Race Report: British National Downhill Round 2 - Fort William
The British National Downhill series returned to Fort William this weekend in what was the premier event of the series with a completely sold-out race event. Not only was the World Cup-standard track bathed in sunshine for the weekend, it welcomed some of the best UK riders but also some of the world's best downhillers. There was no doubt: it would be a great weekend at Fort William. Saturday saw seeding for the second time run a day earlier than last year in a move that seems to be quite popular with riders. The dry Fort William track made for some very close racing this weekend
Due to some technical issues we didn't get to see Roger Vieira's track preview yesterday so here it is today
Race clock means only one thing - it's time to get serious
BC Comms worked hard this weekend to keep everything running smoothly
As this was a UCI Cat 1 race, meaning points were available for riders to qualify for the World Cup, there were two UCI comms on hand to make sure everything goes smoothly
Veronika Widmann out racing for her new team and it was a great start as Veronika finished up fourth in a packed women's elite race
Morning practice trains are always fun
Pre-race warm ups
and plenty of pre-race tweaks happening in the pits on Sunday morning
Monika Hrastnik had a good weekend at the Fort finishing up in third
The last of the big boulder gardens before you head to the deer gate is a perfect opportunity to have a little fun
It was a tough weekend on the enduro bike for Dane Love
Niall Clerkan on the gas on his way to the river crossing
Not an unfamiliar sight at the Fort to see a bike heading back down missing its tyre
Felix Griffiths had a bit of a spill on the upper section of the track in morning practice which meant he took no further part in race day
Loic Bruni probably has the best aero-tuck this weekend
Dante Silva was one of the many flat tire casualties this weekend
Luke Williamson heading up to the top for his race run
Sam Hill spent most of the weekend working his way through his bike set-up. One thing is for sure we can expect Sam to come out swinging at World Champs
I still can't get enough of this view
Ben Cathro making his was through the rock garden alongside the gondola. What's not to love about a pan-shot from the window of the gondola?
Lisa Bouladou looked so fast all weekend. There's clearly a big future ahead of this young French rider, she took the win in the women's junior race by 10 seconds
World Champ Loic Bruni was in the house this weekend. He caused quite a stir with some of the kids but sadly a classic Fort William flat tyre brought an end to Loic's race weekend
It's fair to say these young riders were pretty excited to see Loic Bruni heading up in the gondola
2 legends of the sport. It's great to see so many of these big names at Fort William this weekend
The riders this weekend used the wood section from the infamous boggy World Cup. However, now this section is paved with rocks, it provides a very different challenge
Thanks to the dry weather the wood section wasn't as sketchy as normal, it was just a flat out rock-fest which Seth Barnett seemed to have fully under control
Kristian Quaile making his way through the wood section
Callum Morris, one of the many Irish riders out racing in the British National series this weekend. It's great to see the Irish riders making the trip across
Mr 'Making up the Numbers' himself George Thompson probably has the highest rise bars you'll see on a downhill track
Is there any better feeling than hammering it through gorgeous Scottish sunshine?
However, Making up the Numbers' Neil White had an even better weekend finishing up in second in the vets
Great result for Mark Neal who made it onto the podium in the Vets race with a solid 4th place
Scotland's own Heather Wilson absolutely smashed it this weekend taking the win by over 40 seconds in the 13-16 field and taking 13th overall in the women racing this weekend
What a view - Fort William in the sunshine is a pretty special place and also quick apology to GT Viris' Katie Charlton for me getting her name wrong yesterday in the seeding report.
One of the many reruns from an earlier red flag, Finn Holling made it count taking home sixth in the male 15-16 field
The tight racing in the women's seeding didn't last until race day with the women's field being blown apart with some big gaps. Vaska Prostova took second in the women's open field
The winner of the women's open race Amy White-Bensted made the enduro bike work all weekend and took the win by just under 7 seconds
Aimi Kenyon on the podium this weekend at the Fort, this time in second place. A good strong start to the year for Aimi
It wasn't all World Cup pros in the elite field. Scott UKs Jess Stone battled hard all weekend
The upper rock garden in Fort William when it is dry is just brutal
XC racer Emily Carrick-Anderson backed up a good seeding result to take third place this weekend in the Junior women's field
Unfortunately a red flag brought a halt to today's raising for a little while, but as always the event team and medics sorted everything pretty fast
I'm not sure this picture needs any words, but as always Scotland is hard to beat
Stan Nesbitt sadly one of the many DNFs this weekend
Taylor Vernon sending it through the motorway
Sadly this is how many wheels end up after a trip to Fort William
Some juvenile riders were more chilled than others up top before their race runs
Although there was plenty of grey sky, fortunately it stayed dry this weekend
Fort William was looking stunning this weekend
The first of many Fort William boardwalks
Angus Auld sending it on the little gap jump in the upper section
The usual full race runs only in morning practice happening
Hammers fix everything right?
Ad Brayton as chilled out as ever. Wasn't the best weekend for Ad, if you're not squeamish head over to his instagram to see just how a big a cut he put in his arm
Joe Breeden absolutely smashed into the woods wall ride. I was surprised it was still left standing after Joe went through
Adam Gould had a great weekend at the Fort taking home third in the men's veteran field
Got to love a Scottish commentator trying to pronounce so many European names. On a serious note, big thank you for all the hard work of everyone at the SDA for putting on such an amazing race
Troy Brosnan managed to get on the last step of the podium this weekend in fifth. That's not to be sniffed at considering less than a second separated first and fifth
A flat for Jordan Williams meant he couldn't replicate his time from seeding
Back-to-back wins in the British National series at Fort William for Nina Hoffman
Laurie Greenland was a man on a mission this weekend looking fast from first practice on Saturday all the way through to his race run
If only Rob Warner was here because the words "look at the time" have never been so apt. Laurie Greenland is now the fastest man down the Fort William track with a new course record of 4:25:69
Laurie gapping his way through the last 4X drops. He was going so quick at this point he nearly gapped from the second one passed the line
This weekends men's elite podium looked more like a World Cup race than a National race
Nina Hoffman went straight for team manager Steve Peat with the champagne
Charlie Hatton taking the brunt of the champagne
These veteran riders know how to have fun with the champagne
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Member since Nov 28, 2019
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