- Two, three, go, go.

- Whoo!

- Downhill mountain bike racing is just super intense.

My heart just goes pumping.

I have to really focus on my breathing, but when you coming through and you're hitting jumps, you're floating through the air, you're flying and there's nothing that's attached to you side your bike.

It's just super fun.

(birds chirping) (car door thuds) - [Narrator] Alyana Van Horn and her dad, Izaak, just made the six hour drive from Medford to Fern Hill.

They're headed to the first race in the Northwest Cup, a series of mountain bike competitions and a proving ground for the most talented riders in the region.

- She likes to go fast.

She's a competitor.

And so now I'm part of the mix.

- [Narrator] At 17 years old, Aly's competing as a junior pro.

How she performs at events like the Northwest Cup will decide whether she can turn pro next year and make mountain biking a full-time job.

- I think it was around seven years old when I started riding.

- Woo-hoo, good job, Alyana.

- I just remember it was for me.

I liked it.

- Somewhere along the line, a fire was lit in that kid and she did one of her first downhill races and won.

- [Narrator] Over the next three years, Aly kept competing and winning.

What started as a hobby was suddenly looking like a realistic career path.

- Aly wants to win.

- Ride alert.

- [Izaak] She's got some kind of drive in her that she's the competitive athlete.

- And as it turns out.

- Go, Aly.

She has the skills and the fitness to back it up.

Come give us some hugs and we'll hit the road.

- [Narrator] Their eight hour drive to Northern Washington always includes a stop at grandma's.

(Ahhhh) - [Phuong] Oh my amazing young lady.

Mwuah.

Oh, kiss me.

You have fun, okay.

- Okay.

- And be safe.

You know I'm scared to death, but as life you know you have to take the risk.

Otherwise, you will never learn, never find out.

That's what life is all about, right?

- My family is my biggest support.

Like my dad and my mom take the time off their work to help me travel, but they also help make me sane while I'm traveling 'cause sometimes they're really long flights or drives.

- [Izaak] This is kind of the tip of the iceberg, 'cause if she does well in this season, she could get to go race on the world stage.

You never know.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] Port Angeles is the first stop in the Pacific Northwest's largest downhill race series.

And strong results can be the difference between mountain biking as a hobby or a career.

- Pro Cat 1.

- Where are you going?

- [Narrator] Before every race, Aly and Izaak do a track walk, studying the course and learning its nuances.

- This will be interesting.

The off camber of this turn.

- [Alyana] And there's already a hole there.

- Yeah, tires coming through will develop- - [Alyana] A path.

- And you'll use this for traction.

She always goes inside.

- Yeah, I always go.

(imitates wind whooshes) - She knows most of this course, whereas somebody like me, I'm like, "Have I been here before?

I don't know."

- [Narrator] Izaak isn't just here for moral support.

He also plans on racing this weekend.

- Racing old man intermediate class.

If I can put together a clean fast run, I think this year I might be competitive.

I don't know, we'll see how it goes.

- [Narrator] Now that she's outpaced her dad's riding skills, Aly doesn't hold back her critiques.

- So I'll see him at the bottom and I'll be like, "Hey, why'd you take that line?"

- Tough coach.

I used to coach her.

The Padawans become the master.

(laughs) (people chattering) - [Narrator] Mountain bike competition split racers into categories based on age and skill level.

Aly's racing in the top junior category, Cat 1 for girls age 17 and 18.

And Izaak's on Cat 2 for men ages 50 to 59.

- [Alyana] Today's the first day of practice.

It's really about learning the lines and getting used to going fast again.

- [Narrator] Downhill racing is simple, in theory.

Start at the top and ride to the bottom as fast as you can.

But in practice it's a lot more complicated, especially on slopes tipping past 50 degrees, massive jumps, deep drops, and a maze rocks and roots.

(bikes thumping) - [Alyana] And it's all up to me to remember places on the trail to look out for.

There's just little things that could go wrong and like end my run real quick.

(Alyana thuds) - [Izaak] Downhill mountain bike racing, I don't know anybody that mountain bikes that hasn't had wrecks.

It's gotta be one of the most dangerous sports you could do.

- Ooh!

You okay?

- Yep.

- [Alyana] Crashing, it's gnarly.

There's rocks.

(Alyana groans) The dirt is hard.

You're inhaling dust and it's really knowing how to roll out of a crash and get back up.

- Go, go, go!

- [Narrator] This rider wiped out near the finish line.

Fortunately for him, the organizers keep an ambulance on standby.

- Whether it's scraped or bruises or broken bones, everyone's gonna get hurt on a bike.

- [Narrator] Aly would know, and if you're squeamish, now might be a good time to look away.

(machine beeping) A crash at Mount Bachelor in 2022, fractured her orbital and cheekbone.

- My bones will never be a hundred percent again.

I have three metal plates and a handful of screws in my face, like a handful as in like over 15 screws.

- [Izaak] When we're at a race, I see a lot of parental anxiety and if I have that, it's no longer fun.

And I just have to trust in her strength and her skill and her decision making through experience.

- [Spectator] Let's go, Aly.

Yoo-hoo-hoo, you did it.

- [Izaak] For her to earn a good living racing her bike, it's the dream of a lot of mountain bikers, but a very small percentage can actually make that happen.

What do you usually do there?

- [Narrator] It's a tough road.

- [Izaak] That looks fast, Aly.

- [Narrator] But having a family that loves riding as much as she does makes the journey a lot easier.

- [ Alyana] My whole family's happiness is like around mountain biking.

Whenever my dad has a day off he wants to go riding.

- [Izaak] I don't know how many parents get to enjoy children that still want to hang out with their dad, and go skiing with me, and go mountain biking with me, and going camping with me.

I honestly couldn't have written this any better.

- [Spectators] Go, go.

Whoo.

- My goal for the season is to get two to three podiums in Cat 2 so I can move up to Cat 1, and then all be on the schedule, but dad's gotta have goals.

- Great, peddling gear?

- Yes.

- Chin strap?

- Yes.

- Goggles?

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] Izaak's race run is first.

He'll be riding on a different course than Aly, one that's less treacherous.

- Line up, beep beep, go.

And then have a clean race run.

And then I just go into dad mode and cheer on Alyana.

(laughs) (machine beeping) - Two, three, go, go.

(wind whooshing) (bike rattling) - [Announcer] And there you have it.

Solid run there.

The 483 of Izaak Van Horn.

And Van Horn with a 317.35 slides in at third place.

Nice run there from Van Horn.

- [Narrator] At third place, Izaak just made the podium.

- Yeah.

- Hammond, Jorgensen, Van Horn, one, two, and three.

(rain pattering) - [Izaak] Well, it started raining in the last hour.

The diagonal roots like that one that becomes far more treacherous.

Any of the rock faces like you see right there that becomes more slick.

Watch out for that root.

- [Narrator] Downhill racing is unique.

No single win makes you a pro.

It takes several victories across an entire season.

A win here would bring Aly one step closer.

- This is it.

This is the race of the weekend.

But when I come down, my time will either be first, or I'll end up somewhere else.

(machine beeping) - [Spectators] You got this!

Whoo!

- [Spectator] Whoo hoo!

- [Izaak] Is this Aly.

- [Announcer] A bit slower today with the wetness.

- [Izaak] Let's go, Aly.

- [Announcer] 301.18 and Victoria's going to sixth place.

Time today 2:48.84 and it's enough to take the win.

- [Izaak] Whoo.

You got it, kid.

- [Announcer] Van Horn going to number one on the weekend.

- That's your top five.

Cat 1 Women U18.

- [Izzak] Yeah, that's amazing.

(laughs) How your legs, dude.

(Alyana groans) - I know that feeling from like two hours ago.

- I'm gonna be an up and coming pro next year, so to rack up points in series and be a top name and top competition, and to be on podium, that's what gets people's attention.

- [Announcer] Give it up for Alyana Van Horn.

(audience cheering) - [Narrator] Aly went on to win five out of 13 races this season.

Her final victory came here at Stevens Pass Washington.

- [Phuong] Yay.

- [Narrator] This time she brought one of her biggest fans.

- Oh, that child right there.

- [Narrator] It's the first time grandma's seen Aly race in person.

- [Izaak] Hey mom, what do you think about all this?

- This is really awesome.

- I'm so glad I'm up here now at least I see what's you guys up to.

- Yeah, Aly.

Whoo.

(bell ringing) - [Phuong] Go Aly, whoo!

- [Announcer] Taking the win today, Alyana Van Horn.

(people cheering) - I really depend on my family to be my backup and my support and they give me a lot of their time, and a lot of their money, and they're there for me when I'm at my lows.

They help bring me back up and we just enjoy the sport and they wanna be a part of it.

(bikes rattling) (birds chirping)