Online Exclusive: Ft Williams World Cup Preview

Melissa Buhl pushing her new KHS ride down the track. Colin Meagher

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Ah, Fort Bill, site of more epic World Cup battles than anywhere else on this globe. Who can forget Steve Peat’s win here just a few seasons ago? Or Gunn Rita’s battle back to fourth place after a first lap flat tire saw her run with her bike for a mile and a half, dropping her to 56th place, before getting a replacement wheel? And who can forget the midges of Ben Nevis—the Scottish equivalent of hell on a stick is spectating at Ft Williams without insect repellent.

Things have changed a bit since the World Championships were held here last September. For one, the Ben Nevis range is uncharacteristically dry—Like Park City dry. Normally, it’s more than a bit wet here. And cold. Wednesday, during course inspection, it was glorious sunshine. Which encouraged a few people who should know better to hike the DH track in shorts. Mmmm, midge fodder.

The Downhill track, which under normal circumstances is a bit of a rock-laden monster up top and a mud-and-root-laced monster down low, is dusty in most spots. Racers were a bit surprised and many were actually X-ing their fingers for a bit of rain to tack up the track; the current conditions—loose over hard—make an already intimidating track much trickier in some places, and a bit slower. Additionally, there are a few new lines in the woods to keep the riders sharp. But it’s still a wheel-wrecking ogre of a track. Look for Peaty, Hill, Gee Atherton, and Minnaar in the men; Mosely, Jonnier, Rachel Atherton, and Celine Gros for the women.

The XC track is a different story. I missed worlds, so I never saw the track that the Forestry Commission built out of fear that inclement conditions (i.e., typical Scottish weather) would see a debacle of mud for racing the Worlds. So gone were the technical root sections as well a lot of the interesting rock gardens, replaced by an artificial track that could withstand the rain. Many of the racers weren’t very happy with the changes, and were hoping for a return to the old course for this world cup stop. Ha—fat chance! It’s an even more simplified version of the world’s course. As Seven Cycles’ Michael Broderick put it, “it’s a watered-down version of a good worlds track that really wasn’t that good [compared to what used to be here].” Still, it looks to be a lot of fun, even if it’s now a bit of a cakewalk, technically speaking—I wouldn’t want to race 5 laps on it, but riding 5 laps would be pretty fun.

As for favorites: this is the kind of course that favors power vs. handling skills. In the men, that’s not a big deal—both Christophe Sauser and Julien Absalon have loads of power to compliment their exceptional handling skills. So look for them to duke it out, although Burry Stander’s Coming out party in Andorra has him as a threat, too. In the women, this is the kind of course that favors the Chinese women’s team, so Gunn Rita, Margarita Fullana, and Marie Helene Premont will have their work cut out for them.

The 4X course is unchanged. Wet or dry, it rides the same: make the first corner hole shot, and then hang on for the win. With the BMX Worlds in the can as of last week, a few absent faces are back in the mix—most notably Michal Prokop and Jared Graves. With Lopes skipping this race, for my money, the only two other riders to watch are Cedric Gracia and Dan Atherton: both are freshly mounted on brand new Commencal titanium 4X hardtails. The new rides are stiff where needed, but “whippy” in the corners; CG claims he’s in love. They were mighty quick in practice, with CG foregoing his usual gravity defying antics for a more business-like racer’s line: low and fast.

Qualifications saw nothing unusual: Jared Graves qualified first in just under 43 seconds, Dan Atherton .24 of a second back, then Jurg Meijer, Prokop, and Luca Alvarez all within a second of Jared’s time. In the women, Anneke Beerten flatted and ended up off the pole position with a 14 place qualifying, leaving the top seeds to be Melissa Buhl in 48.60 seconds, Mio Suemasa about a second and half down, followed by Fionn Griffiths, Jana Horakova, and Romana Labounkova, all a bit further back.

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Sven Martin holding his own personal cloud of midges at bay... Colin Meagher