# Aaron Gwin

Aaron Holmes Gwin (born December 24, 1987) is an American professional downhill mountain biker from Morongo Valley, California. He is a five-time World Cup overall champion.

## Race career

Aaron Gwin started his cycling career racing BMX from the age of 4. By age 8, Gwin was racing at a national level. At age 12, Gwin moved on to motocross and raced up until he was 17, when he quit due to constant injuries. In 2008, at age 20, Gwin was loaned a bike by fellow professional downhill racer and good friend Cody Warren and was encouraged to compete in a race. In his first race in the Fontana Winter Series, he placed 3rd, and began racing from then on, quickly signing with Yeti Cycles. He became well known for breaking into the international World Cup scene after only 8 months of riding downhill.
Many saw Gwin as the savior for US downhill racing on the international scene, since his 10th-place finish at the Mont Sainte-Anne World Cup in 2008 was the first American top 10 finish since 2004. He has since won eight United States National Championships for Downhill, in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
In 2011 and 2012, Gwin dominated the UCI World Cup downhill series. Gwin won 5 out of 7 World Cup races in 2011, and finished 13th at the UCI World Championships in Champery. In 2012, Gwin once again dominated the circuit, taking first place in 4 out of 6 World Cup races. He finished in 128th at World Championships in Leogang.
The year 2013 was a disappointing one for Gwin, with unexpected poor results culminating in an accident involving a tree at the World Championships.
In 2014, Gwin's racing improved from 2013, although with only one 1st in the World Cup along with the USA National Championships. His racing showed recovery from his 2013 setbacks, but suffered several mechanical accidents, such as his run in Leogang at the UCI MTB World Cup in 2014, where he suffered a flat tire as he left the start gate, which resulted in the tire coming off of the rim; or his 2015 race run at the Leogang UCI MTB World Cup where his chain broke on the start line, and he raced without pedaling for his race run, managing to hold his speed and win the race.

## Riding style

Much of Gwin's style and skill come from his motocross experience. His BMX racing experience has also contributed to his ability to ride smoothly, bringing him success in Dual Slalom and Mountain Cross.

## Teams

Gwin was sponsored in 2008 by Yeti Cycles. He left the Yeti team in November 2010 to join the Trek World Racing Team after relocating to Temecula, CA. During his time at Trek World Racing, he won two World Cup Overall titles, in 2011 and 2012. On January 7, 2013, it was announced that Aaron would be riding for Specialized Racing, replacing Sam Hill on the team. His teammate at Specialized was Troy Brosnan.
After a successful season with Specialized, Gwin announced that he would be leaving the big brand to ride for up and coming brand YT Industries for the 2016 season. In 2019, Gwin signed with Intense Factory Racing. In 2024, Gwin left Intense Factory Racing and formed an independent team, Gwin Factory Racing.

## Results
### 2008

       10th place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill
       7th place, MSC #2 Chalk Creek Stampede Mountain Cross
       1st place, MSC #2 Chalk Creek Stampede Dual Slalom
       4th place, Deer Valley National Dual Slalom
       4th place, Deer Valley National Downhill
       1st place, MSC #5 Blast the Mass Downhill
    10th place, 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec Canada
    34th place, 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Bromont, Quebec, Canada
       1st place, MSC #7 Snowmass G3 Downhill
       1st place, MSC #9 MSC Gravity Finals Downhill
    8th place, 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #8 Schladming, Austria

### 2009

    17th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
    14th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 La Bresse France
    16th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Vallnord Andorra
    9th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Fort William, Scotland
    14th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Maribor Slovenia
    1st place, USAC National Downhill Championships, Sol Vista Colorado United States
    3rd place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada
    5th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Bromont, Quebec, Canada
       1st place, MSC #3 Blast the Mass Downhill, Snowmass Village, Colorado, United States
    21st place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Stromlo, Canberra, Australia
    4th place, 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #8 Schladming, Austria

### 2010

       2nd place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill
    7th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Maribor, Slovenia
       1st place, IXS German Cup, Winterberg, Germany
    4th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Fort William, Scotland
    3rd place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Leogang, Austria
       24th place, MSC #3 Blast the Mass Downhill, Snowmass Village, Colorado, United States
       1st place, MSC #4 Blast the Mass Downhill, Snowmass Village, Colorado, United States
    1st place, USAC National Downhill Championships, Sol Vista Colorado United States
    8th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Champerey, [France]
    14th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Val di Sole, [Italy]
    4th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Windham, New York State, United States
    4th place, 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada

### 2011

    1st place overall for the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series, the first American to ever win a World Cup Overall Title and the first man to win 5 World Cup DH races in one season:
    1st place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
    5th place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Fort William, Scotland
    1st place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Leogang, Austria
    1st place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec
    1st place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Windham, New York, USA
    3rd place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 La Bresse, FRA
    1st place, 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Val di Sole, ITA
       1st place, US Open

### 2012

    1st place overall for the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
    2nd place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
       3rd place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill
       2nd place, Port Angeles Grand Prix Downhill
    1st place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Val Di Sole, Italy
    1st place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Fort William, Scotland
    1st place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Mont Saint Anne, Canada
    1st place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Windham, United States
    5th place, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Val D'Isere, France (After this race he clinched his 2nd UCI Mountain Bike World Cup championship)
    83rd place, Leogang, UCI MTB World Championships 2012 Austria
    DNF, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Hafjell Bike Park, Norway

### 2013

       1st place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill Monterey, California, United States
    20th place, 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Fort William,
    6th place, 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Val di Sole, [Italy]
    10th place, 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Vallnord Andorra
    1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Angel Fire New Mexico United States
    5th place, 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Mont Saint Anne, Canada
    67th place, UCI MTB World Championships 2013 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

### 2014

    1st place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
    4th place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Cairns, Australia
    4th place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Fort William,
    78thplace, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Leogang, Austria
    1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Angel Fire New Mexico United States
    6th place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Mont Saint-Anne, Canada
    2nd place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Windham, New York State, United States
    6th place, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Meribel, France
    14th place, UCI MTB World Championships 2014 Hafjell Bike Park, Norway

### 2015

    1st place overall for the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
    1st place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Lourdes, France
       1st place, Sea Otter Classic Downhill Monterey, California, United States
    2nd place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Fort William,
    1st place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Leogang, Austria
    8th place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Lenzerheide switzerland
    1st place, USAC National Downhill Pro Championships, Mammouth California United States
    7th place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Mont Saint-Anne, Canada
    1st place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Windham, New York State, United States
    1st place, 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Val di Sole, [Italy]

### 2016

    1st place, Overall for the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
    1st place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Lourdes, France
    4th place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Cairns, Australia
    2nd place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Fort William, Scotland
    1st place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Leogang, Austria
    2nd place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec
    1st place, National Mountain Bike Championships - Downhill
    55th place, 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Vallnord, Andorra

### 2017

    1st place overall for the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series
    DQ, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #1 Lourdes, France
    3rd place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #2 Fort William,
    1st place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #3 Leogang, Austria,
    5th place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Vallnord Andorra,
    51st place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Lenzerheide switzerland,
    1st place, 2017 USAC National Downhill Pro Championships Snowshoe West Virginia United States
    1st place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #6 Mont Saint Anne, Canada
    1st place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup #7 Val di Sole, [Italy]
    3rd place, 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Cairns, [Australia]

### 2018

    1st place, Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup Lošinj 2018