The 2018 British Downhill Series kicks off next month and with almost 300 riders on the list the future is looking bright for UK downhill.
But, despite the field start sheet, we’re asking where all the big gun World Cup superstars are hiding?
Ladies.
With Rachel Atherton hopefully over her injuries that plagued her 2017 season, expect her to be going head-to-head with a confident Tahnee Seagrave. With Manon Carpenter out of the equation, will we see any of the other British ladies challenging these two at home and the French ladies on the World Stage? Katy Curd has always been hungry to give Tahnee and Manon regular cause for concern and is on the list. 2017 overall 2nd place Veronique Sandler isn’t on the list.
Rachel’s shoulder dislocation at the Fort William World Cup was the beginning of her problems and she struggled to regain her dominating ways from seasons before. Expect to see her out for blood in South Wales next month and looking to improve on her overall 11th place from 2017.
Tahnee on the other hand is coming at the new season from a completely different perspective. Taking the last two World Cups and the final national, as well as the Crankworx Downhill victories, Tahnee mirror’s Danny Harts position in the hunt for the first home win of the season.
Outside of those top tier females we’re looking forward to seeing Aston Tutt’s season after an overall 3rd in the series in 2017.
Gents.
The men’s elite field is strong… but is definitely missing a few big names.
We’re going to put it out there and say that Cwmcarn will be a battle between a confident Danny Hart and a rejuvenated Gee Atherton. Both know how to win and seem to thrive on pressure.
Gee’s last win was on home turf was at the opening national at Ae Forest in 2016. A seventh at Lourdes despite the horrendous conditions, was a run that did not get the attention it deserved. It was arguably the finest run of any overall Championship contender on that day.
Shortly after that, Gee had a savage crash at the Fort William BDS that would have ended anyone mere mortal’s career. Thankfully, he was back on the bike for the last three World Cups but struggled with his speed and wasn’t at his best by his own high standards.
The opposite can be said for Mr. Hart. Wins were no issue in 2016, giving him the World Cup and Championship titles. 2017 wasn’t as straightforward, but littered with podiums, albeit the bronze, not the gold, variety. Consistency wins you championships though and Danny certainly was consistent.
The challengers.
Both Gee and Danny are World Cup and Championship winners, but a win in South Wales won’t just be a two way battle.
Expect the likes of Adam Brayton and Gee’s team mate Charlie Hatton to be charging hard with the 2017 elite overall series win under his belt.
Brayton has managed to hone the madness that typified his earlier races and turn it into raw speed. Forays into the top 10 and even a World Cup podium are the results of his efforts.
Former Team Wideopenmag rider Charlie Hatton had only one journey outside the top 30 at a World Cup in 2017, he won the overall BDS last year and he’ll be keen to make an impression on his new team.
Should any of these boys slip up, expect the likes of Jack Reading, Taylor Vernon, Reece Wilson, Matt Walker and Kaos Seagrave to leap at the chance to take a national win.
In the Junior ranks, Kade Edwards has a good shout, but expect him to be pushed all the way by another former Team Wideopenmag alumni in the form of Morgan Tyrrell.
AWOL
What do we think of the entry list?
The number of entries is so strong and the Welsh Gravity Enduro team have almost sold out the event with nearly 300 riders.
Depsite that, you can’t help feel that the big gun elite field is a bit thin on the ground. There’s 30 male elite riders entered but only four or so that are on factory teams or top-brass World Cup racers with podiums to their names. 60 elite men raced in 2017 across the various rounds.
The Cwmcarn entry list has no Brendan Fairclough, Laurie Greenland, Joe Smith or Matt Simmonds. No Marc Beaumont. No sign of Mike Jones, Phil Atwill (although he’s recovering from injury) or Sam Dale. No Bryceland either, but we expected that right?
The question is, does that matter? On one hand, yeah, course it it does.
The big dogs are the high-profile adverts for British racing. They push the level of talent through the roof and teach the young ones that they can get on to factory teams and win World Cups.
On the other hand, the organisers have filled the race and brought in fast, talented and hungry British elites. Guys like Taylor Vernon, Kaos Seagrave, Joe Breeden and Charlie Hatton are tomorrow’s downhill legends and will be on track and battling for podiums.
Whatever the elite field looks like, the numbers don’t lie. The first race has sold out and downhill is STRONG in the UK in 2018! #supportbritishracing
