Tayte Proulx-Royds is the reigning junior women’s downhill national champ. She has multiple top-1o World Cup finishes after her first year of juniors. And, in 2026, she’ll finally get to race on a downhill bike. Until now, the Kelowna rider’s sponsor didn’t make a full on bike, leaving her racing against the world’s fastest riders and hardest courses on a modified enduro rig.
“It might surprise a lot of people, but I’ve been racing on hybrid enduro bikes my whole life, even during my first season of World Cup DH racing” Proulx-Royds says.
Moving to Polygon Bikes for 2026 changes all of that. We talked to Proulx-Royds about how the team move came about, how it changes her outlook on 2026 and what she learned from her first year of international racing as a junior.
Canadian Cycling Magazine: First off, congrats on the move to Polygon. How did you connect with them?
Tayte Proulx-Royds: The switch to Polygon actually started through a connection with one of my long‑standing sponsors. Polygon reached out to me first, and once we started talking everything just clicked. Now I’m heading into my first season with them, and I’m really excited.
CCM: You still had one year left on your Kona contract. It looks like they’ve moved in a different direction with their time. What was the conversation or process like talking to Kona about leaving early?
TPR: Yeah, I did still have some time left with Kona. Honestly, Kona was a huge part of my development as a rider, and I truly loved being part of the Kona Factory Team. I’m incredibly thankful for my time there and for the very cool people I met. But I really wanted to focus on World Cup DH racing because I feel like I’ve only just begun. It’s exciting to see the direction Kona is taking, but the timing was just a little too soon for me. Staying loyal to my long‑term partnerships and sponsors was really important, so the decision made sense for where I’m headed.
CCM: How does the move to Polygon help support your racing goals?
TPR: There were multiple reasons why this switch was so beneficial for me. The biggest one is that this will be my first time ever racing a real DH bike. It might surprise a lot of people, but I’ve been racing on hybrid enduro bikes my whole life, even during my first season of World Cup DH racing. So I’m super happy to finally have some extra cushion on the gnarliest tracks in the world. I also really love other disciplines like freeride, pump track, cyclocross, and enduro, and I was super impressed that Polygon builds high‑end race bikes across all of them. From the very first chats, Polygon was genuinely supportive of my dreams. I showed them what I wanted to do, and they were excited for me. Everything lined up perfectly!
CCM: The junior women’s World Cup field seems like it’s getting significantly faster every year. How was the jump from North American racing to World Cup’s last year?
TPR: The jump from my typical racing to the World Cup was a big one. This past year, as a first‑year junior, I raced against the fastest girls I’ve ever seen. Learning what it takes to compete as a privateer, doing everything on my own at this level while travelling the world for the first time, pushed me even harder and showed me exactly how much I want to be on top. With multiple World Cup top‑10 finishes, 12th at world champs, two golden‑ticket Continental Series wins, the BC provincial championship title, and both DH national championship titles in Junior and Elite Women, I’m super proud of what I accomplished. I’m confident that this year I have all the tools to match the race pace of the factory team girls.
CCM: Was there anything specific that you learned from your first Junior year that you thought, “Ok, that’s something I can take home and be better at in 2026”?
TPR: I learned so much in 2025. One of the biggest things was realizing that World Cup racing isn’t as scary as people make it sound. Sure, it’s the toughest competition you’ll ever see, but at the end of the day it’s just racing. The big takeaway for me was to not take things too seriously and to have fun, just like you would at home. Finding the fun in racing is huge, and I’m really glad I learned how important that is.
CCM: In the past, you’ve done everything from cyclocross to freeride events like Casey Brown’s Darkhorse. Was downhill always the plan? And does the experience from that range of riding and racing help with your downhill racing?
TPR: Honestly, when I was little I never planned on making it this far in DH racing specifically. Growing up, I was lucky enough to dip my toes into almost every cycling discipline. For a long time I thought XC was going to be my path, but when COVID hit and all the XC races were cancelled, downhill was all that was left, and that’s where it all started. I’ve always had a strong base because I’ve been on my bike for as long as I can remember, but I found a special connection to downhill. It just clicked for me. And now I’m one of the top female downhill racers in Canada, and working hard towards being one of the best in the world.
CCM: What’s the plan look like for 2026? Are you doing the full World Cup circuit? Is there any other racing in the calendar?
TPR: 2026 is going to be jam‑packed with racing, and I’m so excited. I feel like this is the year I can finally show myself in the best light at all the races I want to be at. I’ll be racing the World Cup calendar, some Monster Energy series races, World Champs and of course National Champs! Also, if I can fit it in, I’d really like to do as many Dunbar Summer Series/ Canada Cups as I can. I can’t wait!!