{"id":15440,"date":"2019-06-03T09:05:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/2019\/06\/03\/atherton-and-pierron-tame-rainy-track-for-fort-william-victories-r7851\/"},"modified":"2023-02-08T05:20:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T05:20:27","slug":"atherton-and-pierron-tame-rainy-track-for-fort-william-victories-r7851","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/atherton-and-pierron-tame-rainy-track-for-fort-william-victories-r7851\/","title":{"rendered":"Atherton and Pierron tame rainy track for Fort William victories"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reigning UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill champions Rachel Atherton and Amaury Pierron put down their marker for a 2019 repeat with victory at a weather-hit Fort William.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"w-full aspect-video\">\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qIGty2H3tBA?feature=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Briton Tahn\u00e9e Seagrave and world champion Loic Bruni triumphed in the 2019 season opener at Maribor with Atherton and Pierron determined to hit back in Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>Rain and wind saw Bruni and Seagrave both suffer dramatic crashes before the race itself with the latter forced out entirely, after she injured her collarbone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row grid grid-cols-12 gap-4\">\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-91539300-1559552195.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514716\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514716\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-91539300-1559552195.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-91539300-1559552195.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Tahn\u00e9e Seagrave crashed out of Fort William.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-10081400-1559552207.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514717\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514717\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-10081400-1559552207.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-10081400-1559552207.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Loic Bruni performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The women went first with Italian Veronika Widmann and German Nina Hoffmann both posting great times in wet, blustery conditions that swept across the mountain.<\/p>\n<p>World champion Atherton, though, has won six World Cup titles and used her experience to record a superb 5:15.560 with leading qualifier Tracey Hannah last.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-16935000-1559552259.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514719\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514719\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-16935000-1559552259.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-16935000-1559552259.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Rachel Atherton performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Australian Hannah was up at the third split, but lost time to go behind at the fourth with a fast last section not enough to deny Atherton her 38th World Cup victory that puts her within three of the women&#8217;s all-time 41 mark set by Anne-Caroline Chausson of France.<\/p>\n<p>Atherton, 31, said: &#8220;That was the most nail-biting thing ever. I am absolutely buzzing &#8211; a win at Fort William is special enough without doing it for the first time for Atherton Bikes. That is all I have been thinking about all winter. The weather is really horrific. It is really hard to concentrate on your bike set-up and your line choice. Everyone is covered in mud. It is carnage. It is the worst weather I have ever experienced.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-10892300-1559552282.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514721\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514721\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-10892300-1559552282.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-10892300-1559552282.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Tracey Hannah performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"row grid grid-cols-12 gap-4\">\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-54722500-1559552280.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514720\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514720\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-54722500-1559552280.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-54722500-1559552280.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Nina Hoffmann performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-69525600-1559552283.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514722\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514722\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-69525600-1559552283.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-69525600-1559552283.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Veronika Widmann performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hannah, 30, added: &#8220;Rachel is a beast on Fort William, so I had to really have a confident strong mindset from the beginning. I had to go as hard as I possibly could.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The men followed in conditions that turned for the better with Frenchman Bruni posting a great early time considering how bad his crash had been in qualifying.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Gwin suffered a bad early crash to wreck his hopes leaving Canadian Finn Iles to beat out team-mate Bruni with Troy Brosnan the next in the leader&#8217;s seat.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-52496000-1559552318.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514723\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514723\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-52496000-1559552318.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-52496000-1559552318.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Amaury Pierron performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Pierron, though, drew on his 2018 success to pull out a brilliant run and take a lead which compatriot Loris Vergier could not better for his second Fort William win.<\/p>\n<p>Pierron, 23, revealed: &#8220;I struggled a lot on the first run and we did some adjustments on the bike so I want to thank a lot my family and team. It is awesome. I felt good on track and had a lot of fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-09446800-1559552320.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514724\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514724\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-09446800-1559552320.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-09446800-1559552320.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Finn Iles performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"row grid grid-cols-12 gap-4\">\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-55026700-1559552321.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514725\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514725\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-55026700-1559552321.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-55026700-1559552321.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Greg Minnaar performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-64928900-1559552461.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514738\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514738\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-64928900-1559552461.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-64928900-1559552461.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Aaron Gwin performs at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bg-slate-100 p-5\">\n<strong>Fort William women&#8217;s downhill result:<\/strong><br \/>1. Rachel Atherton GBR 5:15.560<br \/>2. Tracey Hannah AUS +1.611<br \/>3. Nina Hoffmann GER +8.822<br \/>4. Marine Cabirou FRA +13.374<br \/>5. Veronika Widmann ITA +15.735<\/p>\n<p><strong>UCI MTB World Cup women&#8217;s downhill overall:<\/strong><br \/>1. Rachel Atherton GBR 430 points<br \/>2. Tracey Hannah AUS 400<br \/>3. Marine Cabirou FRA 290<br \/>4. Nina Hoffmann GER 285<br \/>5. Tahn\u00e9e Seagrave GBR 230<\/p>\n<div class=\"row grid grid-cols-12 gap-4\">\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-38471200-1559552508.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514740\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514740\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-38471200-1559552508.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-38471200-1559552508.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Marine Cabirou, Tracey Hannah, Rachel Atherton, Nina Hoffmann, Veronika Widmann stand on the podium at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-span-6\">\n<a class=\"ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image\" href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-87313700-1559552506.jpg\" data-fileid=\"1514739\" data-fileext=\"jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-fileid=\"1514739\" class=\"ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed\" alt=\"ccs-62657-0-87313700-1559552506.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-87313700-1559552506.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/a><span class=\"italic text-sm text-slate-500 block mt-1 mb-4\">Finn Iles, Troy Brosnan, Amaury Pierron, Loris Vergier, Danny Hart stand on the podium at UCI DH World Cup in Fort William<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Fort William men&#8217;s downhill result:<\/strong><br \/>1. Amaury Pierron FRA 4:28.578<br \/>2. Troy Brosnan AUS +3.582<br \/>3. Loris Vergier FRA +3.631<br \/>4. Finn Iles CAN +7.203<br \/>5. Danny Hart GBR +7.518<\/p>\n<p><strong>UCI MTB World Cup men&#8217;s downhill overall:<\/strong><br \/>1. Troy Brosnan AUS 350 points<br \/>2. Amaury Pierron FRA 330<br \/>3. Loic Bruni FRA 301<br \/>4. Danny Hart GBR 292<br \/>5. Loris Vergier FRA 215\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reigning UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill champions Rachel Atherton and Amaury Pierron put down their marker for a 2019 repeat with victory at a weather-hit Fort William. Briton Tahn\u00e9e Seagrave and world champion Loic Bruni triumphed in the 2019 season opener at Maribor with Atherton and Pierron determined to hit back in Scotland. Rain [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[207],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-15440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-downhill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15440"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=15440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}