Lapierre/NukeProof Rider Manon Carpenter's Ft. William Race Report

Fort William was my second world cup and I was feeling pretty ready for it. I had been on study leave for a few weeks previously and as the weather had been so nice I’d spent every day on a bike so I was feeling confident and comfortable on my bike. Walking the DH track on Thursday it looked amazing, they had changed some sections at the top which got rid of a few holes and awkward bits and I couldn’t wait to ride it.

Friday
First practise run down I think I found every hole on the track but once I knew where to go my runs kept getting better and I was really enjoying the track. The weather was lush and the track was bone dry so there were no muddy patches or wet roots to catch you out so you could go flat out! I did a timed run at the end of the day getting a time of 5.37 which wasn’t too far behind some of the top girls so I was happy.

Saturday
Saturday morning in between my practise runs my dad was running around trying to fix my rims because I put a few dents in one or two. Fort William is a killer for rims, I’ve never broken a rim anywhere else! Qualifying went pretty good, I had a moment or two but nothing serious and I got down in 8th place but my run was 1 second slower than my timed run the day before and I was sure I pedalled a lot more, so there was definitely room for improvement. Saturday night after the 4x I had to go back to the hotel to revise as I had As exams on the Monday and Tuesday after the race so that wasn’t ideal!

Sunday – Race day
I was feeling a bit nervous Sunday morning but I think everyone was, and I didn’t even have too much pressure as I was the only junior girl to qualify so I was ahead in points for the junior leaders jersey anyway, but I still wanted to put in a good run so I could see how well I’d do up against the big girls. I left the start hut for my race run 8 riders before the last girl down, Rachel, and when I reached the bottom the screen said I was in 1st place! I was pretty chuffed, top ten at my second world cup was a good achievement, and my dad (and my mum) was over the moon! I placed a run time 5.30 so I went quite a bit faster than my qualifying run even though it had taken me a while to get into my run because I had been trying to go too fast and losing my flow, but once I got going my run was pretty good.
Next up – Leogang! It should be an interesting race because apparently the track is totally new so it will be cool for everyone to start on a level playing field. After Fort William I was 11th in the overall World Cup ranking so now I have to try and scrape into the top ten in that too!
Thanks to everyone who helped me out at the race, everyone from Hotlines who sorted me out with some more rims when I needed them and the Shimano and Fox guys who made sure my bike was in perfect condition, the MMA guys for letting us hang out at their pits and last but not least my dad for sorting out me and my bike, and for running around to all the trade tents to get the best possible help. And my mum for feeding me!