KARVING OUT A MONSTER WIN

Chris Kovarik’s run at the first Fort William World Cup in 2002 still stands as the biggest winning margin of all time. Just how did the Karver do it?

What were your first impressions of Fort Bill? When I first raced here, the track had just been built and was still soft, even with the gravel they’d laid down. There were a lot of areas that didn’t have surfacing, though, and were pretty muddy, which made it hard to ride.

Did you think the track would suit you?

It’s always refreshing to ride something new and di erent, and I was stoked to race somewhere that put everyone on an even playing field. Initially, I didn’t think it’d suit me, but as it got more blown out and the ruts got deeper, I started to like it more.

Given the track’s length and physicality, did you approach the race run any di erently to normal?

Back in 2002, qualifying and race runs at World Cups were on the same day, so it was a big day and there could be three or four hours between the two. With a couple of hundred riders going down it, a track can change enormously in that time. I think my advantage came from line choice. I was conscious of picking di erent lines that went around the ruts and holes, and I think I held my speed that way.

In the build-up to finals, did you guess that you might be

on course for a top result?

In timed practice I actually crashed and came o the bike quite good, so at the finish I was surprised to see I was still top 10 and only about eight seconds back on Peaty, who was leading. After that, I figured that if I didn’t crash I could make up a lot of time and possibly win it.

Was it a good party afterwards? We got pretty drunk at the after-party and a couple of us were kicked out but snuck back in through the side doors. Shirts were coming o , beers were all over the carpet and I remember the guys from Dirt Mag putting stickers on our faces and taking stupid pics. They were days when you could get away with it, when it was a little less serious!