RESULTS: Timed Training from Fort William World Cup DH 20

Timed training at the 2018 Fort William World Cup downhill took place today.  The Fort William course featured some reconfigured sections to make conditions more consistent, specifically a cemented-in rock garden in what used to be a very muddy, boggy woods section. The atmosphere at Fort William is always upbeat with the anticipation of massive crowds come race day.

Timed training is a special session for top riders to take top-to-bottom runs with the clock running, capturing split data as well. It is not mandatory and there are no points at stake, but most top riders try to take advantage of generally clear track and information gathered for ironing out issues in practice. It is also the first glimpse of what race day times reflect.

Sven Martin reported earlier this morning that Dean Lucas was stretchered off the mountain during timed runs. We'll update as we learn more about his condition. With Dean out, he joins the injured list of Greg Minnaar and Jack Moir, who are all podium contenders and threats for the win. All three injured riders ride bikes with 29-inch wheels. Charlie Harrison remains the only Intense Factory Racing rider left this weekend.

** UPDATE ON DEAN LUCAS - he responded to a message and said that his tire went out in the fastest section and he went down hard, getting knocked out for a bit. He said may try to break the beam in qualifying to ensure a spot for race day, seeing how he feels on Sunday and determining if he will race.

Dean talks about his crash below

• Danny Hart on a tear, that's for sure, some 3.6 seconds ahead of the pace with Gee Atherton in 2nd.
• It's interesting to see how consistent and close the riders are for that first split, hovering around the 1:01 mark. From there, all bets are off.
• Brook MacDonald, fastest qualifier in Croatia and returning from a broken collarbone suffered during his Croatia race run seems to be back up to speed.
• It appears that Aaron Gwin did not take a timed training run today.
• Myriam Nicole owned the Elite Women's class, but Rachel had the fastest first split by 2 seconds.
  

There appeared to be a lot of course holds and inconsistencies as we watched live timing. The results posted should be accurate, but if they get changed or updated, we'll adjust them here.

Elite Men's Timed Training Results

Elite Women's Timed Training Results

Junior Men's Timed Training Results

2018 Fort William DH Entry Numbers

• 132 Elite Men, 9 #USDH racers - (there were 135 Elite Men with 13 #USDH racers in 2017)
  
• 22 Elite Women, 0 #USDH racers - (there were 31 Elite Women with 0 #USDH racers in 2017)
  
• 40 Junior Men, 1 #USDH racer (Joey Foresta) - (there were 45 Junior Men with 3 #USDH racers in 2017)
  
• 6 Junior Women, 2 #USDH racers (Kaytlin Melvin and Anna Newkirk...HECK YEAH, GIRLS!) - (there were 7 Junior Women with 0 #USDH racers in 2017)
  

Entry numbers are slightly down overall compared to 2017, but the most exciting stat is that Junior women from the U.S. are giving it a go. Considering this is the second year that there has been no American female competitor in the Elite class, the future is looking good in the women's class!

PIT BITS FROM FORT WILLIAM