Friday at the 2017 Fort William World Cup is all about practice. With riders heading out from 8am to shake the dust off their bikes, and get those potential line choices nailed down. From top to bottom, the Fort William track is a bike beater – so on practice days it’s all about getting the nerves sorted out and testing the water for what will be a mega weekend of racing.
The views from the top of Fort William are stunning. Especially on days like this.
We headed up the mountain after lunch to catch some of the action from the Group A practice session, which then ran into timed practice for the top riders from all categories. With cameras at the ready and GoPros in hand, our crack team were on hand to get snap happy and provide you with a selection of the best of Friday, at Fort William.
Riders waiting to drop in at the top of Fort Bill. Nerves breed like midges up here…Rachel Atherton sits at the top before her practice run. Looking calm, that’s for sure.The smiles continue with Laurie Greenland, who put down a blistering time to take top spot in timed practice.Jack Moir heads out of the start gate aboard his Intense alloy prototype 29er.The clock is ticking on timed practice as the top riders send it down the mountain.Jack Reading and his lead-equipped Nicolai Geometron flying through the rough stuff in the top section.Marshalls on course, with whistles at the ready and flasks of tea as standard.Loic Bruni shouts at fellow riders whilst the gonala comes to a halt.It’s the man-mountain himself, Sam Dale! Getting stylish through the rocks.
The track is in great nick ahead of Saturday and a change in forecast. Rain, soon come.Rachel Atherton sends down a great timed practice run, putting her on top of the pile going into Saturday qualifying.Ross and Andi giving Rachel all the support she could ask for.Danny Hart is on track, proudly showing off his World Champs colours.Eyes on the prize for Tahnee Seagrave, at Fort Bill this year. She’s looking fast, that’s for sure.Tahnee shows off her new, unnamed Transition prototype carbon downhill bike.Manon Carpenter is looking to build on a good result last year and keep the pressure on the top women.Elliott Heap of Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof puts down a top draw timed practice run.Matthew Simmonds hits the rock section hard on his Madison/Saracen Myst.All in pink, Tracey Hannah drops the head and pins the bike through the rough turns in the top section.Luca Shaw of Santacruz Syndicate sure is a bright spark. Keep your eyes on this one for a top result this weekend.Deathgrip in the movies, Deathgrip on track. Brendog throws down his usual style for the camera during practice.After timed practice came to an end, riders took to the track on foot, to take an up close peak at how that fresh dirt was bedding in.The new(t) section has been approved by all locals.Through the deer gate and turn right, not left. Thankfully, Amaury Pierron got the memo before his run.Laurie Greenland sent his 27.5in Mondraker down Fort William in a rocketing time, taking the top spot after timed practice.Loic Bruni’s bike was spotted running a whole host of telemetry, ready for data collection. Formula 1 tech reaches DH.It’s a shame the riders don’t get to enjoy the view, as they descend the Fort Bill track. We on the other hand, get the best of both worlds.After timed practice had ended, we headed down the mountain for some 4X Pro Tour training.Plenty of style shown off by all the riders.After a day on the mountain and the serenity of the views, it’s nice to be back in the pits where the madness is slowly building before the weekend.If you’re around Fort Bill this weekend, swing by the Singletrack stand for some sweet deals.
