Move to Borders a boon for up-and-coming mountain-biker Guy Rorke

​Guy Rorke is one of the latest of those up-and-coming talents and his success story might well prove as heartening to those Borderers interested in mountain-biking as those not as it offers additional evidence to back up two claims sometimes disputed by sceptical locals and dismissed as non-urban myths.

The first of those is that people from elsewhere moved to here during the covid-19 pandemic to escape the lockdown challenges posed by city life and the second that the region is genuinely regarded by those in the know as a world-class mountain-biking centre of excellence.

Flying in the face of any suggestions to the contrary, Guy’s mother Steph is insistent that she and husband Dominic were drawn to the Borders by both those factors.

“The pandemic opened people’s eyes to remote working, I think, but also to being able to move about the country,” she explained.

“I worked, and still work, for a company based near Oxford but they also have an office in Penicuik.

“Dominic also worked in Oxford and we both loved to get out on our bikes – we took up mountain-biking while we worked in France – but being in Oxfordshire with pandemic restrictions showed us how very limited opportunities were to get out and ride down there.

“Any mountain-biking we wanted to do would mean a four-hour round trip, so we decided we needed to move somewhere with a bit more freedom.

“Dominic had been to university in Edinburgh and I’d lived up here for a bit, and we had visited Peebles and Glentress before, so the idea of moving to a town with great amenities, great for commuting and with all these different places to go mountain-biking was too good to pass up.”

That move has certainly benefited Guy, aged ten at the time of that relocation and set to turn 15 next month, as his mountain-biking has gone up several gears since and is now hitting new levels.

“I loved it when we came here,” Guy said. “It was amazing to find so many mountain-biking trails at Glentress, Innerleithen and all around.

“I went to Priorsford Primary at first and now go to Peebles High School and there is lots of support for pupils that want to do sport, to train and compete abroad, and that’s a huge help for all of us riding.”

Guy is also supported by Scottish Borders Council’s athlete support programme, having been identified as an athlete with potential to reach international levels of competition.

It funds a gym membership, enabling him to build his strength and conditioning, with physiotherapy and other support services also available to help the region’s athletes compete with those based in cities and within readier reach of facilities, and ClubSport Tweeddale chip in with further assistance towards the cost of travel and accommodation.

Guy finished as second under-15 juvenile at last year’s British cross-country championships in Cornwall and was top performer for his age in his sport’s British series.

That followed his first taste of European competition in Sweden the year before, finishing fifth.

Stepping up to under-17 youth level this year, he finished fifth in a British national event in Dumfries.

Peebles Cycling Club have produced lots of talented riders over the years and Guy is keeping up that tradition’ having joined Scottish Cycling’s Race+ programme, designed to support young Scots “to build the skills and characteristics required for a professional bike-riding career”.

“This season has been my first year at youth level, which is a lot tougher,” said Guy.

“I’ve just got back from the European championships in Brasov in Romania, where I was 19th – it wasn’t my best race – but next year, I’ll be in my second year as a youth, so I will have a better idea of the levels and will be older.

“It’s definitely encouraging to see the level that I’m at because I’ve now raced against these people and I can see that I’m at that level.”

Alongside cross-country racing, Guy competes at enduro events, having been crowned Scottish juvenile champion at Ballo in Perthshire in 2025 and third youth at round one of the British national enduro series in the Tweed Valley in April.

Guy is further spreading his wings by having a crack at downhill mountain-bike racing too.

Happily for him, the Borders boasts an enviable selection of world-class trails in all disciplines, and he also benefits from being part of a thriving community of riders from the Tweed Valley, Edinburgh and beyond, including his teammates at Pentland Racers.

“I’m not sure what I’d have done if we hadn’t moved up to Scotland but now one of my main goals is definitely to become a professional mountain-biker, and I think it’s achievable if I work hard,” he added.