The French have had it good for a while in the downhill, especially in the Elite Men, but Lenzerheide was very good to folk from these shores.
Lenzerheide delivered the goods when it mattered, and was particularly good for a handful of riders than made the trip over from the UK.
Rachel f*ckin’ Atherton
First and foremost, f*ck yeah Rach!
Rachel Atherton came out swinging in Switzerland, coming second in qualifying and semi finals, only to pip everyone’s hot ticket, Cami Balanche in the finals. She’d take her 40th World Cup win, now just one off Anne-Caroline Chasson’s record. She might well be the only mother to win a downhill World Cup… She currently leads the overall standings going into Leogang.
Jordan Williams is the fastest person on the hill
After being fastest person on the hill at the World Cup finals last year in Val di Sole, doing so in his first Elite World Cup wasn’t surprising, but still a big ask.
If you want to talk about perfect race runs, the Specialized Gravity rider’s winning run was about as close as you’ll get.
A rare British double
You have to look a fair way back to find a World-level downhill race where British riders won both the Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s race. From what we can see, the last double was done by Danny Hart and Rachel Atherton at the 2016 World Championships. Seven years ago…
You couldn’t have two riders at opposites in terms of riding careers. Jordan Williams in his first Elite race and Rachel Atherton taking her 40th World Cup win in an already silverware-heavy career.
Plenty of Brits on and just off the podiums
Jordan Williams and Rachel Atherton took the well-deserved plaudits today but there was plenty of Brits in the mix all weekend.
In the Elite Men’s, Laurie Greenland took the fourth step on the podium, with Charlie Hatton was six spots back in 10th. Both of these dudes were Wideopenmag team riders when they were busy biting ankles. Danny Hart was just outside the top 10 in 12th. Bernard Kerr and Phil Atwill took 14th and 16th respectively.
Just as promising was the Elite Women’s field, with Tahnee Seagrave bringing home a 7th in her first race back since concussion. With Malverns Army Knife herself, Hattie Harnden rolling into 9th. Is there anything she can’t do? XC World Cups, CX World Cups, Enduro World Series wins and now top 10 World Cup downhill finishes… Phoebe Gale qualified 5th but just missed the semi final cut, with Louise Ferguson not quite making the quali cut.
