Fort William World Cup | Day Two

Action and photos from day two of the 2010 Fort William World Cup.

Saturday morning and the sun is once again out at The Bill. Amazing when you consider how black some of the looming clouds were yesterday. So whilst the umbrella salesmen who had hoped to make a killing are going home in disappointment it's been a killer day for anyone selling sunglasses. The carpark has been a dust bowl and is so bright you’re at serious risk of suffering the equivalent of snow blindness. Not that that’s a common problem here. Another uncommon problem is the loose surfaces on both the 4x and the DH tracks which has been giving riders a headache all weekend. A little overnight rain would do it no harm at all.

Read on for all that happened during the downhill qualifying and 4x finals.

Those racing both events had a tough challenge today with both downhill and 4x training followed by downhill qualifying and then the 4x finals, the qualifying runs having been done yesterday evening. Kicking off the downhill practice today at 8.30am were the keenest riders and those outside the top 80 mens rankings and 20 in the womens. Extended practice for these riders mean that many leave it a little longer before venturing out onto the hill.


Qualifying in many ways is more nerve racking than the final, the hard work having already been done to get there. If you go out in the qualifiers it’s a very short weekend with not a lot to show for the months of training, all the work done to afford the travel and the support from all those around you. The womens event ran first today and left several riders nursing injuries as they crashed out hard on the course known for taking no prisoners.


The top five ended as Emmeline Ragot in 5th with a 5:26, Tracy Moseley 4th with a 5:24, Floriane Pugin in 3rd with a 5:23 and Sabrina Jonnier in 2nd with a 5:21. Breaking under the 5:20 barrier by sixteen hundredths was Rachel Atherton for the lead in advance of the main event tomorrow. 16th placed Jess Stone admitted she was disappointed with her run, having not made the most of the loose conditions. ‘I think my riding style is too aggressive to ride well when it’s like this’ the Trek Gravity Girls rider admitted. Knowing what to do for tomorrow though should enable her to climb the rankings, her 9th place in the Maribor qualifiers being an indication of the performance yet to come from the rider in only her second full year of World Cup racing. Lapierre’s Manon Carpenter impressed today too with 8th place and a time just eighteen seconds back from that of Rachel Atherton – remember that this is only her second World Cup and that she still qualifies as a Junior! Mojo’s Aimee Dix also scraped through with just over two seconds to spare for 19th place.


In the mens there was the obvious question hanging in the air before the runs started and that was all about whether Sam was going to run or not after his devastating crash during timed practice yesterday, a crash which did a good job of breaking both him and his bike. In the end he did start his run but being one of the protected riders (top twenty) meant that he didn’t need to finish so he pulled over just after the start, the beam being broken and thus his place in the finals tomorrow assured. Whether or not he actually races or is able to put in a good result is another matter entirely but tomorrow is another day and we will see what it brings. Danny Hart was the only other protected rider to utilise his status, a puncture causing him to come down outside the top 150. And for the second race in a row there was the big shock of Dan Atherton not qualifying, his lack of downhill racing in 2009 hurting him badly and losing him his protected status.


Chain Reaction Cycles rider Matti Lehikoinen pulled out 5th with a 4:43 whilst Gwin was 4th for Yeti with a 4:42 having clocked 60km/h at the speedtrap. Cameron Cole’s 3rd spot was impressive as he posted a 4:41 whilst 2nd was Sam Blenkinsop on a 4:40. Taking provisional lead and an all important 50 points towards the series was last year’s winner Greg Minnaar having ridden the track in 4:39. Fastest through the speedtrap was Australian powerhouse Mick Hannah at 60.4km/h. For the Brits, Gee is sitting in 6th, Marc Beaumont in 8th, Peat in 11th and local rider Ben Cathro is 18th after a crash. Steve Smith took 15th. Of the Scottish Juniors, Lewis Buchanan took top spot in 43rd place overall having put in a solid run with a 4:54 while Sam Flockhart qualified in 74th and Mark Scott in 77th, Mark having been the only one of the trio to qualify in the mud of Maribor last month.


And then there was the 4x. After last night’s qualifying, this was the finals and the big event. With crowds lining the track (as well as hanging from trees) there was a great atmosphere as the heats progressed. With more men entered they kicked things off before running concurrently from the Semi’s onwards. Will Longden was an early casualty as he went down on the first straight in the first heat. Bernard Kerr got through to the second rounds having been against Jurg Meijer and Tejchman. There was a scrap for second but Bernard made it through before coming against Gracia with Meijer in the next round. Gracia dropped out in the Semi’s having gone from dead last to second before dropping into third and relinquishing his place in the Quarters.


After his disappointment in the downhill Dan Atherton would have been looking for a podium here in the 4x but unfortunately that wasn’t to be. He failed to get a decent gate in the quarters which left the way open for Saladini and Mechura to progress. That heat also saw Guido Tschugg go down hard and out of the running whilst Slavik went out in the Semi’s.


The results in the mens A final were Saladini in fourth whilst Prokop got stung at the old start when he clipped a pedal and lost his momentum allowing Wichman to profit and take second. Jared Graves showed his class with a resounding win despite having crossed the line in the second round with a puncture, Tatarkovic having pipped him for the win in that heat. Tatarkovic won the B final to take the 5th and final spot on the podium.


The Womens event might not have had as many entrants but the excitement and expectation was still there. Fionn Griffiths didn’t have a good start but by the end of the first straight had pulled back second which allowed her to progress. Katy Curd also did well in her heat although neither of them made it to the A final, Fionn having clipped the inside marker at the old start and gone down hard. The A final in reverse order was Anneke Beerten in fourth, Romana Labounkova in third, Anita Molcik in second and Jana Horakova taking her second win in three rounds. Rounding out the podium was Lucia Oetjen having won the B final in which Huntington went down near the start, needing stretchered off by the medics.


We’ll be back tomorrow with more action from Fort William and more pictures.

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