Former World Champ Charlie Hatton extends his contract with Continental Atherton as the team welcomes some up and coming talent to the team for the 2025 season.
Wideopenmag alumnus Charlie Hatton will be with Continental Atherton for a wee while yet, having extended his stay with the team. New faces in the form of Luke Wayman, Elise Empey and George Madley see a fresh focus on fostering talent.
Read the full press release below.
Continental Atherton extends contract with 2023 World Champion Charlie Hatton and commits to the next generation of World Cup stars.
From the time that Dan Atherton was around 12 years old and bullied Gee into investing £10 to buy his first bike the Atherton family have been passionate about progression.
Gee and Rachel are unarguably two of the fastest Downhill riders the world has ever seen and they credit much of their success to Dan’s constant nurture and commitment. In 2013 with Gee and Rach already dominating the World Cup scene the Athertons and Team Director Dan Brown wanted to put something back into the sport that had given them so much. Their mission to spot and work with potentially world-beating racers, providing expert guidance and a framework within which those young riders could progress their careers led to the launch of the Atherton Academy.
Academy riders, including founder members Martin Maes and Taylor Vernon, Kade Edwards and Mille Johnset quickly achieved their own World Cup wins and became household names under the guidance of the team.
Dan Brown said “Helping our riders to build the necessary race-skills to turn raw speed into podiums has always been a key part of our team ethos; we’re committed to offering a meaningful development programme for nurturing young talent. Since 2019 having our own Atherton A.200 has meant that we’ve been able to contribute even more, the additional confidence that it brings is almost magical in the way that it can unlock potential … you only have to look at Charlie’s World Champs win or Andi’s meteoric rise up the rankings for the proof of that.”
Charlie Hatton has ridden with the team since 2018 and will extend his contract for 2025. New signings for this season focus on emerging talent who the team believe have demonstrated the potential, raw speed and thirst for progression that they are looking for in a Continental Atherton rider.
Dan Brown said “This year’s team is truly global with signings from New Zealand and Australia as well as the UK. Bringing on this kind of talent is a huge driver for us, we’re delighted to be able to give these young riders the equipment, guidance and structure that will enable them to focus 100% on their riding and to fulfil their huge potential as Continental Atherton racers. We invested a lot of time over these last months getting to know young riders and selecting our future stars, I can’t remember the last time I was so excited to start a season”
In the Elite Men’s races Charlie will be joined by 18 year old New Zealander, Luke Wayman. Luke was 2nd in the 2024 Junior Men’s UCI series overall and shone in the Junior Men’s Final at Fort William with his best result of the year, a 2nd place podium with a time that ranked in the top 20 riders of the weekend across all categories.
Luke said “Super excited to be joining Continental Atherton for the up-coming season! Great crew, incredible support and top-notch gear… that A.200.G is out of this world. My goals for this year are to break that top 30 mark in the Elite Men’s and stay there. I can’t wait to get on track and give it my all!”
20 year old Elise Empey from Mansfield, Australia will lead the charge for the Elite Women. Elise developed her racing throughout 24 to post top ten finishes; 9th World Champs and 7th Loudenvielle (World Cup Round 6). She managed her ‘24 season from a van with a serious lack of resource and still consistently managed top ten sector times … it’s this kind of raw potential that Continental Atherton have sought out for 2025.
Elise said “Holy shit. Sounds cliche but it’s a dream come true. I’m looking forward to upgrading from the (seemingly reluctant) dad wrench and setting up in a café or the back of a van! I want to learn and understand the bike and continue to refine my race process to consistently be up there as a World Cup qualifier.“
Last but not least, 17 year old Brit George Madley joins as a second year Junior. George is a three-times National Champ and clocked some seriously fast sectors in 2024, he qualified 2nd at Loudenvielle World Cup but he struggled to pull together a full race run. His best result to date is a 6th place Juniors at the Fort William World Cup – two seconds behind Luke. The team will support him through 2025 to turn that raw talent and rapid pace into podium rides.
George said “Super stoked to join Continental Atherton, a team with great heritage and experience of going fast! The Continental Atherton pits always seemed to have a relaxed and cheerful vibe, which I can’t wait to be part of. My Goals for 2025 are to win a World Cup and consistently be in the Top 5.”
Dan, Gee and Rachel will support as mentors to the newcomers while Charlie and the famous Continental Atherton support team headed up by Tom Lloyd and Ben Lovell will be in the pits to pass on their vast experience and get all riders in top form ready for the World Cup season kick-off at Round 1 in Bielska-Biela, Poland.
