Round 2 of the HSBCUK British Cycling National Downhill Series ventured north to the rocks of the World Cup track in Fort William this weekend.
The sun was out in force all weekend, keeping the spirits up even when the breeze started to affect race runs later on Sunday.
Images by Ian Lean and Pete Scullion.
After an off-season that seemed to last forever, we’re into May and round 2 of the HSBCUK British Cycling National Downhill Series has wrapped up.
The Fort William National is historically packed with international riders looking to get their eye in ahead of the World Cup that normally lands a few weeks later. The schedule was no different this year with the World Cup merely three weeks after the dust settled this weekend.
Not only did this race allow riders track time on the clock with a revised woods section, it also made up the second round of the Scottish Downhill Association series, ensuring a packed start list and a sold out event.
What’s more #4XWednesdays’ Euan Rossi had his dreams come true this weekend by getting the British 4X back to Fort William on the Saturday night.
With this race being both a regional and a national race, the event was sold out well in advance with a reserve list on hand for anyone dropping out. While the Nevis Range car park certainly didn’t seem as full as it no doubt will in a few weeks, there was a good vibe about the pits.
The buzz made even stronger as the Scottish Six Day Trial was in town and the smell of two stroke was strong.
Fourty plus elites made up the sharp end of the start list, with the usual British contingent augmented by a full Commencal Vallnord roster, as well as UR Team’s Alex Fayolle, as well as Faustin Figaret and Stefan Garlicki amongst a smattering of others.
Other then Madison Saracen, Trek Factory Racing and the Commencal Vallnord riders though, the big teams were not as abundant as you might have imagined.
With the Six Day Trial support vans parked on the road between the auction mart and a bustling Nevis Range car park, you’d have been fooled into thinking you were at a World Cup.
Add the usual bus load of tourists lapping the gondola to the sunshine that made itself felt all weekend and this certainly felt more than just another bike race.
Things certainly seemed more ‘business as usual’ than this time last year when riders were rolling out their 29″ versions of their race bikes in advance of the World Cup. Only Brendan and Gaetan at Velosolutions-Scott seemed to be rocking anything prototype this weekend.
Two dark horses above that could easily upset the running order of the weekend.
Jono Jones would be blowing off the cobwebs on arguably the toughest track in the UK but still looking rapid and stylish, while making all the senior riders look a little worried. Expert or Elite for the next round maybe?
Ben Cathro has, as he’ll admit, mixed fortunes here at Nevis Range. Storming runs either end in worryingly quick times on track or warp speed sorties into the undergrowth. The tallest man on track doesn’t do anything but 110%.
Former Wideopenmag team rider Charlie Hatton still sporting the #1 plate having won the series last year and charging hard from the off with Gee leading out. Fort William wasn’t kind to Gee and Rach last year, so it was great to see them healthy and on form this weekend.
Trek Factory Racing would be one of the few major teams on site to sample the new woods section and dial in the Sessions in advance of the World Cup.
Racing wouldn’t go entirely to plan for Gee and Charlie. We know both would be pushing for the top spot but it wasn’t to be in either seeding or finals. Expect to see both with the bit between their teeth come the World Cup.
Greg Williamson was on home turf and looking fast and relaxed both on and off the track all weekend.
Fourth in seeding, second in race runs shows the consistency that has put the UNNO Factory Team rider squarely as Scotland’s brightest World Cup hope.
Friday didn’t start the weekend well, with the course open for track walk, the high crosswinds closing the gondola meant most were left to walk the course on foot from the bottom. Not the end of the world but nothing like the rest of the weekend.
With the winds light Saturday and Sunday, the gondola was running smooth and quick all weekend. Practice queues were short and for race runs, a red flag on Sunday would be the running order hiccup.
Fort William saw the return of Joe Breeden after a fairly horrific knee injury sustained last year. Joe wasted no time in returning to previous form to celebrated his birthday on Saturday.
Joe would only be eight seconds back on Danny Hart and 4th in his first race back as an Elite. Top work Joe!
Myriam Nicole had been up in Fort William all week testing with the rest of the Commencal Vallnord team and would surely have pushed Rachel and Tahnee hard come finals.
She wouldn’t be racing on Sunday though as exams took priority and she flew home sometime on Saturday. Pompon has the World Cup leader’s jersey and won’t be looking to let go of it in a few week’s time.
Amaury Pierron looked fast all weekend and may have surprised everyone with a win in seeding by some five seconds. While the big guns were being eyeballed all weekend, the Commencal Vallnord rider would quietly go about his business.
It wasn’t too be in finals though… Whether it was the wind, a mechanical or an off, he’d be tickling the bottom of the score sheet in finals.
Fort William, like the previous round at Cwmcarn, breaks the mould somewhat in terms of UK downhill tracks. We’re used to tree slaloming for three minutes at fairly low speed as downhiller, whereas Fort William is full chat to the woods and rough.
Tahnee Seagrave would only do four practice runs on Saturday to save her energy for seeding and finals, such is the physical nature of the track.
The new woods section has only changed one of those things and that is speed. While the World Cup will see entry speeds slightly higher with a more direct line into the rock garden, the tight turns will surely see average speeds drop.
Times were as tight as at Cwmcarn, but the top 10 Elite Men were still only separated by 9 seconds, and five of that was Danny Hart’s winning margin
10th and 10 seconds off the win is not where Gee Atherton would want to have finished his weekend.
The double World Champ and World Cup overall winner is always great to watch on track but we think he’ll agree 10th is a better ending to the weekend than this time last year.
What can you say about Adam Brayton that hasn’t already been said. The master of maximum attack mountain bike racing seemed chilled all weekend off track and like a man possessed on it.
Second in seeding showed great promise as the Keswick man has tamed the madness into speed.
Sadly he couldn’t tame the infamous Nevis Range crosswind and would finish some 9.5 seconds back in 9th come finals.
Downhill racing for the ladies is no longer The Rachel Atherton Show and this weekend was no different. Swiss champ Carina Capellari was over to get the sighting runs in ahead of the World Cup.
Third in seeding, a whisker behind second place Katy Curd, the fourth in finals will surely see her in with a shout of a podium in three week’s time.
After a rough old 2017 with a head injury, it’s great to see Katy Curd back on form on charging hard.
Katy would seed second behind Tahnee and slot into third come finals is nothing to sniff at. Will we see Katy on a World Cup podium in June?
Tahnee knows how to win races. 2017 saw her win World Cups and she must have surely sensed a win was in order in seeding when Rachel Atherton came in fourth.
It would be the other way around in finals though as the wind would blow her off course on her race run and she’d have to settled for second. “If you’re going to lose you might as well do it in style”. One-handers all the way down the motorway for the Transition-Muc Off star.
Rachel has openly admitted to being nervous about the competition these days from other very fast ladies, and her fourth place in seeding must have lit the fires as she’s come in six seconds up on Tahnee come finals.
Will PomPom get the better of Rach on home turf or will the Trek Factory Racing pinner show everyone she’s back on form in three week’s time?
Elite Women’s Top 3.
1st Place – Rachel Atherton – 5:22.616
2nd Place – Tahnee Seagrave – 5:28.753
3rd Place – Katy Curd – 5:41.873
Danny Hart took a while to find his form in 2017 and didn’t light the track on fire in Croatia. The man from Redcar has clearly got hard work in spades as he’d been here all week in the pouring rain with mechanic Dave Garland ‘doing his homework’.
Danny was flying in practice and seeding. Fifth in seeding with an off in the woods is nothing to sniff at given the competition, but with Amaury Pierron out from by five seconds, it was no mean feat to reel him in.
The Madison Saracen wildman would back off in the woods to play it safe and arrive at the finish some five seconds plus the change up on Greg Williamson.
Elite Men’s Top 3.
1st Place – Danny Hart – 4:38.767
2nd Place – Greg Williamson – 4:44.195
3rd Place – Faustin Figaret – 4:44.952
We can’t wrap up the results without mentioning the flying Juveniles though. While all eyes were on the big guns before the World Cup, riders like Jordan Williams put in times that would make the Pro Women wince.
We’ll leave you with a shout out to the Scottish Downhill Association who put on a cracking event and even managed to book some Scottish sunshine for the weekend. While everything didn’t run perfectly, few races do. Red flags can’t be avoided, but there were certainly a few grumbles about a lack of seeding run times.
SDA’s David Munro told us “With such a large field it was felt that putting out Race Start Times was more of a priority with 10 minutes in between seeding finishing and racing starting. During the red flag injury delay then the results were posted on the usual place”. Fair enough.
The SDA stepped up to fill the void in British downhill racing and put on an incredible event. They sold out of entries, the track was great, the atmosphere was buzzing.
What more do you need?
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