championships

Snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

West Virginia United States :1st place,

#6 Mont Saint Anne, Canada :1st place,

, taly :3rd place,

2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships The 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships was the 28th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. As in 2016, the championships in the various disciplines were held at separate events. The world championships in four-cross were h ...

, ustraliaCairns (AUS) - 10 SEP 2017 Final
Mountain Bike World Championships ;2018 :1st place, Mercedez-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup Lošinj 2018

External links

Aaron Gwin Official Site

Aaron Gwin: Rider Bio

Aaron Gwin: Rider Results and Palmares at Roots & Rain

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwin, Aaron American male cyclists Downhill mountain bikers Living people People from Morongo Valley, California 1987 births American mountain bikers