Asa Vermette: Too fast for the competition: the wonder kid from Durango

​Rookie Asa Vermette has won the overall Downhill World Cup title in his first year in the elite category.

It sounds like a cheesy Hollywood script. But life writes the craziest stories. The 19-year-old American from Durango, Colorado, managed to pull off exactly this feat. After nine World Cup rounds, he was right at the top of the overall standings, whilst established stars such as Goldstone, Pierron and the like were left trailing behind. The tension was almost unbearable right up until the final of the UCI Downhill World Cup. The commentators were tallying up the points, running through various scenarios and waiting for the outcome. In the end, Vermette came out on top. The camera panned to a visibly stunned Asa, who didn’t even seem to realise what had just happened. It was only when his parents and team-mates embraced him jubilantly that the scale of his success became clear.

He achieved what only one other rider had ever managed in the history of the World Cup: Nicolas Vouilloz also won the overall title in 1995, in his first year in the elite category, and went on to become world champion. The highest-placed German was Henri Kiefer in 14th place.

And they’ve gone one better!

​Downhill is his thing, but Vermette also competes in enduro and freeride. At the Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania in 2025, a second-place finish was enough for his debut. This was followed by victory at Hardline UK, making him the youngest winner of all time at the age of 18. In 2026, he won again in Tasmania and is now also the youngest double winner. In October 2026, he completed the hat-trick at the inaugural event in British Columbia: 3:30.061 minutes at Cypress Mountain. This makes him the first rider to have won on all three Hardline courses – in Wales, Tasmania and British Columbia.

​Downhill is his thing, but Vermette also competes in enduro and freeride. At the Red Bull Hardline in Tasmania in 2025, a second-place finish was enough for his debut. This was followed by victory at Hardline UK, making him the youngest ever winner at the age of 18. In 2026, he won again in Tasmania and is now also the youngest double winner. In October 2026, he completed the hat-trick at the inaugural event in British Columbia: 3:30.061 minutes at Cypress Mountain. This makes him the first rider to have won on all three Hardline courses – in Wales, Tasmania and British Columbia.

In short: there’s no stopping this lad now. We’re keen to see what else this young American lad has in store for us in the future.

​Red Bull Hardline Vancouver results

1. Asa Vermette (USA) / 3:30.061
2. Lachlan Stevens-McNab (NZL) / +2.620
3. Oli Clark (NZL) / +2.740
4. Tegan Cruz (CAN) / +4.535
5. Michael Delesalle (CAN) / +6.361
6. Dane Jewett (CAN) / +7.926
7. Charlie Hatton (GBR) / +8.892
8. Hugo Frixtalon (FRA) / +17.797
9. Ronan Dunne (IRL) / +27.569
10. Theo Erlangsen (RSA) / +38.662
11. Brendan Fairclough (GBR) / +39.253
12. Bas van Steenbergen (CAN) / +45.810
13. Finn Iles (CAN) / +46.079