Finals Photo Epic- Fort William DH World Cup 3
June 2010: An 16 year old Sam Hill apprentice of the Monster/Specialized/Mad Catz team arrives in Fort William town. His name is Troy Brosnan and he rides to a 4:53.8 and it places him 57th.
June 2014: A 20 year old Troy Brosnan arrives in Fort William town. He rides to a 4:36.6 and it places him one spot ahead of his former master and into the history books as the first rider to take their inaugural win on the most brutal track in downhill racing.
 | Yeah it got pretty wild in the commentary box on Brosnan's run didn't it...probably gonna get in trouble for that one if I'm honest. You've gotta go mad if someone's that good and they're the last man down the mountain haven't you...Yeah. Go crazy - Sir Robert Warner - professional commentator extraordinaire |
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 Fort William weather-o-meter: Sock hanging down = product still in box. Sock held constantly sideways = perfectly fine day. Sock shredded to sh*t = gentle breeze expected later |
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| Ahhhhhh, the fickle weather of Scotland. While we didn't get snow this week, we got just about everything else mother nature has to offer. Four seasons in one day. |
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| This was the state of the mountain heading up for first practice session. At this point the atmospherics for the day were anyone's guess. |
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| Beaumont tweaks the Dragon elastic coming off the top of the gondola. Slugger is out to steal some serious Atherton limelight this season. |
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| There are a LOT of thirsty fans here in Fort William... |
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| Junior Laurie Greenland pushing his way through the last rock section of the open slopes during morning practice. Greenland finished sixth today. |
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| Luca getting ready to dig deep without the heavy machinery. |
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| Among the many, Luca Shaw didn't quite get the luck here in Fort William he was looking for. |
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| Walker Shaw and Jon Cancellier from SRAM doing a final check on who ended up where the previous day in qualifying. |
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| Loris Vergier. 25th at split 1, first at split 2, but could still only claw back second place. Still at least he can be sure he'll never have to wear sunglasses with a full-face. |
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| The riders on the hotseat and a packed finish arena watch as Martin Maes storms to victory in his first ever World Cup race. |
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| What can you say about Martin Maes other than the guy is a freaking power house. His first world cup. His first World Cup win. Belgium's first World Cup win. Well done Maes, well done. |
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| Martin may have beaten Loris today in a World Cup DH, but Loris beat Martin in an EWS race last year so as far as we can reckon they are even regardless of racing discipline. |
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| Fort William epic-level peaking.. |
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| #treasuremap. Some riders visualize the course to help them memorize critical sections; Jill Kintner prefers to map it out in pen and ink. |
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| Kintner dropping into her second World Cup podium of the season and not her last. |
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| Power manual FTW.... Siegenthaler wheelies to Fort Bill fourth. |
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| Myriam Nicole, always attacking the technical parts on the track, but still some 8.71 seconds back for Pom Pon. |
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| The Fort William track is one of the most demanding on the circuit and riders arrive to the finish exhausted after leaving it all on track. |
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| After two seasons plagued with serious injuries, it was great to see Tracey Hannah back on the podium today in 3rd. |
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| Tracy Hannah filled the shoes she needed to today while her brother Mick watched from the sidelines. |
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| There was a lot of weight on these shoulders heading into the final...Manon Carpenter warms up for the final practice session. Manon is still season leader though! |
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| Manon Carpenter was on the fast track for a win today, but luck would not be with her. A puncture before the second split put her out of the running. She was one of three women to succumb to flats that finished their runs. |
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| Pre-race jitters? Not Rachel Atherton--she was goofing around in the pits, playing with her new Oakley goggles, all loaded up with a roll off in case it gets wet out there today. |
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| Rachel Atherton was fast through the top split but an untimely puncture left her far off the pace by run's end. |
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| Emmeline Ragot, confident and relaxed at the start of the day warms up in the Lapierre pits. |
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| Emmeline Ragot warming up with her mechanic, Billy on hand for whatever she might need. Being a professional mechanic at this level is a lot like being a bartender/psychologist--Billy is there to provide whatever Emmeline needs prior to starting the clock on her race run: advice, warm gloves, water... you name it, Billy supplies it. |
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| Ragot on track for a rock stat time.... |
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| There is no better way to validate a new bike than with a World Cup win. Doing so with 8 seconds of authority is even better. |
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| Oui madame, vous etes numero un. Ragot and Myriam whisper secretively as their plan to plant nail strips in tactical locations on track comes together. |
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| If there was ever a story behind the final results this was it. Three flat tires for three of the fastest ladies on the planet made for a bittersweet ending to the women's final. |
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| Brook took an unplanned diversion during his run that saw him riding some serious rodeo. The Bulldog is still looking to find the form that put him on the top steps here last year before his shoulder gave out. |
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| Neko Mullaly cresting the finishing straight with a red board--not exactly the sight one wants to see after nearly 4 minutes of full tilt boogie. |
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| Noel Niederberger was one of three pro men who were without good luck today and didn't finish. Norco's Isak Leivsson and RRP Ghost's David Trummer also ended the day with DNF's. |
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| Mark Wallace of Devinci on track. This may not look all that technical, but for a rider with aspirations of contending, it means going inside and quite possibly clipping a couple of massive, immovable rocks near the exit. |
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| Marcello Gutierrez modeling his brand new mouth guard. "I never thought about wearing one until I broke out a couple teeth. Now I always wear one. It has some other benefits, too." When asked, Gutierrez claims it aids his breathing and also works (in the event of a crash) to prevent concussions. |
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| Josh Bryceland not getting the run he wanted today but pointing towards the fact that Ratboy gunning for a win. |
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| Race day went off in front of a packed house. Threatening skies loomed most of the day, but their bark was worse than their bite. |
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| Isak Leivsson KO'd himself hard during his run and didn't make it down the mountain ( at least from what he can remember). The Norwegien has style for miles. |
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| Neko Mulally fired up after doing well back in Cairns but unfortunately unable to keep it together here in Fort William. |
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| Greg Williamson of Trek had a rubbish run yesterday, qualifying 64th , but had a baller run today... |
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| It was well timed; Williamson celebrated his twenty second birthday today. Last year Williamson finished tenth and today 9th here at Fort Bill. Happy birthday Greg! |
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| TWR mechanic Ben Arnott finds just the thing in his tool box to complete a job well done. |
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| Bryn Atkinson Schleyble-topping to the max and gaining the most race run style points for the day. |
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| Congratulations from all at PB to Greg Minnaar, completing his 100th World Cup race and we know he'll be adding to the tally long into the future. He has won this race 4 times in its history, arriving first on Aonoch moor in 2002. Today he had to settle for just another boring top ten. |
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| Stevie Smith warming up the chainsaw for what could be a massacre soon to come.. |
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| Simmonds tore up the top half of the moor on a great time, but fell back in the bottom sections to place 18th. Still, he and Dale are doing well in cementing themselves as truly World Class right now. |
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| It's good to have Steve Smith back in the mix. 6th place and just 1 second off the podium means it surely won't be long until he's putting it to the top riders once again. |
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| Stevie Smith back in the hot seat and nearly making it on the podium after a long winter of recovering from an ankle injury. After his epic win at Leogang last year, he could be up higher on the steps next week there. |
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| Another World Cup, another powerful course crushing from one of England's biggest and best. Sam Dale is keeping 2014 fully inside the top 10. |
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| Gee Atherton warming up for action... |
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| Danny Hart put in the performance we've been waiting to see from him since his World Championships title. So many Brits shined here today in Fort William. Perhaps that last BDS round helped out a bit in being prepared. Here's to seeing Hart up on the podium more this season. |
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| Danny Hart with all the creative DH riding awesomeness you would ever want to posses. |
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| Hart's riding was totally unbelievable to watch, but did he end up losing time on flair on the flatter woods and motorway? |
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| Second to last rider, and the final hope for a British gold medal, Danny Hart sees red as he crosses the line. |
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| Today was a day of Popes, Pirates, Santas, Giant Squirrels, and all other manner of reveler. We were in mass today, just a different kind of mass. |
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| Sam Hill was absolutely pinned through the rocks up top. It's been a while since he has so confidently attacked such gnarly tracks and it's good to see him so close to that top step of the podium. |
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| Where's Hilldo? |
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| Coming in hot after four and a half minutes slaying boulders, but ya still gotta have a bit of look to see if you're in the green. Sam Hill checks the numbers mid flight. |
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| Who would have thought it would be Troy Brosnan leading the charge with Gwin in tow? With a pair of wins and multiple podium finishes from both riders already this season and it's hard to tell who the top dog in the Specialized camp is this season. |
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| Troy Brosnan coming off the hip into the last stretch of his first World Cup win to date. Lot's of pressure on the young Australian today and you'll be seeing a lot more of Troy on a podium near you. |
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| Gwin, Hill, and Atherton waiting for Troy to come down. |
| Troy's been waiting for a break to win for a while now, I think it's been coming. Trying to get one myself though! This is one of my favorite tracks, it's where I got my first ever world cup podium and I've always felt like I ride good here. I feel really fit this year; wasn't even too tired at the end of the run... Guess I just didn't have the power to keep up with them boys on the final jumps. But yeah Troy can thank me later eh, haha. - Sam Hill - Team CRC |
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| Brosnan cracking toward the finish line and his first World Cup win. |
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| History in the making. Troy Brosnan qualified first yesterday. The young Aussie took his first pro World Cup win today besting former team mate Sam hill by 1.659 seconds. |
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| Brosnan with pre-realization face. |
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| Brosnan holds his head in sheer disbelief after finally achieving the young gun's first World Cup win. |
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| When is it cool for guys to hug in action sports? We just checked bro-code guidelines and it is fully legit when you win your first World Cup at the most notorious DH track on the circuit. EC and Troy go full bear-hug, mid arena. |
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| Blackbox Tech Jon Cancellier with a dab of emotion for Brosnan's moment. |
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| Mad Dog Borris adding another shot to his collection of World Cup podium selfies. |
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| Hill hasn't scored 2nd or higher since his World Champs win at Mont St Anne 2010. Knowing the people want nothing more than to see you win again must be quite a feeling. |
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| Proudest team manager in the game, EC, follows his guys out in front of the massive crowds. |
| Every race we got guys going fast, but really this race especially... It's been awesome for us and Specialized here and of course me and Troy want to beat each other, but if it has to be someone I'd want it to be my team mate. Happy to be on the podium and really happy for Troy. It's been a long time coming for him; he's had the speed for years - Aaron Gwin - Specialized Racing |
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| Today's fastest dual suspension off-road mountain bikes. They got shocks. |
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| The 5 verses the 5 thousand. |
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| Just got my first ever World Cup win! Words can't describe how good this feeling is! - Troy Brosnan - Specialized Racing |
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| Kathy Sessler had swords made for Peaty's 40th birthday and Minnaar's 100th World Cup. True dedication for years on end deserves a solid honor. |
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| All winners here; Rob Warner, Peaty and Minnaar were all honored for their years of dedication to the sport here in Fort William. |
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| Jack Peat probably is too young to play with knives but can sure handle a sword like a good knight. |
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| The student becomes the master. If there was ever a time to call a 'Brosnamapalooza' party it would be tonight in Fort William. And remember everyone... 'Monster gets the chicks'. |
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What a race! Give Connor Fearon another year and we could have two Adelaide pinners and a West Australian sharing the podium
Here's what I was doing at the end.
1. Orders Fury
2. Cancels Fury order. Orders Demo.
3. Cancels Demo order. Orders Pulse.
4. Puts Glory in shopping cart. Keeps Pulse order.
5. Cancels Pulse order. Orders Demo.
:P
And if there is someone who is trying too hard to be cool in WC DH, it's gee atherton.
I cant't imagine a better podium!
congrats Troy and Hill my fav riders in a top
Brosnan's winning time according to the results page was 4:36.580 not a 4:40.8.
In a sport where hundredths of seconds count for everything I would hope the correct time would get posted when it's being used at the heading of an article.
It's especially important because Troy won on a bike with wheels that were 650B; where as last year's winning time set by Gee Atherton was a 4:36.712...on 26" wheels...which are now dead...and slower...(.132) seconds slower to be exact.
Although in 2010 when Troy Brosnan placed 57th with a time of 4:53.8 Gee Atherton won with a time of 4:35.70(on 26" wheels) which is .88 faster than Troy's 2014 winning time on 650B wheels; so maybe 26" is faster? So confused.
All marketing hype and hundredths of seconds aside, stoked for the young Aussie pinner and his former Master. When arrow points meet head on, what has this to do with the power of skill?
really happy for him to be finally up top again.
By far the best caption in this article even though we all know we'll be washed up DH racers at some point...
Outside of that, what a fantastic race!! Truly what it should be, keeping you guessing until the end. Unbelievable talent from every team.