Fort William, Scotland plays host to round two of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano for Downhill, and round three for 4-Cross. It has become a favourite for the riders, and boasts some of the largest - and loudest - fans on the circuit.
'Fort Bill' is a crowd favorite
The 2.82 kilometre Downhill course takes riders down Aonach Mor, the ninth highest peak in the United Kingdom, dropping 555 metres. The fast top section of the course is framed by stunning views of Ben Nevis, the sea lochs of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil, and the islands of the Inner Hebrides. However, riders have little time to admire the view, as they navigation rock gardens and dropoffs. For the lower half, riders twist and turn their way through wooded single track, drops and pedalling sections, before dropping into the finish bowl and the always enormous crowd of spectators. The course has undergone significant upgrades in the upper portion.
The fast top section of the course is framed by stunning views...
...But riders have little time to admire them.
Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz) leads the men's standings after round one, but his team mate Steve Peat, the reigning world champion, always performs well here in front of a home crowd. Others who have a good history here include Gee Atherton (Commencal) and Sam Hill (Monster Energy-Mad Catz-Specialized) who crashed mightily in practice, destroying his Specialized Demo, and sending him to the hospital.
Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) is the defending champion at Fort William, but she will have a tough battle against round one winner Rachel Atherton (Commencal), who counts Fort William as one of her favourite tracks. Others to watch for include previous winner Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing) and Floriane Pugin (Scott 11).
Last year, the 4-Cross course add a new rock garden through the middle section of the course, adding to the difficulty of this fan favourite event. The 4-Cross series has seen different winners in each of the first two events, so the competition is quite open. Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Shox) is the defending champion at Fort William, and leads the World Cup, and is a clear favourite for the men. His closest rivals are likely to be RSP 4 Cross team mates Joost Wichman and Tomas Slavik, plus British favourite Dan Atherton (Commencal).
Jared Graves is the defending 4-Cross champion
Jana Horakova is the current womens 4-Cross World Cup leader
For the women, defending champion Jill Kintner of the United States has retired, and world champion Caroline Buchanan of Australia is focussing on the BMX World Cup, so this leaves the field open to other riders. Defending World Cup champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) has not yet managed to win this season, so she will be very hungry. Czech star Jana Horakova, winner of round one and the current World Cup leader, will be looking to hold onto her leader's jersey, while Austrian Anita Molcik, second in the standings hopes to bump Horakova from the top spot. Another to watch will be round two winner Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Team), who is coming back strongly from pre-season injury.
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