Adverse weather conditions again came into play, a forecast of high winds and torrential rain led the organisers to bring forward Sunday's race to Saturday evening . This time however it didn't play in favour of the team who had only ridden the official practice allotted by the organisers. Many others, including both winners of the events,  had ridden earlier in the week to gain extra time on the long and testing track.

The first race of the iXS European Downhill Cup is now history, dominated by bad weather on race day it took a unusual twist of fate for Miss Atherton.

As usual the year for the iXS races starts at Monte Tamaro in the Swiss Rivera. This year's course was changed only slightly from last years being 2.5 k in length with a vertical drop of 640, which makes it one of the longest courses in the series. It wasn't only the topography that made this track tough the course was littered with roots and rocks that put the riders all on edge as they tackled the tough track. The field of starters included some big names with a number of favourites for the podium.

After the weather conditions had been perfect for the official training on Friday and the seeding run on Saturday, things changed on Sunday as thick fog and rain made it impossible to secure the course. As a consequence the race had to be cancelled, as any attempts to rescue riders with the help of a helicopter would have been impossible. Therefore the results of the seeding run were declared as final results.

This played into GT Factory Racings hands as Rachel Atherton had taken the win in seeding giving her the title in the women’s elite class, finishing almost 12 seconds in front of the current world champion Emmeline Ragot . The course seemed to suit her well and although reluctant to push 100% she still managed to shine above the strong field.

Rachel's next event sees her up in Fort William, Scotland for the 2nd round of the British Downhill Series where she will be looking to continue this momentum on on another brutal track.

Photos: © Thomas Dietze

I won all my motos and was feeling good. My gates were consistent and made it to the main without any problems.

Had a good start from gate 1 but just came up a bit short on the first jump which made me lose a little bit of time.

I recovered and came back for a nice win on my GT Speed Series!

It always feels good to win at home, even if it's not the hardest competition, it makes it sometimes even more difficult. I didn't want to miss the title. So I'm feeling better and better after my crash in the begin of the year. Next stop Orleans France for the last round of the European Championships.

Thanks for the support!

Arnaud Dubois

Get an insiders view, as Mike talks about his new bike, the challenges, as well the pressure of being a past Olympic Silver medalist, with the London 2012 Summer Olympics months away.

The Somerset venue hadn't seen a National round since 2004 but this weekend marked the Series' return to the tricky course with riders facing varying conditions as showers passed over the event throughout its duration.

Saturday's practice saw the most of the rain with a good downpour transforming the track to a wet slippery surface, however this improved steadily throughout the evening and Sunday.

Seeding saw the first glimpse of what Marc had in store for the weekend as he took the fastest time by a clear 3 seconds over Joe Smith and Josh Bryceland.

Seeding first meant Marc started the race as the last person on track and with times improving on the drying track he had a tough task ahead. Local South West rider Rich Thomas took the early pace but it wasn't until Santa Cruz's Josh Bryceland clocked a time of 2 minutes and 28 seconds that Beaumont's seeding time of 2 minutes and 27 seconds looked to be in jeopady. Smith was next to come but a mistake up top cost him the chance of bumping Bryceland off the top, leaving only Marc.

A strong top section put him 1.6 seconds up on Josh at the interval time, a smooth second half of the run wowed the crowds as they watched on to see Beaumont take the win by a comfortable 2.9 seconds.

Beaumont, made up with the result, commented "it was a good run, I held back on entry speed on a few corners just to make sure I got around and out of them with the right speed, it's great to take the first round and I'm excited about the rest of the season". Marc races a local race next weekend before heading North for Round 2 of the British series.

Teammate of Marc and youngest Atherton sibling Rachel came close to a dream comeback after missing the first World Cup season in favour of recovering her troubled shoulder. Feeling strong but far from 100%, Rachel took to the track chasing young gun Mannon Carpenter who took an amazing 2nd spot out in South Africa.

A red flag during the race meant Rachel had to restart after a blistering top half - she didn't get fazed and got stuck in once again on her re-start, unfortunately it wasn't quite enough as she missed out to Carpenter by just 0.6 seconds.

However she was happy as it was good for her just to be back on her bike - 'I've only ridden my new bike for 5 days including yesterday's practice so I'm made up. I'm actually this close to Mannon, there's time to knuckle down now though before the next race and that's exactly what I'm going to do" commented Atherton.

Rachel's brother Gee watched on from the sidelines having to sit this one out with a broken tibia. He's hoping for a return before the next World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy, while eldest sibling Dan marks his start to the season in Italy at the Super Enduro event at the start of May.

Elite Men:

1. Marc Beaumont 2:25.976
2. Josh Bryceland 2:28.902
3. Brendan Fairclough 2:30.035

Elite Women:

1. Manon Carpenter 2:51.960
2. Rachel Atherton 2:52.594
3. Jess Stone 3:03.585

Keep track of the team and its happenings at www.athertonracing.co.uk, become a fan on Facebook/athertonracing or follow them on Twitter @athertonracing

Standout performances were also put in by GT Factory Team members Joris Daudet and Mike Day. Daudet, the 2011 UCI World Champion, was looking untouchable by winning all of his qualifying races along with the quarterfinal. An ill timed start in his semi final put him mid pack down the first straight but the Frenchman was working the field and was up contending for 2nd place by the second turn but found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he clipped the lead riders rear wheel sending Joris straight up the run dashing his hopes of racing in the final.

2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Mike Day also had an equally impressive run towards the final by starting off the weekend with a 3rd and a 5th in the Time Trial heats. Mike them showed his blazing track speed to his competitors by leading his qualifying rounds. The American put on a display of his magician-like bike skills in his quarterfinal by charging though the pack to nearly win the lap. Day would find himself pinched off of the start of his semi but could not make up enough ground to secure his spot in the final.

In the Elite Womens group, GT was represented by French sensation Manon Valentino. She put down some of the fastest times of the weekend in the Time Trial and carried the high speeds in to the qualifying rounds. Placing well in her first three rounds she qualified easily all the way up to the semi final. The semi often sees do or die attempts to make one of the top-4 spots and Manon fell victim to a competitors move that left her and a few others laying in the first turn.

The level of competition is getting deeper at each race as everyone is stepping up their game with the Olympic games quickly approaching in August. GT team standouts Corben Sharrah (USA), Martijn Jaspers (NED), Arnaud Dubois (BEL) and Romain Riccardi (ITA) all were looking impressive but some rough luck would stall their efforts in the early qualifying heats. The team will now get back on their training routine to prepare for the next event in Papendal Netherlands for the third round of the UCI BMX SX on May 11th and 12th.

The 2012 GT BMX Factory BMX Team is proud to be supported by Alpine Stars, GoPro cameras, Tioga tires, Alienation rims, Troy Lee Designs helmets, SDG seats and posts, Lizard Skins grips, KMC chains FSA, Shimano, Box Components and Sapim spokes. To learn more about new GT BMX race team and the 2012 GT Speed Series bikes, go to www.GTBicycles.com

San Francisco Dreamin' - GT Welcomes Kenny Belaey on pinkbike.com

GT teammates Sophia Foresta (12 Girls) and Jonas Harmon (31 Expert Men) came close to earning national champion titles but fell short. The flying-little-Foresta was nipping at the top spot of the podium with two 2nd place finishes in Cruiser and Class. Harmon battled with a stacked field of competitors in the 30 & Over Mens Class to earn a spot on the podium with a 3rd.

Along with the amateur race on the USABMX track, USA Cycling held the Junior and Elite national championship race on the SX track that would really separate out who the best riders are. The GT athletes that would gate up on the 30-foot-tall start hill would be team leaders Mike Day and Corben Sharrah in the Elite Mens class and Jordan Miranda in the Junior Mens class. Junior Womens standout Felicia Stancil would not be able to compete due to a wreck that injured her hand.

The race, which had a US-only field of competitors, had GT's Corben Sharrah in their sites, as he was the defending USA Cycling National Champion. Corben would win his heats handily as did Mike and Jordan. As the field was narrowed down to the top-8 Mike and Corben would secure gate positions in the Elite Mens final as well as Jordan in the Junior Mens final. Gusty winds would make navigating the course even more difficult but Mike and Corben ran a hard fought race that saw a lot of action. Mike would just miss the podium with a 4th and Corben in 7th. Jordan would have the wind affect his charge for the win but stayed up to get 6th.

In conjunction with the national championship event, USABMX held the SoCal Nationals. The race would pull in over a thousand participants racing on the Chula Vista amateur racetrack that is on Olympic Training Center facility near the SX track.

The GT Factory Amateur Team was in full force and all showed why they are on the most prestigious race team in BMX. Jack Kelly started the ball rolling with wins in 9-10 Open and 9 Expert and was followed by Sophia Foresta's dominance in 12 Girls and 12 Girls Cruiser. Chula Vista local and National #1 contender Sean Gaian added to his national win streak by taking the 16 Expert class both days. Team mentors Jonas Harmon and Eric Rupe also stepped up on the top of the podium with Harmon earning wins in 31-35 Cruiser both days and Big Daddy Rupe dominating 46-50 Cruiser.

The GT Factory Amateur Team will take a short break and will line up in Black Mountain Arizona for the next stop on the USABMX tour April 20-22.

The 2012 GT BMX Factory BMX Team is proud to be supported by Alpine Stars, GoPro cameras, Tioga tires, Alienation rims, Troy Lee Designs helmets, SDG seats and posts, Lizard Skins grips, KMC chains FSA, Shimano, Box Components and Sapim spokes.

GT Factory Team members Mike Day, Corben Sharrah, Joris Daudet, Martijn Jaspers, Manon Valentino and Felicia Stancil were all in attendance and were prepared to push their 2012 GT Speed Series bikes to their limits on the track

The weekend started out with the Time Trial event where each athlete took on the clock rather than a competitor on the track. The time trial would supply a preview to who was going fast and would be the ones to watch in the elimination rounds. The GT mounted athletes finished near the top with Corben Sharrah nearly taking the win with the second fastest time with Mike Day right behind him in 3rd and the teams' flying-Frenchman Joris Daudet getting in the mix with a 6th.

The Womens field was every bit as competitive as the Mens and the GT girls battled the gusting winds with the teams young gun gal Felicia Stancil taking a well respected 12th and Manon Valentino earning 16th.

The elimination rounds would prove tough for all racers as everyone has been training hard and the game has been elevated to a new level. Sharrah, Day and Daudet would all move on from the round of 64 to the round of 32 where they would have to finish in the top-4 in their respective heats. Corben and Mike would find themselves facing each other in their quarter with Sharrah moving on after Day getting caught inside in the last turn loosing speed. Daudet too would suffer similar troubles and would not advance.

Sharrah and the GT ladies, Stancil and Valentino, would advance to their semi-main, round of 16. Felicia and Manon would have their day cut short from a crash of a competitor over the first jump keeping them both out of the final. Corben would have to deal with a mistimed gate start but could not recover leaving him just short of the main event.

Next stop for the team will be Randaberg Norway for the second round of the UCI BMX SX April 12-14.

The 2012 GT BMX Factory BMX Team is proud to be supported by Alpine Stars, GoPro cameras, Tioga tires, Alienation rims, Troy Lee Designs helmets, SDG seats and posts, Lizard Skins grips, KMC chains FSA, Shimano, Box Components and Sapim spokes.

The weekend started badly for Beaumont who hit a tree on the first day of practice, he had to nurse that injury through qualifying which he did well to take a solid 15th spot. Team mate Atherton started slowly in the hope to build up for the finals on Sunday, his qualifier a very solid 4th spot and just 1.7 seconds from fastest rider and native Greg Minnaar.

The weather however threatened to change things dramatically as a heavy rain storm sat over Pietermaritzburg for 4 hours on Saturday evening, the risk of a wet track was not to anyones likings as the soil tends to turn to ice making even the Worlds best struggle down the hill on the clay based surface.

Thankfully for all the competitors the weather improved next morning and the track dried through practice.

When Marc took to the track for his race run the course was looking in great conniption but a mistake on the steepest part of the track meant he lost valuable time on the first sector, with the bit between his teeth he pushed hard on the lower two thirds to bring that time back, a credible 4.06.854 was a agonising 4 seconds off the podium but only good enough for 18th on the day.

Gee's turn and he had been given a tall task as Australian Mick Hannah had set a blistering time up on the top section, Gee struggled to get going on the top but turned things around on the lower and middle sections. He flew into the finish arena just 4 tenths behind Hannah.

Reigning World Cup champion Aaron Gwin bettered Hannah's time only to see hometown hero Greg Minnar push hard in front of the home crowd to claim the win. Gee happy with 4th made the podium once again and started the season on the right foot while Marc eyes up the next round in Italy where both he and Gee have won previously.

A big break to that race in June, enough time for Gee's sister Rachel to return to racing and start her assault on World Cup glory.

Dave Dillewaard In OZ from Sunsets & Sodas on Vimeo.

A huge thanks to Dave & his amazing family for putting us up. Also big thanks to Stewart, Yonny, Big Salad & all the boys that showed us around. A huge shout out to GT Bicycles for sending us over, it was a hell of a trip. This is Rob Wise In Oz!

Rob Wise In OZ from Sunsets & Sodas on Vimeo.

I was asked to attend in a side event at the Redbull Crashed Ice in Valkenburg, Netherlands. We were going to race down the track with 3 other riders on mountainbikes with ice spikes. It was going be my first experience on ice, onboard a Speed series Pro 26". To get better grip I installed close to 400 screws in each tire, which added an extra 1.5 kg of weight per tire. The result was outstanding, I had more grip on ice then with normal tires on the road.

As we came down the 575m long track, it looked surreal from my point of view. Also during the training runs the 7m high starthill with a 50 degree drop down and some cool jumps made it look really cool. The head organisation of Red Bull International were a bit sceptic in the beginning about riding with bikes on ice, but after seeing us ride it down the track they were thrilled with the event. After some runs we came quite close to the fastest skate time's and we didn't even go full pull.