Robin Horsfield is relishing the challenge of returning to Bermuda to successfully defending his national mountain bike title.

The 24-year-old, who is based in Ontario, Canada, will be taking to the start line of the Winners Edge Mountain Bike Cross Country National Championships, in Southlands, on Sunday.

Horsfield is well aware that he is the overwhelming favourite to triumph for a fifth time in the Open Male Division but he is taking nothing for granted in what will be his first taste of competitive action this season.

“I’m really looking forward to coming home and having the opportunity to compete in the race again,” he said.

“It’s always special to be able to come back to Bermuda and race in the sport that I love and meet up with all the guys in the biking community on island.

“There is always that expectation and added pressure on me when I come home for this race, but I know I can’t take anything for granted because you never know what might happen.

“With the way the scheduling works, this will be the first race of the season for me and so I always know there could be mechanical issues that I might have to mitigate and overcome.

“You just never know in this sport and so I treat every race I compete the same. The preparation and my mindset is no different. I’ll be getting on the bike and hoping that everything works as it should. Everything else is out of my control.”

While being mindful of his own preparations, Horsfield is familiar with potential challengers for his title after keeping a close eye on the domestic racing scene, which lateky featured Jackson Langley dethroning Kavin Smith to be crowned champion of the Fattiremassive Mountain Bike Series.

“When I was back home for Christmas I managed to catch some of the races and then I followed the season and kept an eye on it all,” Horsfield said.

“It was great to see a young rider like Jackson Langley come through to win it and so I’m sure he’ll be one of the guys to look out for.

“All of the riders who finished near the top of the standings like Kavin and Alan Potts will definitely be among my main competition.

“They will come into the race perhaps more race ready than I will be because they’ve raced regularly this season, but I will be as prepared as I can to make sure I’m at a good level,”

As well as being granted the opportunity to add yet another title to his honour roll, Horsfield is also aiming to use the championships as an ideal way of preparing for the upcoming season in Canada.

Horsfield’s time at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, is coming to an end and he is setting aside the next two years to try to fulfil his aspiration of joining the professional ranks of the sport as he competes domestically for Royal City Racing.

“I’m finishing up with university now and so I’ll be using the next two years to chase my dream of a professional career,” said Horsfield, who was ranked as the top rider in the province of Ontario last season.

“All of my time will be dedicated to cycling. I’m planning on competing in the full Canada Cup series [seven-race series] across the country and hopefully some of the US Cup races as well.

“It’s not easy becoming a professional but, luckily, on the Canada Series there are a number of pros already competing in the races that I do and so it’s quite easy to see the difference in myself to those guys.

“There are teams over here and so it would be a case of trying to move up and compete in big races like the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. It’s not easy, but I think it’s attainable.

“Internationally I’m also hoping to race in the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships [in Utah in May] again and then work towards representing Bermuda in a Commonwealth Games. That would be incredibly special.”