Imagine going downhill at 100 km/h with no room for mistakes. Where one wrong turn could be the difference between winning and losing, or breaking an arm. It sounds crazy, but that’s what Kwanah Sioui Moar does on a regular basis.
This year marks Moar’s first year in Senior Elite mountain biking, after having graduated from junior expert last year. On the weekend of May 17-18, he entered into one of the most crucial races of his young career. Racing at a Canada Cup event in Bromont, Quebec, Sioui went up against some of the best racers in Canada.
He ended up finishing a solid fourth. This strong showing insured him a berth on the World cup stage at Mont Ste. Anne June 26-27.
Sioui was quite pleased with the outcome. “I’m happy with the result, I was looking for top ten to qualify for the world cup, and I finished fourth,” he said.
Success comes pretty easily to this 19-year-old phenom. Early on in his career, winning became as easy as entering the race. The only time he didn’t win was when he would experience mechanical problems, or when he moved up to race against older, stronger, and more experienced guys.
Eating right is essential in downhill mountain bike racing. Sioui suggests healthy food, including pasta, vegetables, and plenty of water. On the day of the race, he likes to drink sport drinks like Gatorade, or Powerade.
Throughout his career, Sioui has won 21 out of 36 races. A remarkable record in any sport, at any level.
As his success and popularity grows, so do his sponsors. The cost of entering races, lodging, and food can reach as high as $10,000 per year. Yeti bikes, Demers Sports, eastsidefreeride.com, and Spy optics are a few examples of companies who want their names associated with Sioui. These sponsorships translate into big bucks in the form of free equipment, free clothing, and most importantly, a free bike. There is also financial incentive for winning.
For the future, Sioui wants to focus on winning the Canadian championship again, this time on the Senior Elite level. He also wants to participate in the world cup, which sees the top racers compete from all over the globe. He finished a distant 36th in the only other World Cup event he raced in last year.
Those results will almost surely be different this year.
It takes an enormous amount of dedication to be a champion. He trains up to six times a week, for three hours a day. In the off-season his schedule consists of training three times a week.
When asked how long he wants to race for, he replied, “as long as I can. As long as I keep competitive, and as long as I have money to race.”
He claims he doesn’t really see himself as a role model, despite everyone telling him so. Modesty, it seems, is one of his attributes. He does hope that other native youth will see how hard he works, and the positive results that can come from that, and hopefully that somehow inspires them to push themselves to succeed.
Surely the positive example he is setting will inspire everyone, young and old to get out there and get active.
