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The weather or the track? Which is more brutal in Fort William? It's a tough call some days and today was one of those days where it didn't matter because survival was the name of the rain-soaked game. Sven Martin, @maddogboris and Dan Hearn suffer through the soup to bring us the World Cup DH goods.
The small stream gap has become a raging torrent making the B line a lot more difficult than the main gap line. Peaty in audio. -Sven Martin
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Fast Finn. Fastest rider today in timed training. What a trajectory this young man's career has had. -Sven Martin
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Tracey Hannah was on form and took the fastest timed training run by 7 seconds. -Dan Hearn
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Matt Simmonds fourth fastest in timed training and has had some of his best results here. Interestingly, you can see an empty shock mount. -Sven Martin
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Kaos Seagrave all alone in B practice with the freebird. -Sven Martin
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Laurie Greenland sumping-out into the wet mud ruts that developed throughout the day. B practice riders walking the course were shocked how different this section of track was compared to the morning. -Dan Hearn
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Man-made moodiness up top. -Sven Martin
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B practice is a bit like playing Russian Roulette. -Sven Martin
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Wyn Masters weaving through the moors. -Sven Martin
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Back on the 27.5 wheels and loving it. Remi Thiron, style for miles. -Sven Martin
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Taylor Vernon parting puddles up top during training today. -Sven Martin
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Brook MacDonald and Mike Jones smashing laps in the tough conditions. -Sven Martin
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Gwin tweaked his bad ankle again today but is optimistic he will still be ok to ride tomorrow. -Sven Martin
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Loic was fastest at the first 3 splits then dropped 0.9 seconds to 3rd by the end of the track. Considering the conditions and lack of pressure in timed training, times were tight. -Dan Hearn
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New colours on both fork and kit for Loic today. 13 mins of in-depth audio await on this one. -Sven Martin
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Loris Vergier with the high-speed bump flick in the lower reaches of the top section. -Sven Martin
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Sebastien Schieck saturated and satiated. -Sven Martin
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Rachel Atherton riding an all-new version of her bike, new linkage and lower lug for an all-new shock curve. Amazing what they can whip up from conception to design to manufacturing in less than a week. -Sven Martin
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Amaury Pierron navigating the rut in the new open section just before the woods. -Sven Martin
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Mark Maurissen has seen his fair share of Fort Williams and shares some memories and tips with us over a cold Duvel.
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Local boy, Greg Williamson, on the first jump straight out the start gate of this long, brutal course. -Sven Martin
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Vali Höll whipped out more than all the men on the motor way. -Sven Martin
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Chris Kovarik won the first World Cup in Fort William in 2002. Now he is teaching the youth how to race and be stylish. @maddogboris
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Fort William was a Photogs wetdream today. Not sure if Dan Hearn agrees? @maddogboris
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Lots of people standing around today. @maddogboris
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Tahnee : ( @maddogboris
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Probably the moment Tahnne realized that she won't race on sunday. @maddogboris
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That's how Tahnee's day ended. @maddogboris
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To be honest, I found this spot when I had a pee. @maddogboris
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Matt Walker had a big crash here at the BDS. Looks like he is fit and back on top of things again. -Sven Martin
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Moody, muddy, mysterious morning. @maddogboris
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The stories Ian Jones' eyes have collected over many a Fort William race will keep us entertained forever. -Dan Hearn
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Improvised peak extenders were the order of the day. -Dan Hearn
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Gaffer tape goggle mods were a common site, too. -Dan Hearn
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Tahnee wasn't the only one who crashed in this section. Luckily Gaetan Vigé walked away from this and was happy that he hadn't destroyed his new custom painted helmet. @maddogboris
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Somewhere in the myst you can find Antonie Vidal. @maddogboris
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Finding new angles at Fort William gets harder every year. I can thank the weather for forcing me into shelter for this one. -Dan Hearn
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Loic takes a moment to clear his thoughts before dropping in to his first practice run. -Dan Hearn
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Thibaut Dapréla with the fastest Junior Men's pace in timed practice. @maddogboris
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Vali Höll with her head in the clouds. @maddogboris
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Laurie Greenland just likes to send it. @maddogboris
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Wyn Masters looks wheelie fast today! @maddogboris
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We've had views like this almost every year but it's been a while since this much rain came along too. -Dan Hearn
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Gee in blue... @maddogboris
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Gee in black...-Dan Hearn
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As the wind picked up after lunch time, the visibility rapidly oscillated between clear and awful. -Dan Hearn
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The rain doesn't slow the Fort William course down much, so the usual date with the wheel truing stand was on. -Dan Hearn
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Marine Cabirou with the second fastest elite women time. @maddogboris
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Loic and Finn off balance. @maddogboris
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Bernard was bummed that none of us made it in time to the bottom jumps to capture his sick whips, so here a pic of him sending it! @maddogboris
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Hand prints like a scene from a horror film. No use anyway, the clouds robbed the gondola of the usual big views. -Dan Hearn
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No need for tear-offs or roll-offs when you carry a towel. @maddogboris
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Nigel Reeve is one of the old dogs in the pits and taking care of Mark Wallace Bike. @maddogboris
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He probably believed all the people saying in the trackwalk audios that the track gets grippier in the rain. @maddogboris
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Nukeproof's Sandra Rubesam put in a 3rd place time in timed training. -Dan Hearn
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As data acquisition becomes more affordable and companies like Stendec offer off-the-shelf packages, it's becoming commonplace in the start house to see big, tempting buttons fitted to handlebars. -Dan Hearn
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Eddie Masters looks on form to set another blistering qualifying run like in Maribor. -Dan Hearn
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Riders were definitely a bit more apprehensive than usual as they left the start gate into the rain this year. We've been lucky at the Fort for a few years now so I suppose we were due a change. -Dan Hearn
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The classic boardwalk sections remain to guide riders over the boggy upper slopes of Aonach Mor. -Dan Hearn
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The struggle is real. -Dan Hearn
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Charlie Harrison is proving he has the consistency to match his number board. Looking hot on track and 7th fastest in timed training. -Dan Hearn
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We almost had a view across the valley at the start of practice. -Dan Hearn
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Into the eye of the storm and on to the weekend! Stay tuned.
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