That’s one proud dad. Simon Atherton with Gee and Rachael after they’d done the family double here at the opening round of the World Cup. - Steve Behr
Rachael Atherton destroyed the field, winning more than 10 seconds. You could tell she appreciated the crowd’s support today! - Steve Behr
Gee in full flight shortly before taking the win today. - Steve Behr
Danny Hart is one of a few lucky riders to get to run RockShox BlackBox Boxxer’s with their brand new bladder-style Charger Damper cartridge. According to Danny’s mechanic, Dave Garland, the new cartridge offers external low speed compression and rebound adjustment as well as RockShox’s new wiper seals, which are said to work in harmony with the new BlackGold stanchion coating. The cartridge is said to have less top out and a more coil-like feel than previous models. - Steve Behr
Danny Hart’s Giant Glory with new RockShox BlackBox Boxxer fork. - Steve Behr
Inside the BlackBox Boxxer sits the new Charger damper cartridge. - Steve Behr
Orange were showing off its new 650b (27.7in) Five. This means the Five now comes in all three wheel size flavours! - Steve Behr
Schwalbe’s brand new tyre, the Magic Mary. Apparently this is a favourite of Canadian Steve Smith and can be used in just about any condition. - Steve Behr
Sean McCarroll’s been away from the World Cup scene for nearly a decade, so it was great to see him back racing this weekend. Sadly, he didn’t make the cut for the final today, but there’s plenty more speed left in the tank from the 35-year-old Aussie, who’ll be attending all the European rounds of the World Cup this year. - Steve Behr
Marzocchi was showing its new 380 C2R2 fork. Adjustments include high- and low-speed compression and high- and low-speed rebound through their new semi-sealed damper cartridge. The hollow crown and internally and externally tapered stanchions help drop this coil-sprung fork’s weight to 2795g. Marzocchi claims its stiffer than last year’s thanks in part to the new fork arch, which is wide and flat. This also means there’s masses of tyre clearance which enable the 380 to be used with 26in or 650b (27.5in) wheels. - Steve Behr
The new 380 C2R2 low- and high-speed compression adjuster. - Steve Behr
Fox AIRspc goggles were on show at the Fox booth. The AIRspc goggles feature better venting to prevent fogging, 20 percent larger volume, as well as sitting further away from your face to help avoid sweat getting on the lens. Most significantly though, the AIRspc’s are no longer produced by Oakley and now feature a high quality Carl Zeiss Spark lens. - Steve Behr
Brook MacDonald looked strong all weekend and his aggressive flat pedal style paid off today bagging him second place and proving the switch to Trek World Racing could well pay off this year. - Steve Behr
Steve Smith is another rider that’s never fails to impress spectators with speed and style. Today’s third place shows how hard he’s worked during the off-season and a sign of what could well be in store over the following rounds. - Steve Behr
Once again, Fort William again played host to some of the most exciting racing the World Cup has ever seen.
(Click here to read our day one recap and here to read our recap from day two.)
It all began with the juniors, with all eyes on the young Taylor Vernon – competing in his first ever World Cup – who had qualified fastest yesterday aboard his new GT Fury . Sadly, Vernon puncture up above split number two meaning his day was over. In the end, the young Swiss rider Noel Niederberger, riding for the Gstaad-Scott team, who took the win, with British rider Michael Jones in second,and the Australian Dean Lucas rounding out the top three.
Fastest qualifier Rachael Atherton stamped her authority over the women’s category by destroying the field by a staggering 10 seconds. The GT Factory Racing rider bolstered an already impressive qualifying performance to take the win in front of the home crowd ahead of fellow Brit Manon Carpenter from Madison Saracen, with Lapierre’s Emmeline Ragot in third.
The men’s event proved to be nail-biting stuff from the first run. Local hero Greg Williamson of Trek World Racing put in a solid performance to take the hot seat early on and finally end up in an impressive 10th place when all riders had descended the mountain.
After a seemingly average qualifying performance from Aaron Gwin, all eyes were on him in the final. Sadly, it didn’t come together for the US national champ, who never seemed to find his stride. Gwin had to settle for 20th position, which will no doubt be playing on his mind with Val Di Sole just one week away.
With solid runs from Steve Smith and Brook MacDonald, the pressure was really on Gee Atherton and Danny Hart from the expectant British crowd, desperate to see either one of them take the win.
As the camera followed Gee’s powerful pedal strokes down the motorway section, it was clear he was on a rapid run. Gee took the hot seat with just Danny left to ride to rapturous applause from the thousands of fans crowding the finish area. By the time Danny had launched into the finish arena, Gee knew he’d taken another victory here in the Fort. Danny was the first to admit that he had tried to push a little too hard, which on this occasion cost him a podium position.
Gee was over the moon to finally bag himself another World Cup win and was certainly keen to attribute some of that down to his updated GT Fury.
With Gee in the top spot, Brook in 2nd and Steve Smith in 3rd, 4th spot went to Sam Blenkinsop with Mick Hannah in 5th. Sam Hill’s solid run aboard his new Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof left him in 6th while Danny could only manage 7th on the day. The current World Champ, Greg Minnaar in 8th was closely followed by his Santa Cruz Syndicate Josh Bryceland in 9th with Greg Williamson rounding out the top 10.
Rob is BikeRadar and MBUK’s technical editor-in-chief. Our resident tech nerd has lived and breathed mountain bikes since the age of nine. After a couple of years ripping around his local woods, he raced cross-country through the early 90s. A shift to downhill better suited his skillset and he soon became a regular on the national circuit before having a crack at some UCI Downhill World Cups.
Rob always had an eye for tech and was keen to glean any kind of mechanical advantage possible. Whether that was through geometry changes, suspension tuning or adapting parts, he learned quickly that an open mind is key.
He began working as a freelance writer for MBUK over 20 years ago, while he finished his degree in sports technology. He landed his dream role as technical editor 15 years ago.
Rob’s passion for bikes encompasses just about anything with two wheels, including fast and efficient cross-country bikes and long-travel enduro rigs or downhill machines. He rides on the road and gravel, too.
He’s tested hundreds of bikes, piles of components and mountains of kit, so understands what does and doesn’t work.
Height: 172cm
Bike size: Medium/450-460mm reach
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