‘New superpower’ in mountain biking Ronan Dunne has a target on his back after ‘dream two weeks’ on world stage

By racing down treacherous slopes at extreme speeds, the 22-year-old from Enniskerry has seen his star rise dramatically over the last six months.

Dunne goes into this weekend’s UCI downhill MTB World Cup at Leogang, Austria, as the form rider on the back of winning the last round of the series in Poland two weeks ago and following up with a dramatic, and fearless, victory at the Red Bull Hardline event in Wales.

He’s been declared the ‘new superpower in downhill racing,’ or the ‘fastest man on the planet’ after a whirlwind two weeks that also saw him sign a coveted deal with Red Bull.

“It’s been pretty mad, but a dream two weeks,” he tells the Irish Independent from his base in the Austrian Alps ahead of today’s qualification run. “It’s been pretty insane to win the last World Cup and then Hardline and get a Red Bull deal. I’ve had pretty bad brain fog since Poland, but I’m loving it.”

Dunne has been riding the crest of a green wave since Snowshoe, West Virginia, last September, where Oisín O’Callaghan became the first Irishman to win a World Cup event, with his compatriot from Wicklow standing on the second step of the podium that day. Dunne has taken up the baton by winning Hardline Tasmania in February before his recent back-to-back successes. Three of his first four major events this year have ended in victory.

“Definitely it puts a target on your back,” he says. “It’s good and bad. You have to look at the positives of it. Everyone always wants to beat you, but I’m the same with the man ahead of me.

“It was kind of the dream to get to here. You dream of this, but you kind of don’t as well because it doesn’t seem possible. So it’s pretty sick when you do get to this position.”

On top of his fearless riding, Dunne has also displayed some impeccable timing. His Red Bull deal was only announced, after a long courtship, on the eve of Hardline Wales, one of energy drinks company’s premium events. Dunne was the fastest man all weekend and took the main honours to earn his wings in style.

While Hardline attracts a smaller field than a World Cup, the tracks are more intense, and dangerous; which is risky business for riders in the middle of the season. However, the profile of the event stretches far and wide. Dunne acquired 40,000 extra Instagram ‘followers’ over that week alone.

“A lot of the fields don’t come because they don’t want to risk it. But this year it was the most viewed Red Bull event ever. It definitely helps with sponsor to have a good social media presence. It’s good to be all over everyone’s phones.”

It’s all part of the job for Dunne, who has had to climb the ladder season by season to a position where he now has good sponsors, salary and team support. It’s not a sport his parents always thought of as a career option.

“When I started the sport, they were like it’s just a good hobby,” says Dunne, who has moved to the Mondraker team this year. “It’s expensive, but it’s a good sport to be in, being on the bike outside instead of being in the city centre doing God knows what, like the rest of my class. I’m sure they thought it was keeping me out of trouble though, especially in Ireland, it’s easy to fall into that trap; with sessions and drinking.

“They were always stoked, but they never really saw a job opportunity out of it. They always questioned it a bit, but they always backed me.

“My first year went well in elites so the team paid for travel for the next one. That went pretty well and I was lucky enough to get a salary. And then I moved teams for this year. So my parents are pretty stoked at the minute.”

This weekend he’s hoping to continue his rich vein of form, though he believes the unpredictable weather in the Austrian mountains could have a large say in the matter. No matter what conditions he faces, Dunne will try to follow his routine. His preparations are complete, now it’s important not to overthink it.

“Sometimes you can ride well and remember (it) and they’re the sick ones. But most of the time it’s completely blurred out from your mind because there’s so much adrenaline and emotion going into it after a whole week leading up to those three minutes. But if you’re not thinking, it’s kind of good. When you start thinking that’s where the problems start.”

He may not remember the three minutes of today or tomorrow’s run in Austria, but he won’t forget the last two weeks any time soon.