All of a sudden it’s Sunday – where did that come from? Being up at Fort William for the 2017 UCI World Cup has been an utter blast, and everyone up here has had a jolly old time. Sunday though, is business time – especially for those riders who are taking the gondola up to the top of the mountain for that one last ‘perfect’ run, which will see their name hit the top of that leader board, or not.
Musical instruments at the ready. Fort William is alive with the sound of metal.
Nerves were beginning to kick in at the top of the 2017 Fort William track, during final practice in the AM of Sunday. With Juniors taking centre stage before lunch, proceedings would then kick on to the Elite Women and Men. When 1300hrs rang true, the first of the Elite Women set off down the brutal and utterly unforgiving Fort William track. Adapted for 2017, before the start there were many calls for the track to be changed and fingers were pointed at the new wooded section which runs through the middle of the track.
Organisers discussed over cups of tea and scratched chins, and came to a unanimous decision to run the track as intended. With certain riders who had already made their way down in practice, to change the track now would be too much of a disadvantage to them, and an advantage to the other riders who hadn’t given their practice as much attention as maybe they should have.
Keeping hydrated at outdoor events is crucial, so come prepared – much like this chap.
So it was on. The stage was well and truly set. The sun became a shining beacon of glory up in the sky and the track was littered with spectators from all over. Drinking whatever they could pack in their bags and get their hands on, and making noise with objects that ran the same course of preparation. Rims and wooden spoons, 3 litre bottles of cider and everything in between. Good grief, had Fort William delivered again or what? And the main events hadn’t even started.
In true hero of the sport style, Tracey Moseley heads down the track first to open the Elite race day.
With photo points picked out all up the track, our crack team of hot ‘togs’ (photographers for those out there who daren’t get involved with down-with-the-kids sayings – Crayons, mostly) were lining up the certified bangers with riders only moments away. This is how the day unfolded from an on-course perspective. Stay tuned for the finish arena bangers, coming your way tomorrow – packed with smiles, good vibes and a whole load of shouty fans. Fort William, you are a machine of happiness and joy. Let’s dive in.
Even the pros have to deal with a mechanical now and then. This time, Loris Vergier decided to rip off a tyre. Thankfully, it was only in practice.With mud up to the ankles, a quick dab was necessary to keep things moving.The mud was real, and it was fun. The mud was real fun…for the spectators that is.Slippin’ into the woods was only the start of it.Riders had to navigate a path of safe entry and exit to make sure their time wasn’t effected too much. Skill levels were at an all time high.Body position is paramount through here.Tahnee Seagrave tried to beat the worst of the slippery action, but a crash in the woods left her disappointed.Some others however, didn’t quite make it though the woods with as much finesse. It’s a harsh place, this Fort Bill.Not the best day on the hill for Manon, but a solid performance non the less.Tracey Hannah ploughed her way to the top seat on the podium, with a gap of 10 seconds between her nearest competitor. Blimey.Sam Hill came back from the EWS circuit to race at Fort Bill. After qualifying 78th out of 80, it was a strong finish on race day for the big Aussie.Tuck and keep that speed rolling.Dropping into the new flowy mid section was a welcome break for the riders. Beware though, woods soon come.Keep low and let gravity do it’s job.A great spot for spectators to watch the lunacy of some of these riders unfold.The man that is Mr Lead Weight, hits the booter in true Jack Reading style.More downunder riders showing their talent on the Fort Bill rough stuff. Remy Morton pounding his Santa Cruz V10 into the rocks.Chain slappin’ goodness.Eyes, well and truly on the prize.Bernard Kerr keeping the style at an all time high. Sending a manual down this section and whips off the big jumps, all the way to a solid finish.Kerr may have lost a rear mech somewhere in the top half, but that sure didn’t slow him down.Is it a bird? Is it a plane?Grey skies, gondalas, foliage and a rider going full tilt, yep, that’ll be Fort William.Aboard his Radon machine, Faustin launched himself into a top finish.After hitting the track with his telemetry-equipped Demo yesterday, Bruni had his eyes set on the top seat.Mr Brosnan hit the mountain, draped in all white today and headed down the mountain. He enjoyed a solid stint in the hot seat until Thirion knocked him off with a blistering run.Pivot rider Rupert Chapman hit a blistering run in qualifying and came in with a more than respectable finish.After sending Lourdes into a melt-down in the last round of the UCI World Cup, Mr Fayolle gathered himself a hot finish at Fort William.Along side Aaron Gwin in the YT Mob set up, Mulally is not sitting in the shadows. His scorching run shows both his intentions and levels of skill.Aussie Connor Fearon produced a brilliant run to secure himself a well-deserved top-10 finish.The young Brit, Charlie Hatton, riding for Intense Factory Racing, showed some serious potential on the race track today. An unfortunate crash saw a top-10 result slip away from him, but boy does this lad have some serious speed. Watch out.Mark Wallace gave it his all today and reaped the rewards with a great run down the mountain.Remi Thirion had a brief, but no doubt enjoyable sit on the top step after a run that saw the Fort William crowd go wild down in the finish area. His top 5 finish will be happily received.It was all going super well for Danny up until the wood section, where an awkward over-the-bars crash saw him slip down the table. What a shame – he was flying too.Gwin’s effort saw him nearly 4.5 seconds up halfway down the course, until a momentum-robbing dab in the woods saw that lead diminish to less than two seconds. He held the hot seat for a while, but the visibly-frustrated Yank knew it wasn’t enough. He took 3rd overall.Marcelo from Giant pounded his way down the course today. He was a fair way down on the splits for most of the course, until he ripped the motorway section to shreds, pulling back some serious time to come within tenths of a second of Gwin’s time. So close!Jack Moir, the slippery Aussie, was a favourite for many this weekend, and it’s easy to see why. 2nd place, standing with his heroes on the podium, must have felt amazing.The alloy 29er prototype from Intense was given a good run out this weekend. With designer and creator Jeff Steber watching the big screen down at the finish line, it doesn’t get much more race-proven than that.After a flat in practice, Loris Vergier meant business coming into his race run. Vergier took a tumble in the woods in almost exactly the same spot as Danny Hart, with valuable seconds eaten away from his race run, putting him further down the finish line list. Given how fast Vergier had been looking all weekend, the young Frenchman will no doubt be looking for vengeance come the next round.Mr Fort William himself. Greg Minnaar flies through the new section on his way to his 7th Fort William win.Some were skeptical about whether Minnaar could make it back to back Fort William titles – he though, was out to prove to everyone that he is the rightful king of Fort Bill. And with over two seconds between him and Jack Moir, Minnaar has cemented his reputation as one of the greatest mountain bikers of all time.After racing was done, the marshalls were straight on with dismantling the track.As the top riders head to the podium, the grandstand slowly starts to empty.#LongLiveChainsaw – a message that will forever be in the hearts of all downhill and general mountain biking fans.
The madness of the Fort William World Cup is over again for another year, and boy are we glad that we got to be part of it again. If you’ve never been to a downhill World Cup, or a World Cup of any sort – then get Fort William on your list. It’s a crazy old place, full of action, crazy spectators and an atmosphere that will blow your mind. We’re lucky to get the chance to witness events like these, and we urge you to get yourself there, if you can.
Heading up to the top of Fort William, in the best way possible. Until next year, we say goodbye.
Fort William is done and dusted, and the Singletrack Team are finishing off that last beer before it’s time for some well earned rest. Head over to our YouTube channel to catch up on our daily Video Logs from this years UCI World Cup at Fort William, and if you like what you see, click subscribe, for plenty more content coming your way very soon.
