Fort William Track Walk - UCI World Cup 2012

Jun 7, 2012
by Ian Hylands  
It's time for Fort William again, "the longest walk ever", that's how Mitch Delfs described it this morning. And just like last weekend Pinkbike will be bringing you all the action from the track and behind the scenes, ending up with the live broadcast on Sunday morning. Stay tuned...

This is just a fraction of the magnificent monster that is Fort William s DH track.
  This is just a fraction of the magnificent monster that is Fort William's DH track.

Sam Blenkinsop railing Danny Hart s corner during the track walk...
  Sam Blenkinsop railing Danny Hart's corner during the track walk...

Cam Cole and Snowy his Kiwi mechanic talking line choice on the upper section of the track.
  Cam Cole and Snowy, his Kiwi mechanic, talking line choice on the upper section of the track.

GT looking for line choices. Dan Atherton has switched to Enduro racing but was out walking the track with Rachel and Gee. Not sure if we ll see Affy pinning on a number here or not but we ll keep you in the know.
  GT looking for line choices. Dan Atherton has switched to Enduro racing, but was out walking the track with Rachel and Gee. Not sure if we'll see Affy pinning on a number here or not, but we'll keep you in the know.

The track at Ft William may be artificial but that doesn t make it any easier to ride. She s steep and nasty and loaded with wheel wrecking rocks. Mechanics are already lacing up spare wheels.
  The track at Ft William may be artificial, but that doesn't make it any easier to ride. She's steep and nasty and loaded with wheel wrecking rocks. Mechanics are already lacing up spare wheels.

Wheel-wrecking about sums it up for the upper section of the track.
  Wheel-wrecking about sums it up for the upper section of the track.

Cam Cole Blenki and Snowy checking the road gap.
  Cam Cole, Blenki, and Snowy checking the road gap.

Baby head central. For me this section of the track is the hardest stated Blenki. It s just hard to stay focused after all the hard stuff up top
  Baby head central.

bigquotesFor me, this section of the track is the hardest, it's just hard to stay focused after all the hard stuff up top. - Blenki

Riders will fade-away over this roll as they drop into the new feature-laden lower track.
  Riders will fade-away over this roll as they drop into the new, feature-laden, lower track.

The lower section of the track saw a pretty major make-over. The old track is on the right. The new one feautures some fairly meaty tables. Chris Ball the technical delegate for the UCI stated that the new features made the track fast enough that a few extra corners had to created lower down for speed control.
  The lower section of the track saw a pretty major make-over. The old track is on the right. The new one feautures some fairly meaty tables. Chris Ball, the technical delegate for the UCI stated that the new features made the track fast enough that a few extra corners had to be created lower down for speed control.

Steve Peat takes you through the track at Fort William.

As was the case at Val di Sole Neko Mulally will skip Ft Bill in order to let his broken ankle heal up completely before Mt St Anne.
  As was the case at Val di Sole, Neko Mulally will skip Ft Bill in order to let his broken ankle heal up completely before Mt St Anne.

Black Box specialist Jon Cancellier checking on his rider s shock and fork settings before starting to work on freshening up race whips for tomorrow s practice. I need an app for this...
  Black Box specialist Jon Cancellier checking on his rider's shock and fork settings before starting to work on freshening up race whips for tomorrow's practice. "I need an app for this..."

The mad dash from Val di Sole to Ft William saw teams basically tearing out of Italy as soon as the awards were over. It s more than a 24 hour drive to get to the Scottish venue so mechanics had no time to give the bikes any TLC until today s track walk. On the top teams every bike saw a complete tear down bearing replacement lube and re-build so riders can hammer the bikes tomorrow during practice. Rinse and repeat...
  The mad dash from Val di Sole to Ft William saw teams basically tearing out of Italy as soon as the awards were over. It's more than a 24 hour drive to get to the Scottish venue, so mechanics had no time to give the bikes any TLC until today's track walk. On the top teams, every bike saw a complete tear down, bearing replacement, lube, and re-build so riders can hammer the bikes tomorrow during practice. Rinse and repeat...

The Doctor is in . Ty Dines getting ready to inject some mad science into Rat-boy s new RAD Fox 40 fork.
  The Doctor is "in". Ty Dines getting ready to inject some mad science into Rat-boy's new RAD Fox 40 fork.

This ain t Whistler. There are only two tracks here at Ft William.... And neither of them is particularly easy or gentle.
  This ain't Whistler. There are only two tracks here at Ft William.... And neither of them is particularly easy or gentle.

MS-Mondraker lead mechanic and bus driver Christian looking for a fresh tire for Brook MacDonald s Summum.
  MS-Mondraker lead mechanic and bus driver Christian looking for a fresh tire for Brook MacDonald's Summum.

Rat-boy s mad science forks getting the precisely measured Dougie Fresh install job.
  Rat-boy's mad science forks getting the precisely measured Dougie Fresh install job.

Track walk day at the 2012 Ft William World Cup in Scotland





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77 Comments
  • 58 2
 Sam must still be trying to get used to his prototype 1400mm wide bars in the second photo! Wink
  • 5 4
 Yeah, I can't believe how wide they are!
Props to Blenki for pushing the boundaries of the..... tape?
  • 13 4
 And now i need a bacon sandwich....
  • 38 0
 wish that cg was riding this race last year with his no hander on the road gap was sick
  • 19 0
 yeah and imagine what he might do on those new tables, wishing him a speedy recovery!
  • 5 0
 he was wanting to do a backflip this weekend - gutted he bust it wouldve been epic
  • 2 0
 yeah he's talked for the last couple of years about flipping the nissan jump (final step down into finish area). I'm sure next year he will be back to do it and i'll be there screaming "FLIP IT!" till i lose my voice once again
  • 2 0
 id love to see him flip it
  • 38 1
 did anybody elses volume cut out right at the end?
  • 5 0
 yes it did i thought it was my headphones
  • 5 0
 @ 7:23 =(
  • 1 1
 crap wrong person meant for comment below
  • 9 0
 There's no mistaking Shimano Special Grease.
  • 13 0
 radioactive snot
  • 7 1
 Dan Atherton said on his twitter feed..."Just prepping the DH bike ready for some death trains next weekend with @SluggerBeaumont @gee_atherton" on June 3...
So maybe he is racing...?
  • 5 0
 Or he's just having fun riding this amazing track with his friends as "cross training"
  • 1 0
 article on vital said he is racing, might be a dumb question but how the hell does someone automatically "qualify" for a world cup if they havent raced all season and almost all of last season?
  • 4 1
 uhhhh, thats what Saturday qualifying if for?
  • 2 0
 You still need UCI points to enter which you can only get from racing certain DH races.
  • 1 0
 Due to his injury I'm sure the UCI have certain allowances in place to cater for it. Look at when barrel came back from retirement, he hadn't raced WC level for years and probably didn't go to all the national/euro events to get the points needed. Once you're in the click, you're in.
  • 1 0
 when did Barel come back from retirement? He came back from injuries and only retired last season after a 4th place at la bresse
  • 6 0
 Man that course is dirty, looks dangerous and adrenaline filled.... I wanna ride it!
  • 3 0
 It always makes me laugh - you see the photo's and think 'that doesn't look too bad - it must just be the speed the top guys are hitting everything', then you watch the video and people can't even walk down properly it's so steep! :-)
  • 1 0
 Such a fun track to ride.
Shame it costs so much in wheels :o)

Can't wait for Sunday, Gwin on pinball last year was amazing to watch, how 1 guy can go that fast compared to the rest is insane.

The new motorway looks fun, but the jumps could be a little big for us old guys and probably the girls too.

I hope there is a live camera on the old pinball and traverse sections up top as they are the best places to watch.
  • 4 0
 cant wait! Is steve smith riding?
  • 2 0
 i would assume so
  • 2 1
 Why would he not?
  • 9 0
 im assuming he's meaning because of his hand. he raced last weekend with it, so i dont see why he wouldnt this weekend.
  • 3 0
 Nice shots Colin, I hope you brought your DEET!
  • 4 1
 imma just guess here and say gwin wins
  • 4 0
 my predictions are Gwin, Minnar, Gee, everyone else. I hope Sam Hill can get a podium though!
  • 1 0
 I have read "and say gwin twins" and was like: what the? Wink I hope Peat'll ride well and Hart has some chances too.
  • 3 1
 I wonder how much monster is paying steve to slap a big monster patch on his hat.
  • 2 0
 Wow that track looks amazing! I really hope Red Bull can pull some good coverage of the road gap and booters!!
  • 1 0
 ..that would be sick!
  • 2 0
 Come on Gee!!! Forget the julibee, england will be celebrating harder if Gee wins Big Grin
  • 1 0
 has peatys video put any one else in the mood for cans of heineken and a bacon bap??
  • 3 1
 Wish i could get up there to watch it Frown
  • 10 0
 Wish I could get up there to ride!
  • 1 0
 rachel is looking pretty good in the tight pants and i bet aaron had the biggest target on him ever
  • 1 0
 Ha, the finish gate has still got Val Di Sole on it (see Peaty's track walk vid). Well done UCi and RockyRoads. Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Can't wait for the new motorway section on the end.. hopefully some huge Danny Hart whips!
  • 1 0
 shame CG wont be racing and pulling mahoosive tricks off the new motorway section...
  • 1 0
 How precise can you be with a tape?
  • 4 0
 accurate to about 0.5mm with a rule or tape
  • 1 0
 OH SNAP! and alt thought he was being retorical
  • 1 0
 cant wait, im going and it will be amazing
  • 1 0
 This weekend is going to be epic!!!!
  • 2 1
 Ian Highland .... THANK YOU!
  • 6 0
 Hylands.
  • 1 2
 rufus33 - Highlands fits him better in the article about Fort William
  • 1 0
 no! . . sorry pal, wrong typo
  • 1 0
 Absolutely gorgeous looking course.
  • 1 0
 Those midges, jeez! definitely don't stand round there to spectate lol
  • 1 0
 Hope we see some sick style down that motorway section!!
  • 1 0
 that track is unreal would love to ride it !! siiiiicccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkk!
  • 1 0
 Doh, volume fail just a peaty gets to the only actual new bit lol.
  • 1 0
 Has anyone heard/read if Troy will be back for this race?
  • 1 0
 that's some pretty wide handlebars you're running there, blenki!
  • 1 1
 when is the world cup what date
  • 1 1
 theyll be racing june 9th.. correct me if im wrong
  • 4 0
 This Sunday
  • 6 0
 10tth*
  • 1 7
flag rob-c (Jun 7, 2012 at 18:12) (Below Threshold)
 11th
  • 5 0
 10th
  • 5 0
 oops forgot its Friday morning
  • 1 1
 I want some Royal socks Frown
  • 1 0
 Amazinggggggg
  • 1 0
 Amazinggggggg
  • 2 2
 when is the wc
  • 4 0
 this weekend
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