Jason Connor, a professional downhill mountain biker, recently set his sights on a new goal: breaking a world record to raise awareness for more pumptrack facilities in Winnipeg. Having already set a record in New Zealand years ago (25 km), Connor wanted to beat his own milestone.
The challenge
Connor’s record attempt was to cover the longest distance on a pumptrack without pedaling, using only the track itself to build momentum. He did it without a chain. He chose Sage Creek in Winnipeg, the city’s first pump track, as the site for this attempt, with a purpose in mind beyond just breaking records. “The whole reason we did the world record is so that we can get more of these tracks for the kids,” he shared.
“The pump track we used is a bit more jump-focused, so it wasn’t the fastest course,” Connor explained. Still, he managed to push through, completing an impressive 222 laps and covering 50 kilometers in just over two hours. “It’s hard work, especially towards the end,” Connor admitted. “Your hips get sore, your feet go numb, but you just keep going.” The grueling effort proved successful, and now, it’s up to Guinness to officially recognize his achievement.
Pushing through for pumptracks
“It’s not really my thing, endurance racing,” Connor laughed, “but the kids need these tracks, and this is one way to get people’s attention.”
Local businesses and sponsors came together to support the effort, contributing raffle prizes and promoting the event. Connor’s sponsor, Norco, along with brands like Goodyear and Muck Off, pitched in with gear and prizes to help cover the costs. “It’s not cheap to try and break a world record,” he noted, with Guinness fees and logistics adding up. But to Connor, the attention the event generated is what really matters. “The money we’ll need to build more tracks is in the hundreds of thousands,” he said, “so this was just the first step. Now we can go knock on some doors, ask for some money and hopefully get a few more of these tracks built.”
What’s a Kiwi doing in Winnipeg?
While riding a 75-foot blind step-down jump in New Zealand, Connor nose-cased the landing on his first attempt. “It scared the shit out of me,” he recalls. He attempted it again, but frame-cased it and went over the bars. He landed head first. The result? A traumatic brain injury, two years off the bike and a complete reassessment of his career.
“I had two years off the bike from a serious…
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