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Crash Carnage at Fort William WC Downhill 2019

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With the finals at the 2019 Fort William DH World Cup just hours away, we take a moment to look back at the past few days and the carnage we’ve witnessed so far.

Although the final races at the 2019 Fort William DH World Cup haven’t taken place yet, we’ve already seen our fair share of crashes and accidents, some so major that a few fan favorites won’t be on the hill today.

Tahnee Seagrave

 

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This post is a little hard for me to write but I felt like I needed to keep you all up to date. I didn’t get to enjoy the #1 plate for very long as I had a real bad crash in my first run this morning in the top section. The first thing to hit was my right shoulder on a rock. I train real hard to avoid as much damage as possible when something like this happens & until now I’ve been pretty bullet proof, but this time it was a little harder for me to get back up! For now all I know from an X-ray is that I’ve torn my AC joint which has separated my collarbone from my shoulder. I’ve now got a new goal at hand and that’s to get back riding and racing my bike ASAP! 🙏🏻 I’ll be getting an MRI and seeing a specialist to check there is no further damage🤞🏻I will keep you all updated! ❤️ I didn’t even get a chance to wear the leaders jersey 😂 until next time…. 🙏🏻 pics @maddogboris

A post shared by Tahnée Seagrave (@tahneeseagrave) on

One of the first riders to feel the wrath of Fort William was Tahnee Seagrave. After an amazing start to the season, she, unfortunately, won’t be racing this weekend after a pretty major crash during practice.

“This post is a little hard for me to write but I felt like I needed to keep you all up to date. I didn’t get to enjoy the #1 plate for very long as I had a real bad crash in my first run this morning in the top section. The first thing to hit was my right shoulder on a rock. I train real hard to avoid as much damage as possible when something like this happens & until now I’ve been pretty bullet proof, but this time it was a little harder for me to get back up! For now all I know from an X-ray is that I’ve torn my AC joint which has separated my collarbone from my shoulder. I’ve now got a new goal at hand and that’s to get back riding and racing my bike ASAP! 🙏🏻 I’ll be getting an MRI and seeing a specialist to check there is no further damage🤞🏻I will keep you all updated! ❤️ I didn’t even get a chance to wear the leaders jersey 😂 until next time…. 🙏🏻 pics @maddogboris

We’ve since heard that Tahnee has already arrived in Manchester where she is receiving surgery and is already on the mend.

Gee Atherton

 

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Luckily no rocks were damaged during the making of this scene. Strapped up and ready for tomorrow!! Pics: @nathhughesphoto

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Gee Atherton had a major off at the very top of the Fort William World Cup course yesterday during qualifying. The crash was pretty spectacular and saw Gee actually ride a corner one-handed before getting very personal with the rocky terrain. Thankfully he’s ok and will race from 14th later today.

“Luckily no rocks were damaged during the making of this scene. Strapped up and ready for tomorrow!! Pics: @nathhughesphoto

Sam Dale

 

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Rough day yesterday. 10th at the first 2 splits then lost concentration while shouting / watching the rider I was catching in front. Ran wide then had to carve extra hard onto the wallride n slipped out on or into it. Any vids would be greatly appreciated so I can see what actually happened. Sucks to be injured but nice to know the pace was there. Big love to everyone for the kind msg’s. Ya all rad 👍🏽👍🏽

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Another fan favourite, Sam Dale, managed to catch up another rider during qualifying yesterday, unfortunately for him this happened on the monster Silverline tools wall ride. The accident resulted in a broken collar bone and we imagine a fair few weeks off the bike.

“Rough day yesterday. 10th at the first 2 splits then lost concentration while shouting / watching the rider I was catching in front. Ran wide then had to carve extra hard onto the wallride n slipped out on or into it. Any vids would be greatly appreciated so I can see what actually happened. 
Sucks to be injured but nice to know the pace was there. Big love to everyone for the kind msg’s. Ya all rad 👍🏽”

Becci Skelton

 

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🦂 Sunday 🙈 @becciskelly #3ameditingfeelslike

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Becci Skelton was another who managed to catch the rider in front during qualifying. We’ve seen this quite frequently this weekend, and unfortunately for Becci it means she didn’t qualify and won’t be racing this weekend. After catching the ride, Becci was forced to brake resulting in this nasty rock garden crash.

“Gutted. Unfortunately in my qualy run I caught the rider in front of me, had to haul on the anchors, front wheel got stuck in savage hole and went out the front door, winded myself pretty bad and made some spectacular noises. Sore but nowt broken I don’t think. Pretty sure I’ve got the pace, just wanted to show you all what I’m capable off. Sorry to let you all down. HUGE thank you to @adam943 for spannering and @dmrbikes for the pit space. Legends. It is now Beer o’clock. 🍺 📷 @jasonbarkerphotography .”

Adam Brayton

 

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Instagram would only allow this much footage due to the aftermath. I am sore 😬 Thanks @88gc for fixing me up and @couscousracing for the clip 🎥 #Hopetech #iamnukeproof #fit4racing #ohlins #7idp

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Nukeproof/Hope rider Adam Brayton took a tumble at the top of the course in a similar location to Gee. Apparently, the aftermath of this crash was so savage that Instagram wouldn’t allow it to be posted.

“Instagram would only allow this much footage due to the aftermath. I am sore 😬 Thanks @88gcfor fixing me up and @couscousracingfor the clip 🎥 #Hopetech#iamnukeproof #fit4racing #ohlins#7idp”

Loic Bruni

loic bruni carsh fort william 2019
A screenshot of Loic’s crash.

UPDATE: we managed a screenshot from Rob Warners Instagram Story from yesterday. We don’t have any photos or video of Loic’s crash but apparently, it was so severe that his goggles managed to mark his face. The crash was enough to destroy his run, but as he is a protected rider the flying Frenchman will still race today but from rather far down the field.

“Stuff wake up but I feel able to ride, wet day again for finals, let’s send it ! “

We’re sure there will be more exciting new from the Nevis Range later today so keep your eyes on Singletrackworld.com for more up-to-date Fort William race news.

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Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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