Gee Atherton races a peregrine falcon

Downhill racer versus the world’s fastest bird of prey

Being prey makes one pedal faster

Josh Patterson

Published: June 6, 2013 at 3:48 pm

One has to wonder who sits around and thinks these stunts up. We’ve seen man versus motorcycle, when Gee Atherton beat moto racer David Knight down the Fort William downhill course. The 2010 downhill world champ even bested all but a handful of the 400 riders in hot pursuit during the Redbull Fox Hunt. But his latest challenge, outpacing the world’s fastest bird of prey, may take the cake.

The peregrine falcon hunts from above, swooping down on its prey at speeds exceeding 200mph (322 km/h).

While Gee’s no slouch on a bike, he’s certainly not capable of such speeds. Then again, he might be motivated to pedal a bit faster with a bag of meat attached to his back…

Check out the video to see who wins the battle of bike versus bird.

_{Gee atherton races a peregrine falcon}

Contributor

Josh Patterson is a BikeRadar contributor and former technical editor. He has spent most of his career working in the cycling industry as an athlete, mechanic and journalist. He holds a master's degree in journalism and has more than 20 years of experience as a cyclist and 12 years of experience riding and writing for BikeRadar, Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Dirt Rag, RoadBikeReview and Outside Magazine. A native of the Flint Hills of Kansas, Josh was a pioneer in the gravel cycling movement, having raced the first Unbound 200 and many other gravel events around the globe. He considers himself a cycling generalist and enjoys road, gravel and mountain biking in equal measure. When not traveling for work, he can be found exploring the singletrack and lonely gravel roads that surround his home in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to his love of cycling, Josh is an enthusiastic supporter of brunch, voting rights and the right to repair movement.