He saw a line and decided to go for it. What Darcy Coutts didn't foresee was the direction his bike would go when he hit the jump.

The next thing he knew he was face down in the dirt. His handle bars were bent, his mouth was bleeding from biting his tongue, and his shoulder hurt like hell.

It might have happened in Switzerland, but who could say? By this stage in the trip he'd been to numerous countries. The only thing he remembered seeing was stars.

"The concussion from the whiplash was the worst part," he recalled.

"But I didn't break any bones and I was good a day-and-a-half later."

Soon after, the Ballarat native was back on the road. Back in a van equipped with a bed and a camp cooker, which he and a mate called home as they drove across Europe, competing in multiple Mountain Bike World Cup racing qualifying stages.

WATCH: DARCY COUTTS IN EUROPE

He didn't qualify for any cup events in the end. Not this year anyway. But that's hardly the point. At 20 years of age he was living his dream, which is more than most people his age could say.

"It was very eye-opening, especially living in the van, that was hectic," he said.

"I didn't really know how it would go, it was a big step to go over and do it, but I had a really good time and enjoyed it."

Coutts spent 72 days abroad, testing his metal against the best downhill riders in the world.

Competing in four world cup qualifying events, his best result came at the European Series Pillar IXS Cup where he finished eighth.

"I felt amazing there," he said.

"Being a bit of a smaller event, it was less pressure which helped, so maybe I need to learn how to cope with that better."

2019 marked the second consecutive year Coutts spent abroad during the Australian winter months. Last year on a shorter trip, he managed to qualify for a world cup stage in Italy, finishing 55^th from over 100 racers. Prior to that he represented Australia on the junior world stage.

"I had a few issues and things didn't go well for me this season," he said.

"Some races I was close, but with how tight my sport is currently, five seconds is the difference between finishing first or finishing 40th.

"Everyone is on such a high level and I'm close, but there are little one per-centers guys still have over me."

Now back in the Australia, Coutts is living and working in Sydney. But his sights are set on his next move, which is getting back to Europe for the 2020 season - something he thinks about everyday.

"I've already started training," he said.

"My end goal is to be paid for the sport and be classed as a professional.

"There is nothing else out there that makes me as excited."