Lou Ferguson On Fear, Doubt and Breaking New Ground

Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

Downtime MTB

Sports, Leisure, Fitness, Health & Fitness, Hobbies, Wilderness

4.9 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hardline has always been one of the most intimidating races in mountain biking, but at Hardline Wales in 2025, Lou Ferguson delivered a full top-to-bottom race run that showed just how far the women’s scene has progressed.

But that run was only part of the story.

Because Lou is also heading into a new chapter of her career, returning to Nukeproof bikes and RockShox for 2026, racing alongside teammate Millie Johnset and building towards what could be her biggest season yet.

So today we’re catching up with Lou to talk about that Hardline run, what it meant to her and to women’s progression in the sport, how the Nukeproof move came together, and what the future might hold. So sit back, hit play and check out this episode with Lou Ferguson.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here.

You can follow Lou on Instagram @fergyferg__.

Podcast Stuff

Sponsoring Partner

This episode is sponsored by PNW Components. I’ve been riding their Loam Carbon Handlebar and have been impressed with the ride quality, maintaining a positive steering feel, while reducing the vibration you feel through the bar. Tested to the highest standards, shaped to give you all day comfort with modern bike geo and with a lifetime warranty. It’s no surprise that it’s fast become PNW’s best selling product. Check them out at pnwcomponents.com.

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Photo – Sven Martin

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	They weren't that on board with me doing Hardline initially.
0:03.0	I feel like I learned a lot about myself at Hardline.
0:06.0	People say like, oh, you must be crazy and like take loads of risks and stuff and like really confident,
0:12.0	but I'm actually not like, I'm pretty unconfident in a lot of ways.
0:17.0	It's been really fun chatting.
0:18.0	I think this has been the most chill one yet, although this is the one that I cried at.
0:24.6	Hey everyone, I'm Chris Hall and this is the downtime podcast, the podcast for the true fans of gravity mountain biking, taking you deeper into the sport than anywhere else.
0:33.1	This episode is sponsored by P&W components, but more about that later. As much as ever, the podcast needs your support. So if you're enjoying what we're doing and getting something out of it, I'd love it if you'd consider making a small regular donation over at patreon.com for slash downtime podcast. For the price of a cup of coffee a month, you can really help make a difference and help me keep bringing you more great content each week. You can also help out
0:54.8	by sharing the episode with your friends or online or by something as simple as making sure you're
0:58.8	following the podcast wherever you listen or by subscribing to the Downtime Podcast YouTube channel.
1:03.9	Following is as simple as hitting that button in your podcast app or head into Downtime Podcast.com
1:08.1	for slash follow. You can give us to follow on Instagram, Facebook and
1:11.2	TikTok too where we're at Downtown Podcast and for the real inside line you can join our newsletter
1:15.6	at downtimepodcast.com for slash newsletter. All right, Hardline has always been one of the most
1:21.5	intimidating races in mountain biking. But at Hardline Wales this year, Lou Ferguson delivered a
1:26.0	full top-to-botton race run that showed just how far the women's seen as progressed. But that run was only part of the story, because Lou is also heading into a new chapter of her career, returning to nuke-proof bikes and rock shocks for 2026, racing alongside teammate Millie Onset, and building towards what could be her biggest season yet. So today we're catching up
1:44.6	with Lou to talk about that hardline run, what it meant to her and to women's progression
1:48.2	in sport, how the nukeproof move came together and what the future might hold. So without further ado,
1:54.1	here's Lou Ferguson. Lou Ferguson, welcome back to the downtime podcast. How are you?
2:02.8	I'm really well. Thanks for having me back again.
2:05.0	Oh, thanks for having me in Queenstown in this lovely little spot.
2:08.8	Yeah, welcome to my place.
	...

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