+World Championships is a special time, the one time a year when riders swap team colors for flying national pride on their backs. Custom-painted helmets and bikes celebrate culture and ancestry. Normal rules no longer apply.

Part of the tradition is the bike build – a ritual almost always held the week of the big race, as if to keep the rider in suspense, but almost certainly to keep the bike clean before hitting the track.

There’s a special energy surrounding these buildouts, with the mechanics applying the pinnacle of their care and attention to a bike that may only tackle a handful of downhill runs. Applying the perfect amount of grease where necessary (removing it in others), knowing the subtle difference a millimeter here or there can make, and jeweling it with anodized titanium bolts. This is their craft. Combined with the art of the painters, you have a steed as unique as the rider who will hopefully be inspired by the extra boost of confidence such a bike can bring.

Reece Wilson is the reigning DH World Champion, and while he won’t be wearing the rainbow stripes when the clock starts ticking, he has roughly four minutes to earn the right to put them back on. Reece will be racing aboard his custom white chroma Session that his mechanic Joe Krejbich and Trek Factory Racing have meticulously assembled. His build features a SRAM X01 DH drivetrain, SRAM Code RSC brakes with 220mm rotors front to back, and RockShox BlackBox suspension to tame Val di Sole’s notorious course. A Bontrager wheelset, and Title cockpit round out the bike built for a King.”