Atherton is a champion for her sport, even if her passion means that she is not afraid to identify weaknesses, where she believes they exist. Having discussed areas for improvement, she is quick to celebrate mountain biking’s speed, colour, passion, inclusivity and performance. Downhill, particularly, is a discipline that has escaped the ‘extreme sports’ ghetto and is now correctly identified as a sporting endeavour that requires skill, fitness and courage.

Atherton places herself among a proud tradition of British female downhillers (Tracey Mosely, Manon Carpenter), and waxes lyrical on the increasing depth of the women’s sport, witnessed firsthand during a year beset by injury, in which she was forced to claw her way back to the top, bravely competing in five of seven rounds of the UCI World Cup (and still winning another British title).

“People are really shocked by how big downhill has become, and I say: ‘That’s because it’s cool and it’s wicked fun.’ It gives you such a buzz, such confidence.”

She identifies Tahnée Seagrave as the rising star of the British downhill scene, and admits to being “blown away” by the strength-in-depth of the entire field at women’s World Cups, describing the riders as “really, really capable.”

Downhill is the blue ribband event of mountain biking. In boxing terms, it is the heavyweight title clash; viewed through the prism of track and field, it is the 100m sprint. The combination of eye-blurring speed when things go well, and brutal crashes when things go awry, breeds a gladiatorial aspect in its competitors. It’s not hard to identify the prize fighter in the 65kg figure sat opposite, lost in the folds of her hoodie.

“People are really shocked by how big downhill mountain biking has become, and I say: ‘That’s because it’s cool and it’s wicked fun.’ It gives you such a buzz, such confidence. More and more people are trying it and getting in to the sport. More and more trail centres are popping up, which gives people better access to the sport.

“Ten years ago, unless your parents were willing to drive you up the hill, or you were lucky enough to live near the farmer, you couldn’t really access downhill. Now, you have any number of bike parks to choose from and that’s kind of opened the doors to people that wouldn’t necessarily have had access before. I’m excited to see where mountain biking is going, without being involved in the Olympics, just off its own steam. Mountain biking is an awesome sport.”

From Downhill to Enduro and Beyond

24 Hours of Mind Control

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