6 issues we discovered from the downhill racing at Fort William World Champs

**Spoiler alert** In the event you haven’t watched the racing and don’t wish to know the end result, click on away now. If you wish to know tips on how to watch the World Champs this yr, take a look at this text.

Laurie Greenland put down a crimson sizzling run, however narrowly missed out on the win by 1.2 seconds. Bartek Wolinski / Pink Bull Content material Pool

1 Did Laurie Greenland’s outdoors line earlier than the motorway price him the win? Ben Cathro’s glorious Pinkbike story of the race video singled out one nook on the observe that caught out lots of riders within the males’s race. Because the rain continued to hammer the observe, beforehand hardpack berms began to melt and break up, with ruts and braking bumps tearing up the floor. One such nook was simply after the little wall journey on a bit of observe that results in a flat/uphill earlier than the essential motorway. Any lack of velocity right here actually hurts as there’s no gravity to assist riders again on top of things. It’s the identical nook that claimed Matt Walker whereas on a heater of a run, with a horrific wanting crash that despatched his bike extensive and into the creek, whereas his physique slammed straight into the deck. Urgh. There have been two principal traces right here through the rain-soaked race; an inside that seemed harder and probably wanted a velocity verify on entry, or an out of doors across the berm and thru the deep, smooth soil and working the gauntlet of a deep rut. We’ve replayed the race and in contrast the occasions between Charlie Hatton and Laurie Greenland via that key part, from simply earlier than the berm to the top of the quick dash out the opposite aspect. Charlie Hatton comes into the part hugging the tape on rider’s proper (to cut back the radius of the flip) at 3:34.0. He exits the part over just a little bounce within the bushes at 3:40.6. Whole time 6.6 seconds. Laurie takes a line barely left of Charlie and enters the part at 3:34.9. He exits the part 3:42.2. Whole time 7.3 seconds. Provided that Laurie was already 0.9 seconds again, he truly gained time in that part in comparison with Charlie. If we lengthen the part to the hip bounce main into the motorway, CH hits that at 3:54.4, whereas LG hits it at 3:55.5. So 1.1 seconds distinction. Contemplating Laurie was 0.9 seconds again coming into this part, he solely misplaced a most of 0.2 seconds by taking the extensive line, and it’s unlikely this price him the win in isolation.

What a legend! So stoked for Charlie Hatton, your 2023 DH World Champion. Bartek Wolinski / Pink Bull Content material Pool

2 The added sound results to the reside protection made each bike sound like a bag of spanners. This was once more identified by Ben Cathro, however we observed it all through the protection. The producers had added within the noise of an outdated 2001 freeride bike smashing a huck-to-flat every time a rider landed a bounce, regardless of how easily the had been driving. When groups and mechanics spend so lengthy making their race bikes easy and silent, this will need to have felt like a proper kick within the tooth, in addition to making the highest riders on the earth sound like a bunch of amateurs. Think about F1 protection the place they added the sound of tyres squealing and kit adjustments being crunched. No, simply no. Don’t do it.

Andreas Kolb, Charlie Hatton, Laurie Greenland have a good time at UCI DH World Championships in Fort William, Scotland on August 05, 2023 // Bartek Wolinski / Pink Bull Content material Pool

3 Fort William continues to product nice racing. Was this ever unsure? In all probability not, however the racing this weekend simply underlined how particular this observe is, with its mixture of size and roughness, with that vital motorway part on the finish, at all times places the cat among the many pigeons. And the truth that racers had been capable of overcome the deteriorating situations to go sooner was superb. On most programs it could have been sport over with that quantity of rain falling via the finals, and we’d have had the unlucky state of affairs the place the climate determined the outcomes. Let’s hope there might be extra worldwide racing at Fort William subsequent yr. Oh, and a giant hat tip to the course builders who did an incredible job botoxing the haggard outdated Nevis Vary observe. They made it look ten years youthful.

We love this shot of Gracey Hemstreet sending it to the moon with a candy flatty on the motorway part. Gracey completed 14th in her first senior World Championships. Bartek Wolinski / Pink Bull Content material Pool

4 Brutal crashes and accidents didn’t cease the ladies. First there was Rachel Atherton, who dislocated her shoulder on the motorway part throughout apply, however put it again into place and raced the subsequent day. Superb. You would see she was nursing it in finals – what may have been? Tahnee Seagrave took a really shut have a look at the Lidl hoardings on the end line boundaries in qualifying. It was a scary wanting crash and positively battered her, however she clearly discovered some additional resilience within the center aisle as a result of she took to the beginning line on Saturday and nonetheless managed a powerful sixth place. Lastly we have now Nina Hoffman nursing a knee harm that’s been hampering her for many of the yr. She additionally took a nasty fall to her head in apply. However she additionally raced, laid down the quickest first cut up and was in fourth when she received barely off line over the street hole, went via a hideous gap and misplaced the again wheel round a berm.

Forestal Siryon e-bike at 2023 dh world champs

5 Somebody raced on a Forestal e-bike! In the event you watched the entire of the boys’s race, you could have noticed Alex Iscla Grandvallet from Andorra racing on a Forestal e-bike. What?!! Sure, that’s what we thought. How did he get it previous the scrutineers? And if he’d disabled the motor, perhaps by taking the battery out, why would he race on an e-bike when the motor provides drag and weight? The one factor we may consider was that he’d had a problem along with his bike and needed to borrow one. Nicely, because of Neil Cousins from Forestal’s UK Distributor, Silverfish-UK, we obtained some pics of Alex’s bike. It’s the longer journey Forestal Siryon mannequin with 170mm of journey, and Alex has taken the motor out and fitted a cradle to carry a regular BB and cranks. Artistic genius or mad inventor? Your guess is nearly as good as ours.

6 Oi Oi on the Beeb! Yep, Ben Deakin managed to get himself on the reside feed. Who else noticed him?