Speed, Stoke, and Giving Back: Get to Know Dante Silva
Photo Credit: @benwilsonphoto
Dante has been doing this longer than just about anyone on our roster, even though he's still one of the younger guys. He grew up in Chula Vista, learned to ride a bike at a super young age, and like a lot of MTB athletes, started in BMX before making the move to downhill. Before he even had a driver's license, he was showing up at SoCal shuttle spots riding with guys twice his age and learning from legends like Kyle Strait and the rest of the SoCal scene.
He raced as a privateer through his junior years before earning a factory World Cup ride, where he spent several seasons competing in Europe. In 2024, he won the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series overall, along with a top 20 at Val di Sole and a top 10 at U.S. Nationals. When we started putting together a domestic downhill program for 2025, Dante was also realizing how much he wanted to focus on racing and growing the sport here at home, which made him a perfect fit for what we were building.
This season has had its highs and lows. After qualifying fifth at the Tennessee National, he crashed in the first turn of finals, but bounced back with a fifth at Rock Creek, fourth at Solitude, and a second-place finish in Elite Men's Dual Slalom at National Championships. Heading into the final round at the U.S. Open, he sits seventh in the Pro Men overall standings.
“What I really want people to know about Dante is what he's like off the bike,” says Team Manager John Hall. “He's always smiling, always talking to whoever walks into the pits, whether it's a sponsor, another racer, or a kid looking for a sticker. He spends a lot of his free time coaching young riders, genuinely loves giving back to the sport, and somehow manages to keep the whole team loose when the pressure is on. He's one of the fastest Americans in downhill right now, but you'd never know it by the way he carries himself. I always joke that Dante is everything a sponsor wants in an athlete, and if I could clone him, I would.”
We sat down with Dante to hear his story in his own words, check it out:
Take me back to the beginning. What's the first memory that made you fall in love with riding?
I would say that I actually feel like I have some memory of when I first learned how to ride a bike, it was at my local elementary school when I was 3 years old. They used to just leave the fence open for the playground, and I learned how to ride on the black top. I still remember that day somehow haha.
You fought your way through the privateer ranks before earning a World Cup ride. How did those years shape the rider and person you are today?
I'm super grateful that I raced my first few years a as a privateer. It’s forced me to learn how to be a good mechanic for myself, and taught me how to lose. During those privateer years, I was struggling the most to get good results.
Racing the World Cup is the dream for a lot of people. What's something about that level of racing that fans never really get to see?
I think the fans never see how much work is done in the background for World Cup racing. It’s a lot a lot of hours that these riders are putting in at home, and I don’t think they understand how much those riders are thinking or doing something to make them better at racing every single day. Also, racing is super fun, but I think the fans might not understand the pressure that World Cup riders face for race weekends. It’s thousands of dollars a weekend for the huge race pits, accommodations, and all that…just so we can race for 3 minutes on Saturday hahaha. It’s a lot of pressure for these riders.
You've shown the speed this season, even when the results haven't always reflected it. How do you mentally reset after a race that doesn't go your way?
You learn to stay positive and take every weekend as a learning opportunity. We never ever stop learning, and it doesn’t always go right. So you just have to be happy about the positives, look at the negatives as your harshest critic, and learn from those lesson that the negatives will teach each weekend.
Anyone who's spent time around the pits knows you're always willing to talk, help out, or make someone laugh. Why has being approachable always mattered to you?
I fell in love with this community when I was 10 or 11 years old and I first started racing mountain bikes. The community is one of my favorite parts of what I do, to be able to be a part of it, and always have the opportunity to share my stoke with my peers and share some wisdom to the upcoming generation, just brings me happiness like no other haha. That’s a big reason I ended up buying the Southwest Downhill Series this past offseason and now own and run the race series with my dad. We just felt like it was the right thing to do, and we're so grateful to be in a position where we can give back while providing a sick race series for our local community.
You've raced for different teams throughout your career. What has stood out most about being part of IFR?
I really love racing for IFR because I just think INTENSE is a great brand that’s trying to keep the culture of MTB alive. Having John Hall as our team manager sold it for me too, when I got asked if I wanted to ride for this team. JH is the freaking man! I didn't know this before I signed, but the M1 is an insanely good bicycle.
When your racing career is all said and done, what do you hope people remember you for beyond the results?
I just hope people remember me by being the happy stoked guy, and I wanna be known for being the smooth guy hahahaha. Anytime people tell me I look like I was going way slower than what the time says, I get super happy haha!
Outside of race weekends and training, who is Dante? What keeps you grounded when the helmet comes off?
My family is super important to me. In fact my parents, sister, and I are all trying to buy a compound property in east county San Diego right now so we can live together forever haha. And I love golf.
Is there a quote or saying you live by?
Neil Degrasse Tyson said, “If the world is even just a little bit better because of my existence, then I have done my job in life and I have fulfilled my purpose”. And that really makes me wonder about what life is and always gets me to be a good person.
