Stars of the downhill stage headed to the north west Highlands to take part in the IXS European Downhill Cup’s first visit to Nevis Range.
It’s been a while since we had a mini World Cup here in the UK, but the IXS European Downhill Cup did exactly that, doubling up as a Continental Series race.
The weather played its hand as ever, with high winds and a fair dollop of liquid sunshine making an already hard track, that much trickier.
Photos by Sebastian Gruber.
Successful premiere. The iXS European Downhill Cup made its first stop on the legendary World Cup course in Fort William. Wind, rain and one of the toughest tracks in the world demanded everything from the field of riders. In the end, Great Britain’s Harriet Harnden and Charlie Hatton triumphed in a weekend that is guaranteed to be one to remember.
Friday
Blue skies, sun, clouds – and plenty of wind: that’s how Fort William welcomed the riders on training Friday. Although the weather played along, the 2.8 kilometre course proved to be a real challenge. Many had only seen the course on TV – and they were not disappointed: razor-sharp rocks and high-speed sections awaited at the top, then from the centre onwards there were rough root carpets and technical drops, before the famous ‘motorway’ with fast bends and huge jumps gave the final pulse boost. No wonder that the first runs were still approached with caution – real course reading was required here.
Saturday
Light rain in the morning and afternoon made the conditions treacherous: most of the training still took place on a drying track, but it became slippery just in time for the seeding run. Finding the perfect balance was a real challenge, especially for the less experienced riders.
Seeding
Charlie Hatton (GBR – Continental Atherton) came out on top in the Elite Men – with a lead of 1.3 seconds. Harriet Harnden (GBR – AON Racing) caused a minor sensation in the Elite Women’s category: she outclassed the competition, including top favourite Nina Hoffmann (GER – Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Jessica Blewitt (NZL – Cube Factory Racing), by a whopping 15.5 seconds.
Finals
Final day in Scotland – and the weather showed its wild side. Strong crosswinds in the upper part of the course and light continuous rain made for challenging conditions. The jump sections in particular became a lottery due to the wind. Nevertheless, the riders delivered a highly exciting finale.
In the elite women’s category, Harriet Harnden provided perhaps the biggest bang for the buck of the weekend. The British rider, previously best known for her enduro racing, dominated the downhill scene in Fort William in impressive style. She already made waves in the seeding run with a lead of over 15 seconds – in the final she defended her top position with aplomb and celebrated an impressive victory with a lead of almost five seconds. Nina Hoffmann came second and Jessica Blewitt took third place.
After his 2023 World Championship title, Charlie Hatton once again proved in Fort William that he is currently one of the strongest riders in the world. The Brit dominated the competition in the seeding run, but he went one better in the final: With a confident yet controlled ride, he defied the wind and rain to secure victory by four seconds. Second place went to Matt Walker (GBR – Trek Factory Racing) and third place to Danny Hart (GBR – Norco Race Division).
The race in Fort William impressively showed where the iXS European Downhill Cup is heading: Larger venues, tougher courses and an increasingly strong field of riders ensure that the EDC is no longer an insider tip, but a permanent fixture on the international racing calendar.
The increasing professionalism in the organisation and field of participants makes the series the ideal platform for ambitious talents – and at the same time the perfect stage for established World Cup stars. The mixture of young up-and-comers and concentrated experience makes the EDC more exciting than ever. If you want to be among the front runners here, you not only need speed, but also real stamina – and that is exactly what makes this series so appealing.
