Atherton victorious on home soil
Cole slips into second
Gee Atherton (Commencal) took a very popular win in the second round of men's UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup at Fort William, Scotland.
"It's a dream come true," said Atherton. "This is the most excited I've ever been about winning a race. I owe to the crowd, I could hear them as I came out of the woods at the bottom, and it pushed me harder."
Fort William is one of the favourite tracks for the riders, requiring both technical skills and endurance for runs that are over four and a half for the top men. It also boasts some of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds of the series, with thousands lining the course. This year, the fast upper section was made more technical, and uncharacteristically dry conditions made for a loose, dusty track that had more than a few riders washing out.
The men's race saw a steady chipping away of the top time, as riders approached Greg Minnaar's top qualifying time of 4:39 minutes. Antoine Badouard was the first to go below 4:50, and held the hot seat for a lengthy period before Thibaut Ruffin (Commencal Superriders) lopped off three seconds. The times continued to go down bit by bit, with former junior World Champion Danny Hart (Giant Factory) taking it down to 4:42.77 . Australian Shaun O'Connor (Kenda Playerbike) knocked another 1.23 seconds off, but Minnaar's qualifying time was still holding up.
Canada's Steve Smith (Evil Bikes), had a strong start, but washed out in one of the corners at the top of the course, taking him out of contention. Sam Hill (Monster Energy-Mad Catz-Specialized), normally one of Minnaar's greatest rivals, crashed hard in training two days prior to the race and after an early morning run to test his shoulder decided not to start.
"It was a pretty big crash," Hill admitted. "I'm pretty bummed out not to be racing, but I can't hold onto the bars properly, so I would just crash again. I think there's a little shoulder separation, so I'm scheduled to see a specialist during the week."
Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles) was the first to finally surpass Minnaar's qualifying time, and did so by two seconds, with 12 riders remaining. Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate), the clear crowd favourite, was well off the pace, but is still favouring his back after a serious crash in Lisbon a month ago. Hannah's very fast time stood up until it was the turn of Gee Atherton, the 2008 World Champion.
Atherton was looking to finally score the first World Cup win on home soil by his racing family, and he did so decisively, beating Hannah by over two seconds. American Aaron Gwin (Yeti Fox Shox) and Cameron Cole (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) both came close to Atherton, with Cole less than half a second back, but it was the two-time defending track champion Minnaar who looked to have the best chance.
Minnaar came through the second split four-tenths of a second down, and lost the same amount again in the final pedal into the finish for third place behind Cole, to give Atherton his first World Cup win on British soil.
Minnaar continues to lead the men's series by 15 points over Atherton, with Cole a distant third at 282 points.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 0:04:35.7 |
2 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 0:00:00.5 |
3 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:01.2 |
4 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 0:00:02.0 |
5 | Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles | 0:00:02.1 |
6 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 0:00:02.1 |
7 | Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:05.2 |
8 | Shaun O'connor (Aus) Kenda-Playbiker | 0:00:05.8 |
9 | Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 | 0:00:06.3 |
10 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:06.4 |
11 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bicycles | 0:00:06.5 |
12 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Team | 0:00:07.1 |
13 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona | 0:00:07.2 |
14 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 0:00:07.4 |
15 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing | 0:00:07.5 |
16 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) | 0:00:07.8 |
17 | Nico Vink (Bel) | 0:00:08.4 |
18 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:08.6 |
19 | Ben Cathro (GBr) | 0:00:09.1 |
20 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:09.4 |
21 | Joris Bigoni (Fra) | 0:00:09.5 |
22 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 0:00:10.0 |
23 | Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 | 0:00:10.1 |
24 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal Superiders | 0:00:10.5 |
25 | Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing | 0:00:10.6 |
26 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:10.6 |
27 | Sam Dale (GBr) | 0:00:11.1 |
28 | Fergus Lamb (GBr) | 0:00:11.2 |
29 | Florent Payet (Fra) Blackmountain Morewood United | 0:00:11.3 |
30 | Romain Paulhan (Fra) | 0:00:11.5 |
31 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) | 0:00:11.9 |
32 | Joshua Button (Aus) Kona | 0:00:12.3 |
33 | Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) XMS Racing Squad | 0:00:12.4 |
34 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 0:00:12.4 |
35 | Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team | 0:00:12.6 |
36 | Kyle Strait (USA) | 0:00:12.7 |
37 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:12.8 |
38 | Luke Strobel (USA) MS Evil Racing | 0:00:13.0 |
39 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 0:00:13.3 |
40 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Kenda-Playbiker | 0:00:13.4 |
41 | Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 0:00:13.5 |
42 | Antoine Badouard (Fra) | 0:00:13.5 |
43 | Duncan Riffle (USA) Giant Factory Team | 0:00:13.7 |
44 | Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) | 0:00:14.3 |
45 | Adam Brayton (GBr) | 0:00:14.5 |
46 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) XMS Racing Squad | 0:00:15.5 |
47 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) | 0:00:16.1 |
48 | Robert Smith (GBr) | 0:00:16.5 |
49 | Joe Barnes (GBr) | 0:00:16.7 |
50 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) | 0:00:17.1 |
51 | Matej Charvat (Cze) K.T.R. Racing Team | 0:00:17.2 |
52 | Nathan Rankin (NZl) Kenda-Playbiker | 0:00:17.2 |
53 | Chris Hutchens (GBr) | 0:00:17.3 |
54 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 0:00:17.5 |
55 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 0:00:17.7 |
56 | Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 0:00:18.0 |
57 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 0:00:18.1 |
58 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 0:00:18.5 |
59 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Blackmountain Morewood United | 0:00:18.6 |
60 | Dennis Dertell (Swe) | 0:00:18.7 |
61 | Harry Heath (GBr) | 0:00:19.8 |
62 | George Brannigan (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team | 0:00:20.0 |
63 | Ralph Jones (GBr) | 0:00:20.3 |
64 | Aari Barrett (NZl) Scott 11 | 0:00:20.5 |
65 | Curtis Keene (USA) | 0:00:20.6 |
66 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 0:00:22.3 |
67 | Scott Laughland (Irl) | 0:00:23.3 |
68 | Harry Molloy (GBr) | 0:00:24.0 |
69 | Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:32.7 |
70 | Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi Team | 0:00:34.5 |
71 | Sam Flockhart (GBr) Lapierre International | 0:00:34.9 |
72 | Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing | 0:00:36.3 |
73 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) MS Evil Racing | 0:00:36.8 |
74 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 0:00:41.1 |
75 | Matthew Scoles (NZl) Team Cingolani - Protone | 0:00:42.1 |
76 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) MS Evil Racing | 0:01:31.9 |
77 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 0:02:20.3 |
78 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team | 0:02:29.1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 80 | pts |
2 | Commencal | 75 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 75 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Trek World Racing | 63 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Scott 11 | 62 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 50 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Gt Bicycles | 48 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 30 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Suspension Center | 28 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Commencal Superiders | 28 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Lapierre International | 26 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Kenda-Playbiker | 23 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 22 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Giant Factory Team | 19 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Rc Alpine Commencal Austria | 19 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Kona | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Dr-Gravity Union | 15 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 14 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 9 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Ms Evil Racing | 6 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Blackmountain Morewood United | 2 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 420 | pts |
2 | Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 405 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 282 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 240 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 239 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 219 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 | 199 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles | 173 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 171 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 163 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 160 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 160 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bicycles | 155 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona | 153 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 | 149 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) | 143 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 138 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Team | 137 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing | 136 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Ben Cathro (GBr) | 133 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing | 132 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Shaun O'connor (Aus) Kenda-Playbiker | 130 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 128 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 128 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 127 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Luke Strobel (USA) MS Evil Racing | 122 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team | 118 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) | 116 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal Superiders | 111 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Florent Payet (Fra) Blackmountain Morewood United | 109 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 103 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Nico Vink (Bel) | 102 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 100 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Joshua Button (Aus) Kona | 96 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 84 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
36 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) XMS Racing Squad | 84 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
37 | Romain Paulhan (Fra) | 80 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
38 | Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing | 79 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
39 | Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi Team | 77 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
40 | Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) | 76 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
41 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 72 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
42 | Matej Charvat (Cze) K.T.R. Racing Team | 70 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
43 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Kenda-Playbiker | 68 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
44 | Joris Bigoni (Fra) | 66 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
45 | Sam Dale (GBr) | 60 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
46 | Harry Molloy (GBr) | 57 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
47 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 57 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
48 | Kyle Strait (USA) | 56 | Row 47 - Cell 3 |
49 | Duncan Riffle (USA) Giant Factory Team | 56 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
50 | Joe Barnes (GBr) | 54 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
51 | Fergus Lamb (GBr) | 53 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
52 | Matthew Scoles (NZl) Team Cingolani - Protone | 51 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
53 | Mickael Pascal (Fra) | 50 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
54 | Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) XMS Racing Squad | 48 | Row 53 - Cell 3 |
55 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) MS Evil Racing | 48 | Row 54 - Cell 3 |
56 | Adam Vagner (Cze) | 42 | Row 55 - Cell 3 |
57 | Marco Milivinti (Ita) Team Cingolani - Protone | 41 | Row 56 - Cell 3 |
58 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 40 | Row 57 - Cell 3 |
59 | Curtis Keene (USA) | 40 | Row 58 - Cell 3 |
60 | Antoine Badouard (Fra) | 39 | Row 59 - Cell 3 |
61 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 39 | Row 60 - Cell 3 |
62 | Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 38 | Row 61 - Cell 3 |
63 | Adam Brayton (GBr) | 36 | Row 62 - Cell 3 |
64 | Emyr Davies (GBr) | 35 | Row 63 - Cell 3 |
65 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) | 34 | Row 64 - Cell 3 |
66 | Robert Smith (GBr) | 33 | Row 65 - Cell 3 |
67 | George Brannigan (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team | 33 | Row 66 - Cell 3 |
68 | Lars Peyer (Swi) Suspension Center | 32 | Row 67 - Cell 3 |
69 | Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 32 | Row 68 - Cell 3 |
70 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) | 31 | Row 69 - Cell 3 |
71 | Scott Mears (GBr) | 31 | Row 70 - Cell 3 |
72 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team | 30 | Row 71 - Cell 3 |
73 | Nathan Rankin (NZl) Kenda-Playbiker | 29 | Row 72 - Cell 3 |
74 | Chris Hutchens (GBr) | 28 | Row 73 - Cell 3 |
75 | Bernard Kerr (GBr) Norco World Team | 28 | Row 74 - Cell 3 |
76 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 27 | Row 75 - Cell 3 |
77 | Olivier Nicole (Fra) | 26 | Row 76 - Cell 3 |
78 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Blackmountain Morewood United | 22 | Row 77 - Cell 3 |
79 | Jack Reading (GBr) | 21 | Row 78 - Cell 3 |
80 | Dennis Dertell (Swe) | 21 | Row 79 - Cell 3 |
81 | Nejc Rutar (Slo) MBK Orbea | 20 | Row 80 - Cell 3 |
82 | Harry Heath (GBr) | 20 | Row 81 - Cell 3 |
83 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team | 20 | Row 82 - Cell 3 |
84 | Oliver Burton (GBr) | 19 | Row 83 - Cell 3 |
85 | Ralph Jones (GBr) | 18 | Row 84 - Cell 3 |
86 | Aari Barrett (NZl) Scott 11 | 17 | Row 85 - Cell 3 |
87 | Ludovic May (Swi) | 15 | Row 86 - Cell 3 |
88 | Scott Laughland (Irl) | 14 | Row 87 - Cell 3 |
89 | Marco Bugnone (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team | 13 | Row 88 - Cell 3 |
90 | Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team | 12 | Row 89 - Cell 3 |
91 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 12 | Row 90 - Cell 3 |
92 | Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi Team | 11 | Row 91 - Cell 3 |
93 | Sam Flockhart (GBr) Lapierre International | 10 | Row 92 - Cell 3 |
94 | Jan Javornik (Svk) | 9 | Row 93 - Cell 3 |
95 | Florian Arthus (Fra) | 8 | Row 94 - Cell 3 |
96 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) MS Evil Racing | 8 | Row 95 - Cell 3 |
97 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 7 | Row 96 - Cell 3 |
98 | Kim Petersson (Swe) | 4 | Row 97 - Cell 3 |
99 | Maxime Remy (Fra) Suspension Center | 2 | Row 98 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott 11 | 150 | pts |
2 | Commencal | 150 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 144 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 132 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Trek World Racing | 108 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 105 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 69 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Commencal Superiders | 62 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Gt Bicycles | 61 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 54 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Suspension Center | 49 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Rc Alpine Commencal Austria | 47 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Lapierre International | 45 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 42 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Ms Evil Racing | 41 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Kona | 41 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Giant Factory Team | 30 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Dr-Gravity Union | 28 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Kenda-Playbiker | 23 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Mondraker Factory Team | 22 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 20 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Norco World Team | 19 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Blackmountain Morewood United | 9 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Massi Team | 8 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Dirt Norco Race Team | 5 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
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