I’m interrupting Gabriel’s guest post fortnight to express my disbelief and sorrow at hearing that Canadian Downhiller Stevie Smith has died.
It still has not quite sunk in and I can’t really believe it yet. We just saw him in Cairns and it is such tragic news to hear – and so soon after saying goodbye to two other biking greats, Kelly McGarry and Dave Mirra in February. I got the call early from a mate in the industry, and according to reports, Stevie died yesterday riding his Enduro motorbike. It was amazing reading the comments and posts in response to his passing, such touching stories.
His passing is very sad news indeed. He was only 26 and had proved himself to be a brilliant downhiller – who had much more to give – being a formidable competitor and all-round nice guy. His results spoke to his dedication and love of the sport. Stevies 2013 season really put him on the radar when he won the DH World Cups in Leogang, Austria, Hafjell, Norway, and Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada – and ultimately he went on to win that series. Smith had been getting over a string of injuries, which he seemed to have gotten over as he recorded an impressive second place result for the first 2016 World Cup round in Lourdes, France.
I still can’t quite get my head around the idea that I only saw him two weeks ago in Cairns for the UCI World Cup and was chatting with the DavVinci Team about how confident and exciting this season was looking for them. My heart goes out to his family, girlfriend, the Da Vinci team, close friends and fans.
A Stevie Smith Legacy Fund has been established to collect donations to go towards a Tiann Smith initiative, that supports talented up-and-coming young athletes. For those in Nanaimo, B.C. you can attend a farewell event for Stevie Smith’s which will be held May 21 at 1 p.m. at the Vancouver Island Convention Centre.
I will certainly not be the only one who will miss seeing Stevie on the UCI DH circuit.
Farewell Canadian Chainsaw.
Ride, Ride, ride while you can.
