Conti rider Rachel Atherton wins both the downhill worldcup finals and the overall ranking

Rachel Atherton couldn´t have ended her 2012 downhill racing season on a bigger high. Last weekend she won the final worldcup downhill race in Hafjell, Norway, which also means she is the overall UCI Worldcup Champion! Rachel’s elder brother Gee – racing on Conti’s “Mud King” tires as well – grabbed a strong 4th place.


Supported by enthusiastic Norwegian fans, Rachel was cheered all the way down to the finish line, winning the seventh and last round of this year’s UCI Downhill Worldcup in Hafjell, Norway, while clearly leaving her main competitor Emmeline Ragot (FRA) behind in second place. Even the recently crowned World Champion, Morgane Charre (FRA) wasn’t capable of doing anything against the storming run of the 24-year old Briton. Rachel’s appearance at the DH worldcup finals was no different to previous worldcup rounds earlier this year: a rider very dominant and ahead of the field. Her results speak for themselves: out of the six races she took part in, Atherton won five! But this last win at the last race of season clenched her overall UCI Downhill Worldcup title. These sensational results, were not easy to achieve for Rachel this year. Especially because she began her battle for the title with the disadvantage of missing the first worldcup round in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, due to a shoulder injury. Obviously though, this was the right decision.


No matter how fast the Hafjell track was in the upper part, no matter how rough the rock gardens were in it’s lower part – Rachel mastered all of it playfully. During the training sessions and her race run, she knew, she could rely on the traction qualities of the “Mud King” tires. “The track was ridiculously rad and reminded me of home. To win a world cup on such a cool track was an amazing feeling but to clinch the overall title at the same time was a dream come true”- is how the overjoyed Rachel Atherton commented on her new title.


Rachel’s brother Gee secured a strong result for the Atherton Racing Team by placing fourth in the men’s competition. Greg Minnaar deprived him of the second place in the overall ranking only by tenths of a second. Nevertheless, Gee’s 3rd place in the overall ranking and his “podium consistency” is incredible. Especially, when we keep in mind that he had to deal with a shin fracture after the first world cup round and a severe crash at Mt. Saint Anne (CAN). But Gee’s passion for the sport and his determination is ‘uncompromisable’ – thanks to which Team GT/Atherton Racing was able to win the overall team standings. Likewise, GT/Atherton rider Marc Beaumont performed well, helping the team to win its 2012 title with his 13th position in the UCI Downhill Worldcup overall ranking. A fantastic start for the GT-Atherton Racing team in its first year on the circuit as well as for the team’s German tire supplier Continental, which made sure the riders never lost their grip on the track or the title!



For the video of Atherton Racing’s weekend in Norway, please go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe9pFqIggxE&feature=youtu.be

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