Today, he returns to the bare five furlongs and the fast ground and downhill track really ought to suit him.
The first event was held in 1995, the brainchild of downhill mountain bike pioneer George Edwards, who created some of the first dedicated downhill tracks, including Les Gets in France and Fort William in Scotland.
I have done some cycling in my time, but I have always been gripped by that knot of fear in the stomach when faced with any sort of downhill track or potential obstacle.
In Bolivia, riding a route commonly known as 'the world's most dangerous road', a moniker bestowed on the 64km downhill track from La Paz to Coroico, was the zenith of my bus-riding achievements.
Germany went further than the UK, calling for the tests to be conducted on sloping downhill tracks, and for allowing manufacturers to declare a final CO2 value 4% lower than the one measured.
At the other end of the car park is Ae Line, a 15-mile loop that takes the principles of the downhill track and applies them in mini-epic form.
There's a lot of money kicking around these resorts and it shows in the two downhill tracks above the village, which are among the finest man-made runs you'll encounter.
Those who enjoy downhill riding may have to take small excursions to Wales or Scotland if they wish to ride descents of more than a few minutes, but there are plenty of cool, technical downhill tracks in England that will get the adrenalin going.
Just up the road from Tadjoura, a simple handwritten sign instructs us to follow a downhill track to Sables Blancs – a perfect hidden beach where a small, just-finished hotel on the shore awaits its first guests and, out front, a few grass-roof sun umbrellas sit in the sand.
"Slopestyle" courses are similar to race courses, as players must ride through a downhill track with multiple paths.
