Bye has built an impressive resume, including a 14th place finish in the Under 15s National Downhill Championships in 2024.
Mountain biking runs deep in the family name, as his father Greg was a competitive rider, growing up.
The younger Bye has handled rough trails, steep descents and rocky paths since he was five years old.
He stepped away from playing football with Rennie earlier this year to focus only on mountain biking, which his father said has paid dividends.
“He has a really good attitude and wants to compete but most importantly, he enjoys it,” Greg said.
“He is technically very, very good, and is getting faster in each training session.”
Since making the development squad, Bye has been training with the state’s best coaches.
He has been a member of the Goulburn Valley Mountain Bike Club for three years, which has helped him develop further.
Greg said Eliot was excited by the challenge of harder competition, as he moves up into the under 17s category next year.
Throughout the winter on school nights, he remained committed to his training plan, travelling each week for an extra training session in Albury.
When day-light savings arrives, they get more adventurous, travelling to Bright, Beechworth and Dookie to take advantage of each location’s steep mountains, with an eye firmly fixed on next year’s National Downhill Championships.
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