2002      RUN TO THE HILLS

• World Cup riders have their first introduction to racing in Scotland. They are greeted by rain, mud and midges…it is a classic and sets the tone for years to come.
• Chris Kovarik does the impossible and beats everyone by 14 seconds.
• Tracy Moseley provides the magic and wins the women’s race on a Kona. The crowd go mental.
• Fort William hosts the first ever World Cup 4X race.
• Peaty, on an Orange, crashes out. He gets to the finish with no seat, bent brake levers, and roll–off tape wrapped around his head.
• It is the first time we came to sample the delights of the Cruachen Hotel and our wonderful host Donella.
• 4X finals is a right old mix: Lopes, Gracia, Bootes and Peat. The Frenchman takes it.
• The big, classic names were there…Vouilloz, Giove and Chausson.
• Minnaar on the Global team takes a huge stack in the final.

“I’ve never really ridden down a track like that, it was almost surreal. Half way down it was like ‘fuck me, the Scots are shooting at me’ with firecrackers going off. Incredilble.”           Rob Warner

I guess when most people think of Fort William they think of cold weather, midgies, haggis and kilts. But for me it’s all that and the memory of one of my best performances of my career.

At the very first Fort William World Cup in history, the track was mostly a muddy ‘swamp’ with sections of gravel to make it rideable. It was rough, there were ruts and big holes forming and the weather was horrendous all weekend. My bike was eating the shit up and I knew I was going to do well after I’d had a huge crash in timed runs on the Saturday. I was only eight seconds off Peaty and Nico’s (Vouilloz) fastest timed runs that day. And when I thought about it, my crash was at least 15 seconds long, it was a pretty big one. No one knew that, and I just let my confidence quietly grow.

Come race day, at the top of my final run it was bloody freezing, windy and raining a bit. It even started to snow for the last ten riders. I remember thinking, “what the hell are we doing here in this freezing swamp?” I just wanted to get down the hill as fast as I could to get out of the shitty weather and to get my bumblebee Fox skinsuit off. So I took off out of the gate and pretty much I knew I was on a fast one. As muddy as it was, I wasn’t slowing down. I had a line around every hole or rut. The crowd was like nothing I’d ever heard, they were really into it and it got me pumped. I remember specifically this one Scottish fella in the left hander after the cattle grid. He leant over the tape and his head was pretty much in the berm and he just screamed, “Come on! Have it!”

I had a moment in the first wooded section, the ruts had gotten massive. I had no choice but to hit the main rut which was twice as deep as it was in morning practice. It was a dropping right hander, I hit it foot out, the bottom of my fork legs were scooping up mud, I swear I thought I was going to go over the bars. That section was my main concern, so after that I felt home free. The crowd was so loud coming out of the last woods to the finish, I had no choice but to stand up and sprint. I couldn’t bring myself to sit down. As I came across the finish I had no idea how my time would compare. But after sitting in the hot seat for a while I had won the first Fort William World Cup by 14.3 seconds. I couldn’t believe how much ass kicking I did that day!

Winning my first ever World Cup at Fort William in 2002 is one of my most memorable moments in my career. It was the first year they hosted the event and I became the first British woman to win a downhill World Cup, so it’s a pretty special place for me. Every year since then I have loved every race that has taken place. I feel really proud of our country and especially of all the fans of our sport that make the long drive up there to support us, often in horrible weather conditions! The organisation is also spot on and to have won the WC race of the year so many times is testament to the great job that they do. It’s such a great privilege to ride in front of such loyal and biased home fans, it’s been an amazing experience for the last 10 years!