Camden Rutherfurd: Stepping up

Words Justin Henehan | Images supplied

If you don’t already know the name Camden Rutherfurd, make a note of it—the New Plymouth native has been stepping onto podiums around the world since he was 9 years old, and he’s showing no sign of slowing down. 

His most recent season of Under-17 racing alone saw him on at least one of the glory steps at each Crankworx Whistler, Crankworx Rotorua and IXS Europe DH Cup. That’s on top of a second place at the Oceania Continental Champs. 

Now 16 and contracted to Intense Factory Racing, Camden is eyeing up top spots on the biggest stage—the UCI Downhill World Cup. 

Outset sat down with the latest overachiever from down under to find out how he got to where he is, who his favourite riders are, and how he deals with the race nerves.

Hi Camden. Tell us about how you got into mountain biking?

I started from a young age with BMX because my brother was doing it and ended up racing BMX for a few years. I’d been out mountain biking a few times and started enjoying that more and more, so I started doing some races. I was racing mountain bikes and BMX for a while but eventually just made the switch to mountain biking because I was going good in the races. 

What were the BMX and mountain bike-racing scenes like in New Plymouth?

The BMX scene was pretty good. We were at a good little club with a good track and most weekends we’d travel to BMX races in places like the Waikato and Rotorua.

So when did you switch from BMX to mountain biking? 

I would have been about 12. 

What was it about mountain biking that got you hooked?

It’s just way more social—you just make heaps of mates. It’s way different from BMX. BMX racing is sort of the same stuff all the time: the same places, the same tracks, and the tracks are sort of the same. There’s so much more to do in mountain biking and everywhere is different. And I just love doing big jumps on the big bike. 

What was your first serious mountain bike when you started racing? 

I had an old extra-small Norco Range that I ran with 26-inch wheels. That was a good bike.  My first proper downhill bike was a Mondraker Summon. It was an older one and it was so big on me but I just loved riding it.

Tell us about your first ever proper downhill race.

So that would have been the NZDH in Rotorua in 2021. That was my first actual race on a downhill track—that was pretty sick. It was sick to be on a proper track with proper, really fast riders. Then I just ended up doing that series for the next couple years and just really enjoyed the racing.

What was it like lining up in your first ever race? 

Because I started racing pretty young, everyone else was bigger. Because I started racing pretty young, everyone else was bigger. But I was never going to win or anything—I wasn’t going for the result, I was just going for the ride. I worried a bit about getting caught by the fast boys, but I did the races with my brother, so it wasn’t too bad because me and him would drop together.

Did you know that you wanted to race downhill after those early races? And what is it that you enjoyed about the racing?

So I did the Rotorua NZDH round for the first time and afterwards Mum and Dad asked if I wanted to do the rest of the series. I was like “Yeah that was sick!” I just found it sick how you get a downhill track and you’ve got to find lines and get up to speed and it’s quite challenging.

You’ve been doing a lot of racing around the world. What’s it like lining up against the locals in places like Canada?

It’s a bit of a step up from New Zealand racing. I’ve been over to Canada a few times, so I’ve got heaps of mates over there now. It’s pretty fun going over there and riding with mates and doing the races.

You’ve had some good results at Crankworx in Canada. Tell me about those.

I won the Canadian Open in 2024 when I was first-year Under 17, so I was really stoked on that. Then this year in the Canadian Open, I got fourth. I’d had a big crash in the Whip Off the day before and I already had a bit of a shoulder injury that I got in the first couple days after I got to Whistler. I was just so sore, but I made it work—I took some painkillers. I just wasn’t quite up to the best of my abilities.

And you also came second in the Garbanzo and third in the AIR DH. How were those races?

They were sick. The Air DH was pretty fun. I was just having so much fun in practice, trying some real sick scrubs and stuff. 

Do you get nervous when you line up at big races like at Crankworx?

Um, yeah, a little bit. You sort of get used to and learn what to do before your race runs to make you less nervous. I think it’s good to be a little bit nervous because it makes you focus a bit more. 

Is there anything in particular you do to deal with the nerves and help you focus?

I like to listen to some music and do warm ups before my run. It just gets a good vibe going. I tend to pick a song and listen to it on repeat a few times—it helps me feel hyped and ready to race.

What’s been your go-to song?

In the past few races it’s been Now or Never by Friction.

So when did you get picked up by Intense Factory Racing?

So I started running their DH bike in December 2024 and I got to ride it all last summer in Queenstown, which was so sick.

I’d met Joe Breeden the summer before in Queenstown and chatted to him a little bit. Then I was in Europe and had done a couple of IXS Downhill Cup races and got good results, and he reached out to me after that. So, I’ll be fully looked after next year, which is really sick. 

And when I went over to Europe this year, I stayed for two weeks and went to two World Cups with them. That was a sick experience—hanging out with the team and stuff like that. I got to watch trackside and see what everyone would do before their race runs and things like that. 

What’s the biggest thing you reckon you’ve learned from your Intense teammates so far?

It’d have to be the structure during the week—there’s a real good structure. Each week the riders would meet with the manager, and they’d put a whole like structure around them for the week: what time they get up and get to the pits, how many practice runs you’re gonna do and and when. I feel like that will help me quite a bit.

Tell us about your racing plans for the next few years. 

I’ll probably end up just focusing on World Cups because I’m on a team, so I’ll be able to compete in all of them. So it’ll be a pretty big season. I’m also pretty keen to go back to Crankworx in Canada next year. And I’ll do all the local races, like the National DH series and Crankworx.

Who are three riders on the World Cup Downhill circuit that you’d like to emulate? 

I like Amaury Pierron, because he just goes hard out. I’ve always liked Laurie Greenland too. Oisin O Callaghan is sick as well.

Probably my top three are Amaury, Loris Vergier, and Oisin O Callaghan. I like how smooth Loris is and the lines he takes. Oisin is just so smooth too—he makes it look easy. Like, you’ll see a run from Ronan Dunne and he’s pushing and getting loose and it looks so quick. Then you’ll see Oisin, who’s going the same speed on the splits, but he looks so smooth and composed.

If you could hang out with one World Cup DH racer to learn how to ride and how to approach racing, who would it be? 

Probably Loic Bruni. I wouldn’t mind seeing what he does before his race runs.

Is there a race or a series that you’d like to do?

When I’m older, I’d be really keen to ride Red Bull Hardline.

You can follow Camden on Instagram here.