Tayte Proulx-Royds is the reigning junior women’s downhill national champ. She has multiple top-1o World Cup finishes after her first year of juniors. And, in 2026, she’ll finally get to race on a downhill bike. Until now, the Kelowna rider’s sponsor didn’t make a full on bike, leaving her racing against the world’s fastest riders and hardest courses on a modified enduro rig.
“It might surprise a lot of people, but I’ve been racing on hybrid enduro bikes my whole life, even during my first season of World Cup DH racing” Proulx-Royds says.
Moving to Polygon Bikes for 2026 changes all of that. We talked to Proulx-Royds about how the team move came about, how it changes her outlook on 2026 and what she learned from her first year of international racing as a junior.
Canadian Cycling Magazine: First off, congrats on the move to Polygon. How did you connect with them?
Tayte Proulx-Royds: The switch to Polygon actually started through a connection with one of my long‑standing sponsors. Polygon reached out to me first, and once we started talking everything just clicked. Now I’m heading into my first season with them, and I’m really excited.
CCM: You still had one year left on your Kona contract. It looks like they’ve moved in a different direction with their time. What was the conversation or process like talking to Kona about leaving early? (If you want to talk about that. I’m ok if you just want to focus on the move forward)
TPR: Yeah, I did still have some time left with Kona. Honestly, Kona was a huge part of my development as a rider, and I truly loved being part of the Kona Factory Team. I’m incredibly thankful for my time there and for the very cool people I met. But I really wanted to focus on World Cup DH racing because I feel like I’ve only just begun. It’s exciting to see the direction Kona is taking, but the timing was just a little too soon for me. Staying loyal to my long‑term partnerships and sponsors was really important, so the decision made sense for where I’m headed.
CCM: How does the move to Polygon help support your racing goals?
TPR: There were multiple reasons why this switch was so beneficial for me. The biggest one is that this will be my first time ever racing a real DH bike. It might surprise a lot of people, but I’ve been racing on hybrid enduro bikes my whole life, even during my…
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