The Forgotten Story Behind Downhill’s Most Iconic Rider, Nico Vouilloz
In the 90’s and 00’s, Vouilloz was in a class of his own and inspired many to lift their game. 25 years later he is still an inspiration for Bruni.
In 32 years of the sport, only 12 riders have won the Overall World Cup title. One of them is Frenchman, Loïc Bruni. As a five-time elite World Champion, Loïc is already one of the all-time great Downhill racers but is yet to reach the status of compatriot and icon of the sport, Nico Vouilloz.
Loic Bruni has won the UCI Downhill World Cup Overall title four times in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. But in order to join the ‘Downhill World Cup Hall of Fame’, he has at least one more overall title to claim, to reach the status of Vouilloz (FRA) and Gwin (USA) who are both 5x Overall Downhill World Cup Champions.
Aaron Gwin, who has taken multiple world titles as the ‘lone American’ in a field mostly dominated by Europeans, sees Bruni’s success as healthy competition. “The thought of Loic breaking our record – as a competitor, I don’t love it to be honest, but at the same time, records are meant to be broken“.
With a different set of accolades, Greg Minnaar is also widely considered mountain biking’s greatest downhill racer, at least in the modern era of the sport. With three World Cup overall titles, four World Championships, and victories spanning two decades, his consistency, longevity, and professionalism set him apart. Not to mention his astonishingly high World Cup podium tally. Minnaar’s ability to adapt across many generations of rising talent, win under pressure, and inspire generations defines true greatness in modern competitive downhill racing.
However, for Loic Bruni, his inspiration very definitely comes from Vouilloz who was a pioneer and an icon who has pushed the sport into the modern era. Besides titles, that’s what being one of the greats means for Bruni. “More and more, I just want to be remembered as someone authentic, who puts his whole heart into it. And when my heart’s in it, I’m unbeatable”, says Bruni. “Who I am today, is tightly linked to who Nico was as a rider“.
The Downhill scene in the 90’s and early 00’s was a very different era compared to what it is now. High saddles, super narrow handlebars, lycra racing gear and bad brakes. But there was a special element of anticipation in the air, as the riders felt something big was definitely brewing underneath just ‘sending it’. “Those first years, the early days, the excitement when a sport is starting to grow, were amazing“, remembers Vouilloz. “Nothing works in the beginning, everything is off. Naturally, it’s less professional, but that’s what made it cooler, more laid-back.“
Fast-forwarding to 25 years later, the sport of Downhill MTB is very much fine-tuned compared with the “old school” methods of the 90s, which often relied more on trial-and-error. The competition gets tougher each year, and the new generation is pushing new boundaries in the sport.
Bruni’s 2025 UCI Downhill World Cup season concluded with a tight end battle with 21-year-old Jackson Goldstone who in return had the season of his life, taking both the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and World Championships titles, the first Canadian rider to achieve this rare double, at the 2025 season finale in Mont Sainte Anne.
But only winning titles is not what MTB Downhill greatness represents for Bruni. “Winning 5 overall world cups like Nicolas Vouilloz and Aaron Gwin would be a massive achievement but it’s not my obsession. I don’t have my eyes set only on that, I use it as a motivation, but I also want to take every year the best that I can. I want to keep up with the young ones, and I also want to have fun in the process. I feel like sometimes having your eyes too much on the result is difficult and you can only set yourself for a disappointment if you don’t reach those goals so I’m trying to stay cool about it and everything that comes now feels like a bonus. If I reach the same title status of Vouilloz and Gwin, I will be so very proud, but if not – I will still be proud.” Watch the full documentary here: