After bidding farewell to Taylor Vernon, Trek Factory Racing Downhill and Atherton Racing welcome three new faces to their setup for 2017.
Australian Graeme Mudd and Atherton Academy rider Kade Edwards bring the rider count to 5, in the Elite and Junior ranks respectively, giving the team a very good chance of snatching the team podium at the World Cups, as well as individual silverware.
Nick Grantham steps into Alan Milway’s shoes as head coach, bringing a wealth of experience from outside the cycling industry and the sport itself.
Graeme Mudd hitting his home trails.
Graeme Mudd.
Formerly one of the fastest privateers out there and a genuine threat to the top 20, Graeme Mudd joins Gee Atherton in the Elite ranks. Hoping to build on his stellar 8th place on home soil in Cairns last year, followed up by a top 25 at Fort William, he’ll be looking to build consistency that his latter part of the season lacked. Will joining the biggest team in World Cup downhill give him the upward shove he needs to compete for podiums?
Kade Edwards.
Kade is Trek Factory Racing Downhill’s Junior pinner. Graduating from the Atherton Academy under Dan Atherton’s watchful eye, Kade bagged a top spot or 2nd place at every British Downhill Series race in 2016 and wasn’t outside the top 10 at any point. A strong resume indeed. The Junior World Cups are no laughing matter though, the top 5 often being the next potential World Cup winners.
Nick Grantham.
Joining the off-track team is Nick Grantham as head coach. Nick comes from a strong background in elite sport well outwith the cycle industry and should bring a fresh approach to the 2017 proceedings. Can Nick see good Gee’s shoulder injury that plagued him in 2016? Getting Gee back winning races will certainly be high on the agenda. Nick will bring his experience coaching Olympic athletes, pro golfers, and most recently as Head of Strength and Conditioning at a Premier League football club.
Rachel Atherton will surely be looking to bag another perfect season, but the pressure will be on both from herself and her rivals, Tahnee, Manon and Myriam who must have been working like dogs over the winter to close the gap.
Dan Atherton remains the โguiding lightโ of Atherton Racing, mentoring the team, the Academy riders and sharing his vision and world-class bike handling skills with both siblings and new recruits. He will continue building tracks for the teamโs film projects and events such as Red Bull Hardline.ย
