acadian
is at work..

The Atherton Family Pulls A Hat Trick in Andorra

June 4, 2008

Published by acadian


e.thirteen racers Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton have accomplished a feat that no other family in the mountain bike racing scene can claim: three World Cup gold medals at the second stop of the UCI World Cup series! The Atherton's led the charge in a weekend in which e.thirteen chain retention systems helped riders claim the gold in every contested gravity event.

Dan Atherton led the Animal-Commencal team by picking up his first ever World Cup win in the 4X on Saturday. After Dan's finish, thoughts of an Atherton hat trick were already buzzing through the pits. Every English rider was commenting on the similarity of the Andorran World Cup track to the downhill trails in Wales, where the Atherton family trains regularly. With just enough rain to make the trails muddy, it was perfect weather for the UK siblings.


Rachel Atherton bested the women's downhill field by over eight seconds in the final, after an equally impressive qualifying time that was fourteen seconds faster than the second place qualifier and finisher, Maxxis's Sabrina Jonnier. Two Atherton wins were in the books by mid-afternoon on Sunday, and it was up to Gee to seal the deal.


Gee Atherton qualified first early in the morning qualifying session, then said in an interview, "No one wants to talk to me in the pits, they're all asking where my brother is! The pressure is on me to bring this one home." Obviously two Atherton wins would've been more than enough on the weekend, but the idea of sweeping every category they raced was enough to pull Gee across the line to take the win!

Having qualified first, Gee was the last rider to run, following World Cup points leader Sam Hill. Monster Energy/e.thirteen rider Sam Hill put in an amazing run, pedaling through corners and picking up speed in areas through which most other riders only coasted. He came through a full second ahead of the field, and turned to wait for Gee's run.

When Gee came across the finish line, the entire area erupted with cheers of absolute amazement. Gee had completed the Atherton-dominated weekend with a third gold medal! Racers and fans alike were rushing into the finish area to congratulate the Atherton family. History was made in Andorra.


Aside from the excitement of the Atherton wins, e.thirteen pilot Anneke Beerten picked up another win in women's 4X, followed by her MS-Intense teammate, Mio Suemasa. Norco's Fionn Griffiths came in third, rounding out the podium with e.thirteen riders. Floriane Pugin of the Iron Horse/Playbiker team also stepped onto the podium for a third place finish in the women's downhill.

Congratulations to all four e.thirteen athletes who struck gold in Andorra this weekend at the World Cup, and best of luck next weekend in Fort William!

Fans who watched the World Cup coverage on the e.thirteen website can check back soon to see more information about the new Staccato 8 pedals, as well as a World Cup Tech Session video with MS-Intense mechanic Jerry Schippers, as he walks us through the bike of Matti Lehikoinen. Next week's race from Fort William will also be available to watch live on the e.thirteen website.


About ethirteen components
e.thirteen components is a small, rider-owned and operated company that strongly supports dozens of grassroots races, series, contests and other riding events all over the world every year. Founded in 2001, e.thirteen's innovative, functional, simple and lightweight chain retention systems have made them a world leader in this category, and the choice of top pro and amateur riders and mechanics alike. They support a worldwide distribution network and take great pride in offering devoted customer service.
  • + 20 props
flag downtheline (June 4, 2008 at 14:24) (Below Threshold) show comment
Athertons rule
  • + 8 props
flag ryan-irvine (June 5, 2008 at 3:39) (Below Threshold) show comment
agreed
  • + 8 props
flag dbox123 (June 5, 2008 at 4:42) (Below Threshold) show comment
seconed
  • + 2 props
flag boolmv (June 5, 2008 at 11:58) (Below Threshold) show comment
thired
  • + 9 props
flag freeridejamie (June 4, 2008 at 14:24) (Below Threshold) show comment
saweet! go athertons
  • + 14 props
flag bobzombie (June 4, 2008 at 14:25) (Below Threshold) show comment
go banana!
  • + 16 props
flag Redchilli1984 (June 4, 2008 at 14:32) (Below Threshold) show comment
3 English Golds and not a mention on the news... GO GO GO Athertons!!
  • + 4 props
flag dirtjumpur (June 5, 2008 at 0:54) (Below Threshold) show comment
thats a shame really
  • + 11 props
flag DownhillGaz123 (June 4, 2008 at 14:43) (Below Threshold) show comment
nicee advertising of e-thirteen in there (n)
  • + 14 props
flag joedaho (June 4, 2008 at 14:47) (Below Threshold) show comment
Well it is an e13 press release.....
  • + 2 props
flag wazar (June 4, 2008 at 14:53) (Below Threshold) show comment
when are e13 releasing the next colour series chainguide
  • - 3 props
flag gustofwind (June 4, 2008 at 16:57) (Below Threshold) show comment
watch the vids at freecaster
  • + 4 props
flag northwestdhdad (June 4, 2008 at 19:44) (Below Threshold) show comment
Dan ruled the MTX, destroyed Lopes....so badass.
  • - 16 props
flag yakrider (June 4, 2008 at 19:08) (Below Threshold) show comment
gee ha ha ha what last month it was an add for mpr or pmr or whatever that gay company is, hahaha jk mrp add from pinkbike earlyer now this haha well i guess that's what everything comes down to, the adds giv'in you your money
  • - 10 props
flag yakrider (June 4, 2008 at 20:38) (Below Threshold) show comment
lmfao ad's
  • + 4 props
flag lescart (June 4, 2008 at 23:47) (Below Threshold) show comment
Ive heard they are quite good!
  • + 3 props
flag mctomo (June 5, 2008 at 2:35) (Below Threshold) show comment
bring on fort will (Y)
  • - 2 props
flag olidh (June 5, 2008 at 4:14) (Below Threshold) show comment
fort bill is its name
  • + 6 props
flag dbox123 (June 5, 2008 at 4:43) (Below Threshold) show comment
yes, but its called fort william isnt it dumbass
  • + 0 props
flag elcripple (June 6, 2008 at 15:46) (Below Threshold) show comment
yeh but bill is also short for william and thats what people call fort william
  • + 1 props
flag el-shreddo (June 5, 2008 at 5:41) (Below Threshold) show comment
You´re late, dude. I mean, the whole Show went down on Sunday, it´s wednesday now.
I´m pretty curious how they will go on in Fort William, at least it´s their home soil...
Rachel will rock the show I think, let´s see if the boys can keep up...
  • + 2 props
flag djbruno (June 5, 2008 at 6:38) (Below Threshold) show comment
the best!!!
  • + 2 props
flag nfiorito (June 5, 2008 at 7:45) (Below Threshold) show comment
you have to admit, for only really selling chainguides and some small random parts, e13 makes itself known better than most brands; webcasting the races on their site is a cool idea to get people there, good branding.
  • + 2 props
flag luisriper8 (June 5, 2008 at 9:50) (Below Threshold) show comment
Athertons are the best!!!
  • + 0 props
flag jakh040793 (June 5, 2008 at 11:47) (Below Threshold) show comment
athertons are mint
  • + 3 props
flag holydiver84 (June 5, 2008 at 14:45) (Below Threshold) show comment
The Atherton Rocks and Rachel is HOT

Post A New Comment
Bold Italic Link