Five Ten at Fort William World Cup
8th Jun 2011
Wow. Fort William world cup 2011 was some of the best racing/atmosphere i've ever witnessed.
From the get go everyone was flat out, eyes on the prize. With the top 15 being so tight, you can't hold back anything from your run, which in turn results in some amazing action.
We headed up early Wednesday to try and get a quick pre-bill ride, but the weather gods weren't playing ball. Trucking along the highland moors we stopped of at Glencoe mountain resort to check out the aftermath from the Nationals a week earlier... WOW. The track looks amazing... kind of like a messed up waterlogged, Peak bridleway in the heart of winter. I can see how the elements ruined things for the BDS guys though, it was really wild when we were there.
Thursday lead to a quick set-up after a few mis-haps with the grid wall. Finger trapping stuff....
The sun was out in force, topping up the farmer tan nicely, with a mid 20c glow. Track walk showed how loose and fast things were going to be, alot more bed-rock on show than last time. A real mans track, brutal from top to bottom. The motorway seciton at the bottom didn't look any easier either...
Friday flew by, with the schools hunting round all day for stickers and the like, lots of happy faces when they got a free t-shirt or two! Saturday was truely chaotic though...
Our game 'Guess the shoes' was basically, stick your hand in all 4 boxes, guess the model and colour, to be entered into a prize draw. Super tough seeing as there is 4 colours in some models.... subtle differences and a good eye for detail was key. Even I noticed some new differences by the end!
Queues went 10 deep at one point, as the word spread across the pits... we ended up with 12 winners, out of about 300 entrants, so well done if your reading!
The pits were rammed come Sunday morning, people hustling and bustling for a last minute deal and after 200 Five ten tees made their way out to the masses, it was funny seeing every other person wearing one!
I managed to catch the Mens finals, which resulted in the most nail biting/mental show of riding from the worlds fastest. Brook Macdonald came down early with a time that had him in the hot seat until the final 5. Minnaar posted a time some 2 seconds faster, which eventually gave him the win. Ride of the day has to go to young Danny hart who had the loosest/fastest run since Sam Hill at val di sole world champs. Flat out and on the edge, coming in just down on Minnaar, with an amazing 2nd place. The old guard has their work cut out as the youth keep on pushing.....
Steve Peat in a seriously tight race ended up a solid 11th, looking to build on this for Leogang. Joe Barnes and Frazer both crashed out in their qualis, which left them really dissapointed, but hungry for the next round. Jess Stone is still out with a shoulder injury, but was brave enough to try and qualify, missing out by only 3 spots! She'll be back on form this weekend in Leogang for sure! Adam Brayton and Harry heath both kept it together for a top 50 finish in the finals aswel.
Another amazing event, i'm already psyched for 2012.
Joe
All photos: duncanphilpott.com
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