Last week, downhillers Steve Peat and Tracey Moseley were among a group of top racers who visited London to promote the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials world championships scheduled for Fort William, Scotland, from September 3-9. Peat and Moseley were joined by Oli Beckingsale, Rachel, Dan and Gee Atherton, Ben Savage, Duncan Shaw, and Helen Gaskill on the steps of the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square. The launch was also attended by organizers and the Right Honourable Charles Kennedy MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber on behalf of his constituency in Scotland.
Only four months remain until the world championships come to Fort William, which has previously hosted rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The popular venue is expected to draw crowds of up to 40,000 people in September.
"We have got a couple of test races on the cross country and downhill courses," said organiser Mike Jardine. "But the course is accessible anyway as most of it is part of the Forestry Commission network of trails, and we expect teams will go out there."
British racers are looking for good performances on their home turf. Lesley Beck, from Fort William World Championships Ltd, who is organizing the race, said, "The British riders are not household names yet but they are heroes to mountain biking enthusiasts not just in Britain but all over the world. The cross country race is going to be two hours of intense endurance racing on a tough course over six laps of 7.6km. Over the course of the race the riders will climb and descend the equivalent of the height of Ben Nevis."
It was in Fort William where Moseley won her first downhill World Cup. The current world champion is excited about racing on home soil. "The atmosphere makes so much difference," said Moseley. "Being on home soil in such a big event is really exciting. Especially when you know the crowd are willing you on to win. I am really looking forward to it."
Downhiller Peat has won seven British National titles and three World Cup overall titles, but the world championship jersey has eluded him thus far. "Hopefully it will be my year this time," said Peat. "I put plenty of effort in every year and this year being in Fort William, I will be putting in some extra effort and hopefully be able to bring it home in front of a home crowd. To wear the rainbow jersey for a year means a lot to everyone. It's huge."
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Three members of the Atherton family compete and often travel together. Brother Dan explained what it is like having a brother and sister at the same event, "The main thing is that we travel all over the world and we get to race and see the world and have someone to share it with." Dan competes against his brother Gee on the circuit, but they think it is a good thing. "We ride with each other every week. Sometimes it is good to have someone who has ridden the course to talk it through with, but there is still a lot of competition between us."
30-year-old cross country racer Oli Beckingsale had a slow start to the season due to illness, but recovered to ride his first World Cup event in Belgium last week where he finished 25th. "I have got a bit of work to do," said Beckingsale. "The event last week has a lot of similarities with the Fort William cross country course. The best thing about both of them is the atmosphere adds a lot to the race and the spectacle. The Fort William course is for proper mountain biking. You get some of these flat courses like the one in the centre of Madrid and they are not what I am in mountain biking for."
"I missed a block of training in January due to illness and then I broke a couple of ribs in a crash six weeks ago so I went into last week's World Cup under-raced really," said Beckingsale. "But the last thing I want to do is get to September and be tired. I want to be fresh mentally and physically. For me it is the biggest thing of the year. The idea is to roll through the races and ramp it up for the championships. The slow start to the season may have done me a favour." Beckingsale also spends some time racing the road to keep his fitness level high.
For more information, see www.fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk.
