Hall of Frame...
As a Hall of Fame inductee, Scott “Boom Boom” Beaumont is a highly decorated mountain bike and BMX athlete. Holding the National 4X Series title for 11 consecutive years, Scott’s full history of wins, titles and championships would far exceed this word count. When it comes to 4X and BMX, there are very few athletes who can match the experience and success of Scott Beaumont. |
| Sorting the roots from the loam |
For those of us who are less familiar with your riding exploits, how did you become a professional mountain biker?
“I started racing BMX when I was 4 years old and I absolutely loved it, so we continued to progress to national and then international level. By my late teens, I had been really successful winning 16 British titles and 2 UCI World Championship titles. At that time, mountain bike companies were looking for BMX riders for the new sports of downhill and dual slalom. I was offered a salary by Kona and started my pro career in 1997 racing Downhill and Dual World Cups and World Championships. Dual soon changed into 4X and I loved it. Since 2012, I’ve been the joint organiser of the 4X ProTour - The World Series for 4X, so as well as racing, I also organise the whole series as well. I do still race BMX Nationals and World Championships too, so, all in all, it’s usually a pretty busy season!”
Winning number 10...
You’ve been racing for over two decades, in some incredible places all over the world. Do you have a career highlight, or are there many?
“I have a few career highlights so it is hard to single out to just one. Winning my first UCI World Championship title in Columbia, South America, when I was just 17, was incredible. I then followed that win up by winning the UCI World title again in 1996, in front of my home crowd. That’s hard to top.
In mountain biking, I have been ranked first in the world by the UCI a few times in the last few years and I have won 9 National Championship titles. My sights are set on winning number 10, that would be an incredible highlight. Let’s check back next year to see if we are any closer!”
Well, this isn’t how anyone anticipated 2020 to pan out. As the UK is being encouraged to stay home wherever possible, what does a typical day look like for you now?
“I’m at home with Holly and our daughter Astrid. It has been a great few weeks so far. Our pace of life has slowed and we are taking the opportunity to spend even more time with each other than normal. There is every chance that this situation may never happen again so we are certainly seizing the positives.
Astrid is normally awake by 6 am so we come down to have breakfast. She likes to help with cooking so we make scrambled eggs most days. Then I will do my first training session of the day while the girls do some homeschooling. This will be on a bike so sprints or a road ride at the moment. Then back home and Holly will do some of her work whilst we play in the garden till lunch. We try to engage Astrid in cooking, so helping us to make salads, mixing ingredients etc.
In the afternoon I will do my weight training where Astrid sometimes joins in. We have built a box for my box jumps and I have all the weights and kettlebells here so at least I can maintain where I was before lock-down. I am certainly not getting stronger at this point but we are using it as a time to refresh as well.
More playing with Astrid. Normally some bike riding in the street and as she’s just taken her stabilisers off, she wants to ride every day. We then go in for dinner, followed by stories and bedtime for Astrid, then Holly and I work through boxsets on Netflix mostly, although, I have been doing some podcasts for different websites and sponsors during lock-down. Then it’s Bedtime by 10 pm as at 6 am, we start again!”
“Far, far too many people in cycling revolve their entire, and I really do mean entire, life around riding a bike. In this situation, I am sure there are some cyclists going absolutely crazy, but I like to keep cycling and home-life very separate. So we are embracing the family time and we are doing so many jobs around the house and in the garden, it’s untrue. Last week I extended our patio and gave the fence two coats of fresh paint. Cleaned the drive and sorted out my garage. This is what you make of it. Bikes will still be there in a few weeks. We are enjoying the cards that have been dealt and just rolling with it.”
What’s your favourite bike in the fleet at the moment, and more importantly, what’s your tire set-up like?
“I ride Specialized bikes, but my favourite bike is always going to be the SX Enduro, which is my 4X race bike. These frames are like gold dust. It’s a 120mm travel bike that was designed primarily for Sea Otter dual slalom a few years ago for the factory team. It is the perfect 4X bike.
My tire set up changes constantly depending on what track we are racing. We race on 26” wheels for 4X as 27.5” and 29” are simply too slow. We also don’t particularly use tubeless as the jumps we are hitting are huge and the speed combined with the force on the take-offs make the tires burp, so we play the safe option and use tubes. Generally, I use a Hans Dampf 2.35 Addix Soft on the front with a Nobby Nic 2.25 Addix Speed Grip on the back. We do tend to change the tire width and compounds occasionally using a Magic Mary on the front, Rock Razor on the rear or Dirty Dans for when it gets muddy.”
“I have a few career highlights so it is hard to single out to just one. Winning my first UCI World Championship title in Columbia, South America, when I was just 17, was incredible. I then followed that win up by winning the UCI World title again in 1996, in front of my home crowd. That’s hard to top.
In mountain biking, I have been ranked first in the world by the UCI a few times in the last few years and I have won 9 National Championship titles. My sights are set on winning number 10, that would be an incredible highlight. Let’s check back next year to see if we are any closer!”
 |
| Whipping it up a bit |
Well, this isn’t how anyone anticipated 2020 to pan out. As the UK is being encouraged to stay home wherever possible, what does a typical day look like for you now?
“I’m at home with Holly and our daughter Astrid. It has been a great few weeks so far. Our pace of life has slowed and we are taking the opportunity to spend even more time with each other than normal. There is every chance that this situation may never happen again so we are certainly seizing the positives.
Astrid is normally awake by 6 am so we come down to have breakfast. She likes to help with cooking so we make scrambled eggs most days. Then I will do my first training session of the day while the girls do some homeschooling. This will be on a bike so sprints or a road ride at the moment. Then back home and Holly will do some of her work whilst we play in the garden till lunch. We try to engage Astrid in cooking, so helping us to make salads, mixing ingredients etc.
 |
| Jumping the gap |
In the afternoon I will do my weight training where Astrid sometimes joins in. We have built a box for my box jumps and I have all the weights and kettlebells here so at least I can maintain where I was before lock-down. I am certainly not getting stronger at this point but we are using it as a time to refresh as well.
More playing with Astrid. Normally some bike riding in the street and as she’s just taken her stabilisers off, she wants to ride every day. We then go in for dinner, followed by stories and bedtime for Astrid, then Holly and I work through boxsets on Netflix mostly, although, I have been doing some podcasts for different websites and sponsors during lock-down. Then it’s Bedtime by 10 pm as at 6 am, we start again!”
Perfect 4X bike
So that’s your physical day-to-day, but how are you remaining positive and keeping your well-being in check?
“Far, far too many people in cycling revolve their entire, and I really do mean entire, life around riding a bike. In this situation, I am sure there are some cyclists going absolutely crazy, but I like to keep cycling and home-life very separate. So we are embracing the family time and we are doing so many jobs around the house and in the garden, it’s untrue. Last week I extended our patio and gave the fence two coats of fresh paint. Cleaned the drive and sorted out my garage. This is what you make of it. Bikes will still be there in a few weeks. We are enjoying the cards that have been dealt and just rolling with it.”
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| Scott Beaumont |
What’s your favourite bike in the fleet at the moment, and more importantly, what’s your tire set-up like?
“I ride Specialized bikes, but my favourite bike is always going to be the SX Enduro, which is my 4X race bike. These frames are like gold dust. It’s a 120mm travel bike that was designed primarily for Sea Otter dual slalom a few years ago for the factory team. It is the perfect 4X bike.
My tire set up changes constantly depending on what track we are racing. We race on 26” wheels for 4X as 27.5” and 29” are simply too slow. We also don’t particularly use tubeless as the jumps we are hitting are huge and the speed combined with the force on the take-offs make the tires burp, so we play the safe option and use tubes. Generally, I use a Hans Dampf 2.35 Addix Soft on the front with a Nobby Nic 2.25 Addix Speed Grip on the back. We do tend to change the tire width and compounds occasionally using a Magic Mary on the front, Rock Razor on the rear or Dirty Dans for when it gets muddy.”