Andreas Theodorou: ‘You only get one chance’ in downhill racing

Four years ago, when Andreas Theodorou first travelled to Borovets, Bulgaria, the level of downhill mountain bike racing he encountered seemed almost beyond reach. “It seemed too far away from our own reality,” the Cypriot rider recalls.

This September, he returned to the same mountains and produced the fastest time of the UCI Borovets Open Downhill Cup 2026, taking first place in the Elite Men category as well as the overall classification.

For Theodorou, the result therefore represented more than another international victory.

“It gave me the confidence I needed to believe that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and work tirelessly towards that goal,” he told en.philenews.

It was another milestone in a journey that began at a time when, as he remembers it, downhill mountain biking barely existed as an organised sport in Cyprus.

From cross-country to downhill

Theodorou had been drawn to mountain biking from a young age and already knew that downhill was where he ultimately wanted to be. With few opportunities available in Cyprus at the time, however, he initially concentrated on cross-country mountain biking and road cycling.

That changed during his university years, when he heard that downhill races were beginning to take place on the island.

“I invested all of my money and bought my first downhill bike and started racing,” he said.

Results followed quickly. By around 2017, he had decided to commit fully to downhill racing and began travelling across Europe to compete in major international events, including the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup.

Theodorou says he is the only Cypriot to this day to have represented the country at that level.

Alongside his international races came repeated success at home. He is now a nine-time Cyprus downhill national champion.

‘You only get one chance’

The attraction of downhill is also what makes it unforgiving.

Riders hurtle through steep mountain courses with jumps, drops, rocks, roots and trees, with Theodorou saying speeds can exceed 70km/h. A competitive run may last only around four minutes, but heart rates can climb above 160 beats per minute as riders try to maintain both speed and control.

“Downhill mountain biking is one of the toughest sports on the planet,” he said.

He describes it as the “Formula 1 of mountain biking”, with the rider’s body, concentration and equipment all pushed towards their limits.

Physical preparation, however, is only one part of the challenge.

“You only get one chance,” Theodorou said. “One run, one opportunity to put together the pieces of the puzzle that you so hard worked for.”

That creates a particular kind of pressure at the start gate. Months of training can come down to a single run in which a mistake lasting a fraction of a second can undo the work that came before it.

Mental preparation, he says, is therefore a major part of the sport, alongside the fitness, reflexes and technical ability required to negotiate a downhill course at racing speed.

A season that can cost €40,000–€50,000

There is another barrier that is less visible from the side of the track: the cost.

According to Theodorou, competing for an entire season at elite level can require a budget of around €40,000 to €50,000.

The expenses begin with bikes, equipment and protective gear, but quickly extend to spare parts, flights, accommodation, local transport, race entry fees, training, nutrition, gym memberships and coaching.

That estimate, he stresses, assumes there are no serious injuries, hospital bills or surgery and does not include travelling with the kind of support team available to better-funded competitors.

For a rider based in Cyprus, the challenge is greater still because international competition almost inevitably means travelling abroad.

Theodorou says he has never had anything close to such a full-season budget. Instead, he chooses a limited number of races each year that he believes he can afford, organising and financing the trips himself while trying to keep costs under control.

“I only select a few races per season, that I can fund by myself, with my own money, my own planning, as cost effective as possible,” he said.

Cyprus has the terrain, but not yet the infrastructure

Despite those obstacles, Theodorou sees reasons for optimism in Cyprus.

He says promising young riders are beginning to emerge, and some are already producing notable results in European and international competitions.

The island, in his view, also possesses many of the ingredients needed for mountain biking to develop further: mild weather for much of the year, short travelling distances and mountainous terrain.

“We’ve given everything we can to the sport to help it grow on the island, since Cyprus could be a mountain biking paradise,” he said.

Theodorou says leading international riders who have visited Cyprus have been impressed by its trails and downhill tracks.

What is missing, he argues, is sufficient infrastructure and stronger support from sporting organisations and federations.

Without that framework, he believes it is difficult to provide younger riders with a clear pathway from discovering the sport to eventually competing abroad.

He would like to see greater investment not only in downhill but in sport more broadly, arguing that mountain biking combines athletic performance with the kind of action that can attract new audiences.

Yet despite nine national titles, international races and the latest victory in Borovets, Theodorou says competition itself has never been the whole point.

“My mission has always been and always will be to get as many people on mountain bikes as I possibly can,” he said, describing cycling as a way of encouraging people to explore nature, respect it and remain active.

“The racing part is just the cherry on top of the cake.”