Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Fort William World Cup DH

Round Two, Return to a Classic

Familiar Territory at the Scottish Classic

It's been over a month since we last saw the world's fastest downhill racers convene in Maribor for round one, but finally, the World Cup resumes this weekend at a venue that has been a stalwart on the circuit since 2002. We saw youth triumph at the first round, as Loic Bruni and Tahnee Seagrave took the wins in Slovenia. With a win in Fort William in 2018 for Tahnee and a fifth spot on the podium for Loic, they'll be the favourites going into round two. But let's not forget that Greg Minnaar already has seven wins at the classic venue and Rachel Atherton has three and you can bet they have their sights on the top step of the podium as well.

The track is mostly unchanged, but the weather is sure to play a part in riders' preparation. Let's refresh your memory on what happened in Fort William last year, take a look at the course and the upcoming weather conditions and get primed and ready for the weekend!

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The Track

The track at Aonach Mor remains almost entirely unchanged from 2018. Only a small section of the recently modified woods section in the middle of the run has been adjusted. Instead of using the 'roughly paved' forest section that improved on the bog of years gone by, riders will now hit a soft and wide grass connector to reach the fast open berms above the road gap that have been unused for several years. It's worth noting that a good amount of maintenance work has gone in to freshen the track both high up on the moor and for the motorway jumps en route to the finish area.

You can see the full Track Walk Photo Epic here and watch Ben Cathro's Track Walk here.

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Previous Winners

Note, * denotes a race which was a World Championship.

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What Happened in 2018

In the Elite Women's race, Tahnee Seagrave was able to clinch that inaugural win on UK soil on the race track everyone wants to dominate most. Rachel Atherton fell foul to a snapped chain and a crash but was able to hold on for third, while Myriam Nicole also had a problem staying upright, but finished second.

The men's race kept the party well alive and the storms held off until the French had taken over the podium. Amaury Pierron took his first ever victory ahead of countrymen Vergier and Bruni, while Reece Wilson experienced what must have been about the best day of his life, becoming the first Scotsman ever to reach the top steps at Fort William. Meanwhile, Troy Brosnan completed the podium and first place qualifier, Luca Shaw and series leader, Aaron Gwin appeared to be flat out of luck, blowing tyres and hitting the deck respectively.

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What Happened at the Last Round?

Maribor provided some close racing as the top four men were separated by less than a second. It would be current World Champion Loic Bruni who would take the win on board his new mixed wheel Specialized Demo. Less than half a second back was Danny Hart who was also sporting two wheel sizes and managed to hang onto the hot seat for what felt like most of the race. Troy Brosnan put together a great run that would place him third.

In the Elite Women's race, it was an all-out battle between the two British riders Rachel Atherton and Tahnee Seagrave. In the end, Tahnee would best Rachel by 0.855 seconds but the close split times show that this season is going to be pretty exciting between the two racers. Tracey Hannah couldn't quite match her top qualifying position, finishing third.

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The Standings

ELITE MEN

1st // Loic BRUNI // FRA // 216
2nd // Danny HART // GBR // 160
3rd // Troy BROSNAN // AUS // 160
4th // Charlie HARRISON // USA // 143
5th // Aaron GWIN // USA // 135
6th // Mark WALLACE // CAN // 135
7th // Matt WALKER // GBR // 110
8th // Laurie GREENLAND // GBR // 105
9th // Amaury PIERRON // FRA // 90
10th // Loris VERGIER // FRA // 75

ELITE WOMEN

1st // Tahnée SEAGRAVE // GBR // 230
2nd // Rachel ATHERTON // GBR // 200
3rd // Tracey HANNAH // AUS // 190
4th // Monika HRASTNIK // SLO // 130
5th // Marine CABIROU // FRA // 125
6th // Nina HOFFMAN // GER // 120
7th // Eleonora FARINA // ITA // 94
8th // Veronika WIDDMAN // ITA // 75
9th // Sandra RUBESAM // GER // 72
10th // Carina CAPPELLARI // SUI // 71

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Weather Forecast

The forecast for this weekend looks like typical Scottish weather with lots of rain on the menu.

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The Schedule

Friday May 31
• 08:30-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 12:00-15:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 15:30-17:00 // Downhill Timed Training Session
• 17:00-17:45 // On Foot Downhill Course Inspection - Riders and Teams

Saturday June 1
• 08:30-10:00 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 10:15-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 12:15 // Seeding Run - Junior Women
• 12:30 // Qualifying Round - Junior Men
• 13:30 // Qualifying Round - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Qualifying Round - Elite Men
• Followed by // 30 minutes On Foot Downhill Course Inspection - Riders and Teams

Sunday June 2
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Junior Women, Junior Men, Elite Women
• 09:45 // Final - Junior Women
• 10:15 // Final - Junior Men
• 12:30 // Final - Elite Women
• 13:30 // Final - Elite Men followed by Awards ceremony

Note: All times are local and subject to change by the event organizer.

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Follow Along

Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Fort William this week. Tune in to Pinkbike to catch photo epics, videos and results from Timed Training, Practice, Qualifying and Finals, as well as tech bits and news.

You can also watch the second round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup free of charge, live or on demand, on redbull.tv. The live broadcast starts on Sunday, June 2 at 1:30pm CEST.

Schedule: Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Fort William LIVE on Red Bull TV:

Fort William DHI Women: June 2 Live on Red Bull TV 1:30pm CEST
Fort William DHI Men: June 2 Live on Red Bull TV 2:45pm CEST

(all times CEST, replay available immediately following the races)

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Fantasy League

Don't forget to complete your DH Fantasy team before the Elite Women's qualifying starts on Saturday. If you don't know who to pick, check out our 2018 season breakdown and our Form Guide that takes a look at who is looking good coming into the season. Here are all the highlights videos from previous years' races.

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MENTIONS: @trek / @SramMedia

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Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Pinkbike Primer World Cup DH Fort William World Cup DH 2019