The extreme off-piste snowboarders of the cycling world. Easily mistaken for colourful storm troopers, no self-respecting downhill rider would be seen pushing their bike back up the hill without full body armour and a full face helmet hung over the handlebars.

Flip the gravity switch and these guys make the impossible seem effortless. 10m drop ins, flying through the tree canopy and landing on a piece of trail less than a metre wide or clocking 40mph down a rockstrewn mountain side is all in a day’s play for these guys.

Only trouble is that, once you get good at this stuff, you’ll have to start travelling a long way to find anything to challenge you. Think Wales, Scotland, the Alps and Whistler.

The image: Rough, tough and, frankly, awesome all over.

Bike: Super-tech big hitters from Juliana, Intense and Giant.

Fashion: Oversized everything, it’s motocross in the mind, and you can sometimes hear it coming out through the mouth – Brrrm…brrrrm…

Media: Dirt, Moto and Ride magazine.