ENWHEN THE WORLD CHEERS YOUR NAME, AGAIN...
2018 World Cup Overall Champion, Amaury Pierron scored his first ever win in front of the legendary rowdy Fort William World Cup crowds last year. Despite the worst weather on record this weekend, they shouted his name even louder as he conquered the famous Scottish course a second time.
It certainly wasn’t without drama as the Commencal Vallnord Downhill Team rider finished an otherwise flawless run with a heart stopping dive for the line with meters to go. Muscling his way back onto two wheels he charged to a 3.5 second winning margin that signaled a powerful return to last years’ form.
I’m super stoked. The bike is working really well and I feel good going into Leogang.
–Amaury Pierron
Troy Brosnan (Canyon Factory Downhill Team) also returned to form with a scorching run that put him on the second step for the day and into the overall lead of the series.
Amaury's teammate, Thibaut Daprela, delivered back-to-back wins for Commencal Vallnord Downhill Team in the Junior field. “I feel great, it’s so good to win in Fort William. I’m super happy, I did a good run, no mistakes and the bike was perfect. So good”.
Amaury Pierron and Thibaut Daprela (Commencal-Vallnord DH), both ride SRAM X01 DH™ drivetrain, SRAM Code RSC brakes, RockShox BoXXer Ultimate 29”, and a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH rear shock.
The Junior women’s category saw a new talent take the reign as SRAM Young Guns new signing Anna Newkirk took the top step. The 18 year old American battled storm lashed rock gardens up top and treacherous mid course woods to score her first ever junior World Cup win.
“I don’t know how to feel right now, it’s just amazing. So happy, really excited. The one race where I wanted to get my first win was Fort William because the crowd here is so amazing, the atmosphere is unreal.”
I’m excited to race in the leaders jersey next week in Leogang with more confidence. The bike feels amazing, totally unreal. I’m really tuned into it
–Anna Newkirk
Anna rides SRAM X01 DH drivetrain, SRAM Code RSC Brakes, RockShox BoXXer Ultimate 27.5”, and a RockShox Vivid R2C rear shock
With little time to let the excitement wear off, it’s a quick turnaround for our racers to rest up and hit reset for the 3rd round of the UCI World Cup DH and XCO next weekend in Leogang, Austria.
Photos by Sven Martin