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Report: Halo British Downhill Series Round 2
9-10 April 2011
Promoted By: British Downhill Series
Race HQ: Moelfre, Shropshire
Words And Photography By Luke Webber
Official Website | Result
Gee Atherton and Emmeline Ragot took the headline Elite races at the second round of the British Downhill Series in Moelfre. Last rider down on the classic Moelfre run, Atherton had Steve Peat to depose from the hot-seat and didn't disappoint on his local hill - taking victory by half a second.
A stacked top-ten of riders which included three World Champions and three World Cup winners meant times were of the highest quality - but the two second gap from Atherton and Peat, to third-placed Brendan Fairclough - surprised even the pundits.
After the race Gee eluded to the win being tougher than he hoped, but expected it against the competition assembled.
"I'd like to say today was like clockwork, that the win was no bother, but after qualifying I saw how quick everyone was going; especially Steve - he was close to me but had more left in the bag. I knew I had to charge pretty hard, we live ten minutes away so there's always that element to think about but that was just something else that was going to push me on a bit more.
"The run itself was good, it was ragged. It's a fast track, a short track and a track with not many lines so I was going to have to charge hard and couldn't afford any mistakes or slip ups. There was no one spot to make the difference, it was pushing the whole way down. It was getting shady, it was getting ragged; I was enjoying it but it was pretty wild.
"The feeling of risk came back pretty easy, I kind of slipped back into it, it's always a long off season, but every year I find it easier to come back to it and if you get the preparation right you can just jump back in where you left off."
As for whether Atherton has his preparation perfect for next weeks World Cup opener and his defense of the Series, he wouldn't be drawn.
"I would not like to say if I have that right for this year; this is a British Series, the World Cup is a different game. I'm stoked to win but in South Africa is where the proof will be."
British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.
