Fort William 2013: MacLennan Photo Epic
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 Josh Bryceland has swapped to clips this year after dabbling between flats and clips throughout the event in 2012. That doesn't stop a little style and flair coming into play though, and the loose and dusty corners of the top always make for some great shots while riders experiment and have fun early on in the weekend. Here it's Friday but just 48hrs later there would be a more serious head on in an attempt to make up for the puncture in qualifying. Josh does go well at Fort William, there's no denying it, but with a bunch of riders seemingly on form and all ready to fight for victory it was always going to be a tough day at the office. However, that all said, ninth is a great start to the season and only one place behind the ever dependable Minnaar. |
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| Gee Atherton may not have won any World Cups in 2012 but with a new (albeit ageing) bike, and Gwin on a charge, that's perhaps not surprising. What he did show though was the consistency that won him a world title. With a new bike designed with better geometry, sizing more suited to the Athertons, and with one clear purpose in mind, the writing was already on the wall for a win before the season was out. What was more surprising though was the domination that Gee meted out on the rest of the field, sitting well over a second clear of the competition. |
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| Micayla Gatto takes a seat on the sidelines during practice on Friday. The Canadian is racing with support from Commencal this year and should be on for some top ten results if she keeps it together on the day. Ninth at the first and second splits looked like a top ten was a done deal but problems lower down unfortunately dropped her down the order to twelfth by the time she crossed the line. Val di Sole beckons though, and another weekend is another chance. |
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| We mentioned it already in one of our results articles but for the avoidance of doubt, let's repeat it here; the new for 2013 standalone Junior category is a great thing. It allows the Juniors to stand out from the rest of the field, gaining experience and speed without the pressure of qualifying against the Elite men. Make no mistake, these Juniors are all ridiculously quick already, but sometimes that's forgotten with all the glitz surrounding the already proven big names. Australian Dean Lucas here fills the sensor on one of the upper corners on his way to third place in the fresh category. |
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| He may have forgotten his gloves for the finals but Greg Williamson was a man on fire. He put in a stormer here in 2012, taking his best ever result of 17th. But one year on, and a freshly inked TWR deal, things only got better. Smooth and stylish, he has been creeping up the results for the past few years, building both speed and consistency while under the wing of 23 Degrees Management. He admitted after his run that the lack of gloves hadn't really bothered him until the compressions on the bottom jumps when his hands started slipping but even that didn't detract from his storming run. After sitting in the hotseat for a long time an eventual tenth place is an amazing result for the young Scotsman, and a great way to celebrate his 21st birthday weekend. |
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| Jared Graves never seems to make a bad image. The sunshine all weekend meant many riders were rocking iridium lenses. Scotland, sunshine and glitz; what more can anyone ask for? Struggling as ever on the long track with arm pump, 45th in qualifying was solid on the dusty track after a mistake up top robbed him of some time. Showing some of his legendary 4x skill (he was so close to winning the World Champs here in 2007), 9th to the split in the final was a stunning display of skill. Sadly the rest of the run couldn't quite live up to that early pace and he slipped back to 37th, still a more than respectable result in an ultra-competitive field. |
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| It's difficult to pinpoint why Aaron Gwin, the dominating force of the past few years, wasn't showing his best in Scotland. Was it the bike, an injury being kept quiet, or something else? The magnitude of decline is such that not only was his several second winning margins gone, Sunday showed a near nine second deficit to Gee. It doesn't seem that it was one big event in his run which caused this either. Truth told he was off the boil all weekend if you scrutinize the results from timed training and qualifying in conjunction with those from the finals. It's far from the ideal start to the season for the American and, whatever the reason for the dip in performance, time is short to find a resolution given the compressed nature of this season. A win or at the very least a podium is therefore a must in Val di Sole if he's to silence the doubters and critics, and set about some damage limitation to his season. We don't believe that he's forgotten how to ride a bike so it will certainly be interesting to see what happens in Italy in just a few days time. |
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| Casey Brown is one of a growing number of Canadian women ripping up the World Cups. Good splits in qualifying and practice came to an end somewhere in the mid-section of the brutal course come Sunday though and the Dirt/Norco rider was left wondering what might have been. The slopes of Aonach Mhor take no prisoners, and don't differentiate between big names and those dreaming of making it there. Solace can be found for Casey in hitting the first split in fourth place, proving that with a little luck great results could be just around the corner. |
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| Emilie Siegenthaler had a 'mare in qualifying for the Gstaad-Scott team, having hit the first split well, bad luck intervened and 32nd would have left her sitting on the sidelines were she not a protected rider. Sunday is a different day though, and a consistent run to seventh was a solid and dependable result for the Swiss girl. |
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| Always a track the Scots shine on, Fraser McGlone certainly counts as local given he lives just half an hour away. But at this level you need more than just local knowledge to get results and Fraser is another rider who has been quietly plugging away. Last year he finally stepped away from the shadow of the GB jersey and stood on his own feet at a World Level. 50th in qualifying followed by 47th in the final was a consistent and solid result for the nineteen year old. |
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| Manon Carpenter opened her 2012 season with a 2nd in Pietermaritzburg and followed up 2013 with another here. A winter of training and racing full time has got to help your preparation going into a busy season and this podium gets her off to a flying start. She may not have had quite the pace to match Rachel on the day but you can be sure that the Welsh ripper will be fired up and ready to fight for more podiums this year with her Saracen as one of the most technically gifted girls on the circuit. |
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| What can be said about Rachel that hasn't already been said? The only Atherton not to carry the Y-chromosome, you wouldn't always tell that to look at her riding and again it proved this weekend. A clean sweep of both qualifying and the final, her winning margin on Sunday was epic and certainly showed the rest of the field what they will be up against for the rest of the season. |
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| Lapierre's Emmeline Ragot has been a force to be reckoned with for a long time. Another race, another podium; third this time round. |
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| Going into the weekend Steve Smith was the rider who last had the upper hand, having won the final of the 2012 season in Hafjell some eight months previously. But things never stand still in the world of downhill and it was anyone's guess as to whether or not it would be repeatable at the season opener. He's quick, that is absolutely not in question, and he's consistent too, but ultimately he had to settle for third behind a storming Gee and an equally storming Brook Macdonald aboard what appears to be a very fast bike in the Trek Session. |
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| Devastating doesn't even begin to cover Harry Heath's weekend. After qualifying as fastest privateer in eleventh spot on Saturday with a convincing performance, there were more riders and supporters cheering his name and wishing him well than ever before. Sunday rolled around as ever, and as he set out from the gate hearts were in mouths; everyone wanted to see him get a blinding result to kick start his season. The first split was great, and coming into the second over the Hazzard Hoofer he was dead on the money of the times the top boys were putting in. But, as has happened so many times before on Aonach Mhor, some loose gravel on the exit of a corner and down he went. The crash easily cost him the thick end of ten seconds as it happened going into one of the fastest sections, the motorway, where every percent counts. Looking at the stats a top fifteen was a guarantee, or maybe even a top ten. If you'd said to him that he'd be 46th at the start of the weekend he would probably have nodded and thought 'not bad', instead he heads to Val di Sole with his head in his hands wondering what went wrong. That he's running as a privateer is a crime, someone needs to pick him up, and give him the support at races his riding ability deserves. Keep an eye on this one, chances are there'll be some more results to make you sit up and take notice this year. |
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| A change to the 'protected' rider rule for 2013 means that no longer is it the top 20 riders in the series, but the top 20 riders in the UCI rankings who gain the coveted status. It's a get out of jail card for when the worst happens, and allows for the majority of top riders to be guaranteed a spot in Sunday's race should a crash or puncture otherwise take them out of the running. Nick Beer is usually fairly high up in the overall rankings but not this year, and a puncture in qualifying cruelly took away any chance of a result on Sunday. It has a knock on effect for following races too, with riders having to balance speed with caution more than they would like to ensure they don't have another DNS in the season. |
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| Peaty is the man who never stops. The ultimate ambassador for the sport, his professional career spans more than two decades and as the most winning rider to have raced in the sport, he is a firm favorite with fans. He may be unlikely to stand on the top step of the podium again at a World Cup but that doesn't dampen fans' enthusiasm for the Englishman. |
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| Three hundred and seventy two days after entering his last World Cup, and ten years since winning the 2003 race here in Fort William, the fast and stylish Frenchman is back. Having been on a roll with results most had long since discounted him from achieving, Val di Sole last year brought that run crashing to a halt. The seriousness of the broken pelvis almost led to more than just the end of his career but the fighting spirit lived to fight another day. It was incredible to see him busting the style out again as if he'd never been away. 65th perhaps didn't set the world on fire but when you've come back from the brink, any result must feel pretty special. |
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| Like Gracia, Tracey Hannah suffered a pretty horrific crash last year, breaking her femur in August. But the fighting spirit lives on and she rode hard, despite struggling to set a competitive time in split one through both qualifying and the final. The rest of the run was damage limitation and ninth is no bad place to be heading into round two, with several technical tracks coming up that will suit the Australian well. |
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| Greg Minnaar is usually a safe bet for a podium in Scotland but it wasn't to be this year after a mistake before the first split left him languishing in 21st place. He pulled it back from the brink, but eighth overall will be a disappointment for a rider used to so much more. |
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| Knocking yourself out on a Friday is never the ultimate start to the weekend yet Holly Feniak did just that. It was amazing to see her carrying on riding after that, let alone making it through qualifying to Sunday. |
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| So many riders seemed unable to fulfill promise on the day. After a string of second place results it's only a matter of time before Danny Hart makes the extra jump to the top step, adding a World Cup trophy to the World Championship medal already hanging on his wall. Going into Sunday having won qualifying would definitely have been a confidence boost, and didn't seem to apply any pressure that he wasn't already dealing with, but unfortunately 2nd at the first split dropped to 4th by the second, finishing up in 7th, just one place behind Sam Hill. |
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| When this photo was taken on Friday who could have thought that it would be an accurate representation of the weekend for the Specialized team mates? Troy has been on the team for a few years now, learning from the tactical and talented Sam Hill. This year sees Sam replaced by Gwin, and while still early days, it so far sees Troy taking the upper hand. It's unlikely to stay that way once Gwin's back on form but twelfth for Troy is a great result, as is taking the status of being equal fastest through the speed trap. |
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| Blindingly bright kit, great style and plenty of speed; Scott Mears spends a lot of time on a motocross bike and it shows. Mears is one of the lads you love to see do well. He is one of the lads, and the privateer is always a great character to have on the circuit. Running a bike shop day to day means he puts plenty back into the sport and if anyone deserves to have a great year it's the Englishman. 39th in qualifying was followed by 56th in the final after a crash in the rocks but with luck, Val di Sole will see an upturn and a real representation of his abilities. |
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| No rider wants to crash at Fort William, and definitely not when you're going for gold in a race run. Loic Bruni was utterly sublime all weekend, and certainly not looking like a first year senior. Seventh place in qualifying would have been a great result to replicate come Sunday but this crash up top made that task impossible. Damage limitation pulled him back to 26th but looking at the splits a top ten could have been so easily on the cards. |
More images from Ian MacLennan are available in the album here.
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Then, in ValD, come out swinging on a 29er.....and SMOKE the competition...."
"Ok! where do i sign!"
Now that's sarcasm for ya! Well done!
Agree, great photo's.
really uci?
what the hell? , its not 1978....
just give em regular plates for christs sake.
I don't want to sound like a chauvanist, I love and respect women, but I have no interest in women doing a bad impression of men! Ha!
There is definatly not one hot girl that races the WC. Also every state in Australia the elite men would "wipe the shit off their faces with ease while having a bad runs". So c*nt suck a dick you have no idea. @jmbrit
I know that may sound wankerish to some, and I apologise for any offence caused by my opinion.
Me, if I want to look at girls I'll go to the beach or a strip joint, not flick on the UCI world cup DH footage.
I'm 32, and I'm married to a woman.
There are some things that woman are world class at, such as negotiating for a common goal, diplomacy, counseling, giving care and empathy, getting men to do what they want. I have all the time in the world to watch and admire women doing these things. However, they are not world class at DH, and as such I'm not interested in watching or reading about them race. That's it.
I'm not a petulant child, I'm a responsible, educated and mature father who has no one to try to impress and is completely at peace with his own feelings. Perhaps you are the petulant one, judging me on (incorrectly) on a simple matter of opinion that differs from your own. Is it I, or you, who is narrow minded?
Harry Heath's shot #2.
both did very minimal number of runs over the weekend on friday practice i saw them twice where as most riders i saw 4 maybe 5 times
their specialised tent was secluded and away from the main crowds, trying to loose attention?
most of all while troy looked like he was pinned and trying hard
qwin looked disinterested and was smooth but nowhere close to the pace the other riders where doing in practice
something is not right at specialized!
Says who? Total BS. That kid is only going to get faster and I can see Gwinn getting his ass kicked by him on a number of occasions this year. In a couple of years he won't see which way he went.
Gwinn has proven he's a Tomahawk rocket on steroids in the past. Give him time to get used to the new teammate, to the new bike, to the new team as a whole, probably to a new exercise program, and he can get back even stronger than before.
that being said, i'm a mad fan of Hill, so don't think Gwinn is my idol!
I think you misread that.