RESULTS: Rachel Atherton and Greg Minnaar Qualify Fastest at Fort William 10

Three 29ers on top and a whoopin' from Rachel to the women.

sspomer
6/3/2017 7:13am
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Big wheels dominate qualifying at Fort William with Top 3 finishes in Elite Men while Rachel Atherton (on 27.5-inch wheels) decimates the Elite Women's field with a run 13 seconds faster than her nearest competitors. Sylvain Cougoureux smokes the Juniors by over 7 seconds with a time that would have landed him just outside the Top 10 Elite Men's results. Just before qualification started the rain kicked in, wreaking havoc on the woods section.

Greg Minnaar.

Rachel Atherton.

Elite Men's Qualifying Results

Elite Women's Qualifying Results

Joe Krejbich has the honours of unwrapping Rachel's new Perfect Season frame. Rachel elected to stay on 27.5 because of her familiarity with the bike. It seems to have been the right decision.

Junior Men's Qualifying Results

Finish Line Reactions

Listen in as riders recount the highs and lows of their runs after crossing the finish line. Wideopen Mag

PIT BITS from Fort William

G-OUT PROJECT from Fort William

Related:
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Downhill
Rachel Atherton
Greg Minnaar
Fort William, Scotland
Results
10 comments

View replies to: RESULTS: Rachel Atherton and Greg Minnaar Qualify Fastest at Fort William

c50 received 10155046990160862 1496571885
Axa
6 years ago
Interesting to se 29er s catch on in DH. But how about mixed wheelsize bikes (79ers) for DH? In my mind that must be the ultimate to cover all kinds of courses. Stable, grippy, rollover 29" up front. And agile 27" in the rear..
Is there any good arguments against in besides that som cares more about looks then performance?
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adamdigby
6 years ago
The UCI has a rule that states a bicycle must have same size wheels. So they could run a 79 incher, but not a 29" front 27.5" rear. A UCI representative had an interview on here or Dirt saying they may look into changing the equal size wheel rule starting 2018. I'm interested to try anything, 29, 79, 69, even a 24 front 29 rear, why not!
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c50 received 10155046990160862 1496571885
Axa
6 years ago
Huh that was a surprise for me. Any idea what the argument for that rule was?? I could see the cost aspect, but then a minimum weight rule or even against carbon would make more sense regarding cost..
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adamdigby
6 years ago
It's really a rule meant for road racing to keep TT bikes from running a small front wheel to get closer while drafting.
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c50 Deer Valley Finish Line Jump
Fox
6 years ago
Looks like the track is plenty tough after all. 30 crashes in the woods section? Madness!
c50 Aline 1377045867
BetterRide.net
6 years ago
Hoping to to see Luca Shaw in the hot seat for a long time tomorrow! Great to see Luca Cometti and Kiran in there too. Minnaar for the win!
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LTrumpore
6 years ago
Some big names scattered all over the place. Got to wonder if with so many unprotected they dialed it back a touch, Minnaar included? Could make for some surprises on Sunday.
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sspomer
6 years ago
so track-side news is lots of crashes. sam hill twice and apparently a bomb-hole that was filled in w/ rocks that caught riders out, sending them OTB. not too sure how much this impacted results but seems like possibly. still, those who didn't crash are on top and that's racing. wyn not in, dale not in, mudd not in...a lot of tough results.
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