WORLD CHAMPS 2018
We get the inside line on the highs and lows of the 2018 Downhill World Championships from Rich Thomas in the British team pits
It’s the all-or-nothing race of the year, but what does it take to gain the vital advantage and win the prestigious title?
LINE SPOTTING
The track walk at World Champs is all business. Because the sport is so professional these days, there isn’t much communication between rival teams. Riders of the same nation will walk the track together, which gives them the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other, share lines and structure their practice with one another. In Lenzerheide there was a great sense of unity among the British riders, with Tahnée Seagrave and Rachel Atherton giving advice to the Junior girls and Adam Brayton and Reece Wilson sharing their lines and set-up tips with the Junior men. This is great for building confidence and the sense of being part of the team. As course analysts, we’ll look at possible lines, conditions and scenarios with the riders and help them to work out how to approach the course. The mechanics will walk the track as well, to discuss suspension settings, tyre choice and bike set-up with the riders. After the track walk, riders from all nations attend the opening ceremony, which isn’t quite a Danny Boyle style Olympic job, but highlights how huge this event is and lets the riders see the Union Jack flying in front of them!
WAKE UP, SLEEPY HEAD!
Practice at the World’s is split into categories and the busy schedule means the women are subject to some very early starts – up before 6am is the norm for them and the staff. For every single Junior I’ve worked with, this is a chore – they just can’t get their head around it! We’ve started setting schedules 15 minutes ahead of time, because you can guarantee that a Junior will always be late. That being said, to see Laurie Greenland any time before 9am is unheard of, and if you do, it won’t be very productive, because you can bet he’ll have forgotten his national jersey!
PRACTICE = PERFECT
Over their four days at the race, each rider has around eight hours of practice. How they approach this is down to personal preference. Most have a steady first day and then build up their speed leading towards their final run. Danny Hart (above) is always the main man during practice. He smashes out runs with military precision, always fast and always on-line. The most impressive rider for pure speed was Katy – she hit the ground running and got loose from the word go. Mark my words, she’ll win a World Cup one day! The wildest man on track was easily George – he’ll have you holding your breath as you watch him bounce through sections!
“DANNY SMASHES OUT RUNS WITH MILITARY PRECISION, ALWAYS FAST AND ALWAYS ON-LINE”
GRUB’S UP
British Cycling provide the team accommodation and will seek out suitable catering to ensure that all the riders – including the crosscountry racers, who have their own schedule for the week – are well fed and rested. This year was a culinary feast of salads, soups and plenty of rice and pasta dishes! Planning nutrition before a morning practice session is critical to the downhill riders making the most of their on-track time.
REAL-TIME UPDATES
Tracks are bigger, faster and gnarlier than ever, and making sure the riders know the course inside out is critical. As course analysts, Olly Morris [a regular contributor to our How To pages ~ Ed] and I are there to observe practice and qualifying and communicate to the team what’s going on up on the hill. Between us, we have over 20 years of racing experience and have seen the sport develop considerably. (I started racing DH when I was 11 and worked my way up to World Cups, before getting into tutoring other riders.) At Lenzerheide, we identified several key sections during the track walk and, using filming and timing, helped the riders choose the fastest line or the one that suited them best. During filming, we’ll often see a line we hadn’t spotted. Here, there was a huge inside, right off the start. Using WhatsApp, we can update the riders on what their competitors are doing and how the track is developing.
THE BIG DAY
When practice is over, the course has been analysed and the riders’ bikes and bodies have been prepped, it’s time for them to deliver. On the morning of finals, it might seem like business as usual in the BC camp, but we all know what’s about to go down and you can tell the riders are anxious, pondering over all the ‘what ifs’. We need to put them in a place, mentally, where they can elevate their performance for that one run – and boy, do they elevate it! As staff, we share various responsibilities on race day, from general support to chaperoning minors to doping tests. It’s a mental day, with the frustration of mechanicals, etc, but the highs of standout performances. With medal hopefuls in each category in Lenzerheide, the atmosphere was tense, but exciting.
CLASH OF THE TITANS
First off for us was Kade Edwards and his dominating win in Juniors. That was a huge high for everybody, and silenced a lot of critics. Next up were the Elite women and the inevitable duke-out between Rachel and Tahnée. Both being BC riders, it was a strange feeling watching them compete. We had to sit on the fence and let them battle it out, hoping they both laid down all their cards safely and walked away happy. First up was Tahnée, who put down a storming run to slot in ahead of Myriam Nicole and take up the hot seat. By this time, we knew Britain had the gold either way, so all that remained was so see which of our women would take home the rainbow jersey. We could all feel the immense pressure Rachel was under, but she did it, laying down a historic run that was on par with Danny’s domination of the Champéry World Champs in 2011. She demolished the field by almost 10 seconds and we all erupted – a gold and silver medal for our women!
DOWN TO THE WIRE
We were all pretty exhausted by this point, but the men’s finals was a real nail-biter. With probably 10 guys capable of winning, it was a race that was going to do down to the wire! Martin Maes set a sensational time early on and nobody could get close. Even two of our medal hopefuls, Laurie and Matt Walker, couldn’t quite match his time. Danny was our last hope, and I truly believed he could do it. I was stood at the finish with my fingers crossed and it was looking good. Danny was up at the second and third splits, but then down at the fourth and 0.1 seconds back at the finish. Our chance of a men’s gold medal was over. I could feel Danny’s pain, because I knew how badly he wanted this. He was happy with how he rode though, and with his season overall. It was bittersweet to see Danny finish up with a bronze medal after Loïc Bruni came down and took the gold from Maes. The other Brits weren’t far behind – Laurie in seventh and Matt in tenth, a great achievement for his first year in Elite. Roll on MontSainte-Anne 2019!