Atherton’s comeback for 40th win
With five UCI World Champion titles and, before this season, 39 UCI World Cup wins delivering six UCI World Cup overall victories, Great Britain’s Rachel Atherton is a downhill legend, and an inspiration to a generation of riders.
After a relentless decade of racing, Rachel Atherton injured her achilles tendon in 2019 at the UCI World Cup in Les Gets (France), and after a lengthy recovery, took a maternity break, and gave birth to her daughter, Arna. She returned for one UCI World Cup race in 2022, but didn’t immediately hit her previous level. Few people expected Rachel to come back to UCI World Cup racing in 2023 in such style…
They were quickly proved wrong.
In round 1 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Atherton took 2nd spot both in qualifying and the new semi-finals stage, only behind Switzerland’s Camille Balanche. But in the final run, Atherton led through every split from top to bottom, winning with a margin of half a second from Balanche to take her 40th UCI World Cup win. The fastest woman downhill… and the world’s fastest mum!
“I can’t believe it. Coming into this, I 100% didn’t even know if I’d qualify,” said Atherton after the race. “People said ‘leave her [Arna] at home’ but having her here makes me relaxed. This morning I woke up at 5am really nervous and went into her room and said ‘wanna play? Read some books?’
“I can’t believe it! I’m exhausted, everything hurts. I want to get to Fort William UCI World Champs. It’s mad. wow!”
“Congrats to @rachybox pretty cool to race with you finally!” said UCI World Champion Valentina Höll.
In round 2 in Leogang-Salzburgerland, Austria, Rachel couldn’t quite match her round 1 result, but was happy to pick up a podium spot (third). She was hugged by an emotional Valentina Höll, who won the race, her first on her home track. Rachel was equally excited to congratulate her Continental Atherton team-mate Andreas Kolb, the European Champion winning his first Men Elite UCI World Cup race at Leogang – on an Atherton bike.
With Rachel not riding at round 3 in Val di Sole (Italy), it was Höll who claimed a second consecutive Women Elite win, while in the Men Elite, 18-year-old Jackson Goldstone (CAN) won to match his fellow debutant Jordan Williams (GBR) who had won in Lenzerheide.
Nino, officially the GOAT in cross-country Olympic
At the start of the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, in Petropolis (Brazil), Nino Schurter claimed his 33rd cross-country Olympic (XCO) victory to draw level with his historic nemesis Julien Absalon. But for the remainder of the campaign, he couldn’t quite convert his performances into that elusive record-breaking 34th win. He still rounded out his 2022 campaign with a record performance - his 10th UCI World Championship win at the age of 36.
With a new UCI World Cup season starting, fans and rivals alike were unsure of what to expect from Nino. Did he still have his edge?
After warming up with a creditable podium finish in round 1 at Nové Město Na Moravě (3rd behind Britain’s Tom Pidcock and France’s Joshua Dubau), Nino eyed up his next opportunity at round 2 on home soil, Lenzerheide.
A crash in the cross-country short track (XCC) left Nino with a 16th place finish and off the front row for the XCO start. However, he quickly joined the front group and imposed his pace, testing the early leaders and forming a pair with Mathias Flückiger. But the 37-year-old turned up the heat to eke out an advantage and mercilessly grow that sector on sector and lap on lap, until the final loop became a victory parade in front of his adoring fans.
This unmatched achievement places Nino Schurter as undeniably, the GOAT – the Greatest of All Time – in XCO.
At round 3, Val di Sole, it was Nino again taking the top step for no 35, with Flückiger his closest challenger. In the Women Elite, 21-year-old Puck Pieterse (NED) took her second consecutive victory.
In 2023 the new faces are showing amazing performances in both disciplines, but they still have a lot to learn from the living legends!