World Cup | Fort William – Sunday

Sunday dawns and, if you’re a downhiller, the day you’ve been waiting for with all else that went on over the weekend merely a prelude. Looking across this morning to the mountain range that Ben Nevis and Aonach Mhor are a part of, we were treated with fantastic blue skies, a snow capped skyline and the beginnings of a fantastic day.

Read on for action from the final day of World Cup round 4 at Fort William in the Scottish Highlands.Words: Alasdair MacLennan, Pics: Ian MacLennan, Vid: MTBCut.tv


After a heavy night for many, the emphasis was on a strong cup of coffee first thing to kick start the system before the assault of mountain air, midges and the sweat brought on from walking up and down the hillside all day. Practice today ran from 9.30am until noon with the racing starting shortly after one for the women and bang on two for the men owing to the qualifying now taking place on the Saturday afternoon. This means that only the top 80 men and top 20 women venture on course for Sunday practice and it leaves the track looking a little sparse at times. Not to worry though for the impact of 100 of the world’s finest riders thundering past is only heightened with this new layout.


A combination of riders not fully warmed up for the day’s events and some pushing hard first thing out led to some interesting moments before racing started. Impressive was Bryn Atkinson getting sideways at high speed and kicking up a shower of rocks and dust into the air just below the deer fence that roughly marks the half way spot. It’s just a shame that not many got to see it as it would certainly made for one of those special shots. Shortly after, Steve Peat was spotted hauling across the section above the deer fence in the way that only he can with his distinctive style. Hitting the deer gate corner he caught the loose surface just off line, missed the edge of the track and was lucky to stay upright even if he was virtually facing back the way he had come.


With the last remnants of a wet track having all but disappeared by the end of practice, the track was loose for the finals. The woods were reported to be holding up well and which meant that the next section was entered absolutely flat out with no room for error. When looked at, there was a rut which ran almost the length of the woods which was helping the riders rail the corners having become somewhat blown out and rooty by the time qualifying was completed on Saturday.

Racing itself produced some unexpected results, breaking the hopes and dreams of some riders with one hand whilst making the hopes and dreams of others. After coming into this weekend as the favourite and only two points down on the overall lead in the series, Tracy Moseley was off the pace in qualifying yesterday with third. And things only got worse today as she ended up seventh, the two point deficit in the series having now increased to 142 points at the mid way stage of the World Cup calendar.


So that left the way for an all French podium, even if it was one separated by a huge at this level, 13 seconds. Celine Gros took third spot with a 5:30, Emmeline Ragot second with a 5:26 and Sabrina Jonnier the win with a 5:17, a nine second clear margin to the nearest of her rivals. In the overall standings, Sabrina now leads to Tracy with Emmeline Ragot having closed the gap to the latter down to just 25 points. With 250 points up for grabs and four rounds still to go, it’s still wide open for the title as everything moves on to Maribor in two weeks.


In the men’s event, the shattered dreams continued with a vengeance and a number of riders expected to do well bit the dust; literally. Having qualified top-30, Joe Barnes was the first MTBCut rider down the hill, but a crash up top bent his brake lever out of reach and pushed him out of the running. We mentioned him yesterday as having qualified for the first time after many tries but today Scott Laughland went one better and placed 62nd which is a fantastic result and one which he has a right to be pleased with. World Cups are more than just the big names and the top five places. Nathan Rennie improved on his qualifying performance to go into 40th place with a 4:56 but is still way off the pace that a rider of his standard should be achieving. That is especially the case given the blinding performances of the Junior riders this weekend, most prominent of all being Danny Hart in 20th place and the fastest Junior. His chances of continuing the last two years of British success at the World Champs with the Junior title certainly don’t look any the worse for a run like that, even if he did admit to it not being perfect.


Moving on to the top ten now and, after qualifying 9th and with 8th in the final last year one of the local riders, Ben Cathro, was looking for another good result to capitalize on these top finishes, despite having only just returned from a bad shoulder injury. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and his run became something that he will quickly want to forget. Watching from the cable car he was looking quick out of the gate but a mistake going into the tight berms up top knocked his chances of a good place as he picked his bike up from the floor. Trying to make up for this error he began to look ragged and, as he was coming onto the last straight before dropping under Tower 13, his shoulder collapsed and he was thrown hard onto the rocks, his bike bouncing 20ft down the trail with a clatter that you could hear in the sealed cabin 30ft above the track. Knowing it was all over he began the cruise down only for his front tyre to blow off the rim just below the deer gate, pitching him into another crash. They say that bad luck comes in three’s. Perhaps it’s best to get it all over and done with in one go?


With Josh Bryceland at this point already having been sat in the hot seat for a couple of riders, first Marc Beaumont failed to usurp him from the throne. Then of course there was Ben after which, all eyes were on Matti Lehikoinen to do the honours but when even he failed in his mission, you could see the tension build with Josh realizing he was on for a great finish. Atkinson was next up but mistakes meant that he finished way down the pack and in the end it took the might of a fluorescent Sam Hill to push Josh down into second place with a blinding time of 4:40, ten seconds up on the time he set in qualifying. Steve Peat next but whilst second so far, anything less than a win isn’t good enough for his eyes and he soon even lost out on second, eventually being pushed down to finish 6th.


Sam Blenkinsop next and straight into second place, just under three seconds down on Hill. Hannah fell into 5th, down on his third on Saturday but, as we all know, it’s the Sunday that counts. And then it was Greg’s turn. Hucking the awkward top rock garden (see the photo below), he stormed into the lead with a 4:38 on a track where he has always looked comfortable. After qualifying on top, the pressure was on for Gee Atherton to keep it on track for the win. But for the brits it was to be disappointment as the 2008 World Champion wasn’t able to pull the result out that was needed and finished 4th.


So that was it. The video’s are up, the results are out and the queue for the bus into the center of town from the venue may finally have subsided. It perhaps lacked the ultimate edge of some years but the weather was good and the atmosphere still buzzing from same enthusiastic, knowledgeable and eclectic bunch of spectators who make the trip every year to ‘The Fort’. The European Champs are next weekend in Slovenia, with Round 5 of the World Cup the following weekend. As always we will do all we can to bring coverage to your screens but in the mean time, we’ll be uploading more photos as well as a final installment tomorrow night with some more news and coverage from this weekend’s events.


Fort William Finals Video:

Fort William WC Finals

by MTBcut

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 33,131    Faves: 423    Comments: 78

www.mtbcut.tv
www.descent-gear.com
cloverleaf.pinkbike.com