UCI Downhill World Cup 2023: 'Woah!' - Rachel Atherton takes sensational comeback victory in Lenzerheide
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Updated 10/06/2023 at 14:04 GMT
“The fastest mum on wheels”, as dubbed by Eurosport’s enthusiastic commentator Cedric Gracia, claimed a remarkable 40th UCI Downhill World Cup win in Lenzerheide. Britain’s Rachel Atherton has barely raced since 2019 after a big Achilles injury and the birth of her daughter, but she produced one of the rides of her career to triumph in Switzerland. Next up? Targeting a sixth world title...
'Wonder Woman!' – Atherton rolls back years to win in Lenzerheide
Rachel Atherton (Continental Atherton) landed a sensational victory on her latest comeback to the UCI Downhill World Cup in Lenzerheide to bring up 40 wins in the competition.
The five-time world champion had raced just once since 2019 – also in Lenzerheide, last year – but produced a blistering run of 3:07.514 to deny semi-final winner Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal).
Atherton, 35, has been in the mountain bike wilderness after snapping her Achilles four years ago before having daughter Arna in 2021, admitting she was unsure if she would even make it through qualification in Switzerland. She did that, and then some.
“I just actually can’t believe it. It hasn’t really sunk in. You get so fired up and then it’s three minutes and it’s over,” she said.
“Coming into this I didn’t know if I would qualify, yesterday [qualification] was mind-blowing. I was like ‘woah!’ And this new format is so hard, doing semi-finals, you’ve got to save some energy. It’s mental, oh my gosh!”
Marine Cabirou (Scott DH Factory) was the first rider to drop a statement run as the Frenchwoman blew away the early runners, setting a target time of 3:11.118 for the favourites.
World champion Vali Holl (RockShox Trek Race Team) was next to go fastest, flying through the rock section where she had flipped over her handlebars in the semi-finals en route to clocking 3:09.270.
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'Oh!' - Holl flips over handlebars in semi-finals
With three riders remaining, Holl’s time looked good enough for a podium... at least. But Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) sparked another change at the top of the leaderboard (3:08.301) after taking a daring route through the trees, with Holl leading the applause for her rival.
Then it was over to Atherton. The British star turned the timings board green with a lightning display in the first two sectors, before her lack of race action told in the second half as she ran out of steam slightly.
Only Balanche could deny her a famous win, something that looked almost impossible when the clock showed a deficit of 2.3 seconds after the opening two sectors. But the former ice hockey Winter Olympian roared back on home soil, taking a huge chunk of time back in the third sector, only to fall just short in 3:08.048.
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'I just can’t believe it!' - Atherton on stunning comeback win
On having her daughter Arna in attendance, Atherton added: “I want to cry! People said ‘leave her at home and come out and focus on yourself’ but having her here helps me relax and takes your mind off it.
“This morning I woke up at 5am and was like ‘oh my god, I’m so nervous’. So I went into her room and I was like ‘yo, do you want to play?’ And it takes your mind off it and it’s so good, I would recommend!”
The UCI Downhill World Cup is part of the inaugural UCI Mountain Bike World Series, which brings MTB’s biggest disciplines under the same roof for the first time.
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On June 10 and 11 strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.
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