Rachel Atherton Makes it 3 in a Row in Val d'Isere

Jul 30, 2012

Gee and Marc take 2nd and 7th

Val d'Isère, France -- Rachel Atherton clinched her third UCI World Cup win in a row yesterday in the French mountain resort of Val d'Isère. Atherton delayed the start of her 2012 World Cup season because of a serious shoulder injury but she has dominated the series so far with victories at Round 2 in Val di Sole then consecutive wins at Round 4 (Canada’s Mont St Anne) and Round 5 (Windham Mountain, USA)

 

The Val d'Isère track was universally challenging. This year’s circuit has consisted entirely of muddy or hard-packed tracks so Val d'Isère’s loose dirt and rocks left all of the riders changing their styles to deal with the unexpected nature of the surface. Riding styles weren't the only thing that needed changing as the weather shifted considerably over the weekend with alpine downpours dampening down the track to various states and bursts of sunshine drying it out again.
 
The weather held off for the majority of the top runners in Friday’s qualifying session. Rachel put in another perfect run to post the fastest time of 2.45.935, 1.8 seconds ahead of World Champion Emmeline Ragot. In the Men’s, Gee made a few mistakes up on the top section but was still rewarded with a 4th spot just 4 tenths off fastest qualifier, New Zealand rider Cameron Cole. Marc Beaumont finished just outside of the top 10 in 12th 
spot, within striking distance of the podium spots.
 
A huge downpour all day Saturday left the track wet and muddy but come Sunday morning the track was in near perfect condition, continuing to dry throughout the day. A crash in the morning’s practice session took the wind out of Rachel’s sails but for the race run but she seemed to switch off from her injury. 
 
Once again the French lead the charge. Floraine Pugin put in the fastest time with a 2.42 but it was always going to be about Ragot and Atherton. Ragot was next down and as expected she went quicker than Pugin with a 2.40. Rachel hit the track hard and rode the top section really well, a couple of small mistakes in the middle section had the crowd on their toes but she held it all together to fly across the line in 2.38, seizing the win and extending her lead in the overall series.
 
"I am so happy," said Rachel.  "I think this is the most nervous I have been all year. This track is very, very difficult.  One day it's dry and then it's really, really wet, tyre and suspension changes are so important, and you don't know how it's gonna be on your race run.   Everyone was just playing it like a guessing game.”
 
"I almost crashed in training this morning; I landed on my seat.  My stomach was hurting really bad, but I thought, this is like Fort William:  I need to just switch off and then switch back on for the race. That’s what I’ve learned from racing and crashing."
 
Rachel now leads the series overall with 1200 points to Emmeline Ragot’s 1120, Myriam Nicole holds a distant third at 892 points as we head into the final round in Norway in September.
 
For the Men’s race the track had continued to dry. Many of the corners got blown out leaving riders having to think on their feet during their race runs. GT’s Marc Beaumont was one who got it right chasing down World Cup leader Aaron Gwin.  Marc was 8 tenths down at split 1 but reduced that to just 2 tenths at split 2 before losing a little on the bottom. He crossed the line 8 tenths behind going into 3rd spot as the race stood.
 
But Gwin’s time wouldn't hold as South African Greg Minnaar took half a second out of it before Gee stepped up to the mark. Gee flew out of the start hut. At split one he was looking good with 8 tenths up. He got a little scrappy in the middle losing 4 tenths but still he still led, launching the last jump and diving for the line Gee took the lead with 2.19.9 with three more to go. 
 
Kiwi rider Brook McDonald started slow but picked up pace towards the bottom half, going 2 tenths quicker at split 2, he managed to squeeze a further 2 tenths towards the bottom as he pushed Gee back a spot with the last two riders on track. Neither could beat the Kiwis time although Josh Bryceland did enough for third leaving Gee in 2nd spot and Beaumont in 7th.
 
Gee was happy to see the young Kiwi win his first World Cup but gutted at the same time to loose by just 4 tenths. "The track here was good to race on, it was awkward with the changing weather conditions but I think we made all the right choices today with set up, I know a lot of places I could have made up those 4 tenths but that’s just racing!" commented Atherton.
 
In the series overall Gee has closed the gap to second placed Greg Minnaar to just 19 points. Placing above the South African at the final round should be enough to take that second spot but it may not be easy. Beaumont stays 10th in the overall but claws back some solid points, a good race in Norway should see him climb back up the final rankings considerably.
 
The team now head to the Crankworx Whistler Festival where they will take on various events in the lead up to the World Championships in early September.
 
All photos: Sven Martin