The mountain bike life

Ouch! This shot really captures what it's like to hit the ground. The brief moment of chaos, praying that the landing won't be too hard, and that you'll get up and walk away from it. We loved the flashes of colour shining through the dirt, and seeing those blue goggles does a brilliant job of connecting you with the rider who's in the middle of it all, taking the knocks. It's not your average mountain biking picture, but it's excellent, good job!

Excellent shot! Someone's about to have a lot of fun getting down off the mountain before dark! This was one of our favourites because it's a totally beautiful photograph, amazing sunlight, snow still on the ground, and just makes you wish you were there, riding an awesome looking ridge and feeling stoked about being on your bike. Not sure we'd be hanging around taking too many pictures if the sun's about to say goodnight, but pleased they did. Nice job.

We've chosen this shot because it's a great riding shot, but also just sums up that feeling of dropping in to the woods in the winter. Gnarly wet roots, damp ground, steep track, just going at it hard, totally focussed. It's nice the way the rider's coming out of the bright sunlight into the dark wood, bike and helmet glistening and looking in total control - even though his eyes are probably still adjusting! This'd be a shot that you might see in a mountain biking magazine. Quality.

Starting them young! That's the best way. No fear at that age. This photo contest was about the Mountain Bike Life, and it's not just about being on your bike. It's also about being outdoors, getting in touch with the natural world, hanging out with your mates, this is a nice shot that gets that across. These two are never going to forget their days out riding together as kids. It's when the love of the sport can be born, and you don't lose it.

Good to see you guys taking on the Ffar side and tackling our Personal Best times. How did you get on? Riding in the 'Nog is always a treat, it was our home for years and the Revo guys do an awesome job up there. This shot captures that moment when you're at the top of a track and getting ready to launch yourself down. Are they nervous? Excited? It's about that split between following your mate and trying to stay focussed on making your own decisions.

It's not all about going as quick as you can. Well it mostly is, but from time to time you've got to stop and take in the view. This is a classic shot from a day out in the hills, and the rider almost disappears against the mountain backdrop. It's a beautiful feeling getting to the top of the mountain, and knowing that you've got an awesome downhill to come. Stop, get your breath back, then off you go again.

Hike a bike! A study in violet! OK, some days you should just stay indoors. What is this guy doing climbing Helvellyn with a mountain bike on his back in the snow? Whatever, it's a beautiful shot! We love the feeling that he's following in somebody's footsteps, maybe they had a bike too, perhaps they'll meet at the summit? Fair play to him if that's what he enjoys doing, but it doesn't look much like a riding day from here. Especially with all that purple going on.

We had a good laugh over this shot. Bashed up and exhausted. Run the man a bath. There are beautiful mountain biking shots, and then ones that just remind you what it's like to ride, and we've all been here. Flaked out on the ground, unable to move and so grateful to be done after a ride that was a bit too long, or a bit too hard. Looks like he took a tumble or two along the way, all part of the fun!

Fort William! What can we say, the highest highs and the lowest lows – we've all won here – in 2004 all 3 of us won national champs and since then Gee and Rach have "done the double" for Worlds, but it was also the track that became known as Rachel's nemesis – it can be a cruel and physical ride. Fort William’s course is long (2.82 km) and steep with a vertical descent of 555m along its length. We reckon it's the toughest on the World Cup circuit – it's a good job the crowds there are so wild (though not so much for this guy!)

We like the mystery of this one. Are they lost? Are they praying they will be able to get shown the trail? Are they looking for equipment to fix a puncture? If it would be us we'd be rifling for food! We liked the feel of emptiness and the possibility of the trail in front of them compared with the relationship between the two of them. Nothing is so daunting if you do it together – riding as a family has been a huge privilege for us.

We've put this shot in because it was the best shot of night riding. We don't do much riding at night but just last month we shot a launch video for our new team set-up. It's a totally different experience to riding in the day, it felt pretty bizarre to be on our bikes at midnight and the boys were STARVING, but we love to change things up and this was intense, really exhilarating. Not the easiest thing to get a shot of either, but we thought that this photographer's done a really nice job of it.

Great shot! For us it captures a couple of things nicely - you can almost feel the sensation of him going full tilt, it's good that he looks a little unsure, you get a sense of the intensity of his race-run and the focus you need to have from top to bottom. This guy is pinned! He's locked in and giving it everything. It's a nice touch to have the 'NXTGEN' logo on the guy's arm with the British Cycling logos behind, because that's what's going on!

OK, so it might not be the greatest 'photograph' maybe, but this one brought a smile to our faces. Chucking it down with snow, looking freezing cold, but big grins all round and clearly having fun on the trail. We just thought this was a really nice little moment in the life of a couple of kids who look like they love riding their bikes. And maybe the photographer can be forgiven the blurry shot given the dreadful weather conditions – his hands were probably freezing!

This is what it's all about. Getting out with a bunch of your mates and having a laugh. And wrapping something around your thumb usually makes it even better – is it a bandage?? Did he fall already? Is he going to ride with that hand? (Gee once rode a World Cup finals with a broken wrist velcro'ed to the bars so maybe he will!). Let's hope this is at the start of the day because no one looks that tired and there are a lot of clean clothes on display!