Fort William Mountain Biking The Adventure Show

Hello and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

This month, we're at the premier event in the extreme sports calendar here in Scotland,

the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

And what a fantastic weekend of racing here we have for you.

We start with the shoulder-to-shoulder,

argy-bargy of the Four Cross, and then head up the hill

for the longest downhill race of the season -

550 metres in under five minutes.

Incredible racing ahead of us this weekend.

It's so rough. The whole top section is man-made,

so anything that can erode away from it has.

So now what we've got left with is a hard track,

with rocks that are basically sticking out of concrete!

It's pretty fast at the top, and pretty rough,

and it's usually pretty loose too, when it doesn't rain,

so it's kind of like California, where I'm from,

kind of dry and dusty, I guess,

so it's pretty good. I like it.

And there's no shortage of British talent on display this weekend.

In the men's competition, we've got Scott Beaumont going for gold

in the Four Cross. And we've got current world champion Danny Hart

and former world champion Gee Atherton going for it in the downhill.

There's a huge amount of Brits that are doing really well.

You know, there's a handful of guys

from the UK that could win on any day.

So that's a good position to be in,

and I think they're all relatively young that are coming through,

so only going to get better and better.

Also on this month's Adventure Show, we're off out to sea,

to an area not usually associated with kayaking.

But it's got everything an adventurous paddler could wish for.

And Cameron McNeish will be just down the road in Glen Nevis,

for a wild walk in the nearby hills.

But first the action here in Fort William,

where we start with the fantastic, gladiatorial Four Cross.

It's the only way to describe it. It's exciting and really dangerous.

The track itself is very good fun for the riders,

they really enjoy riding on this track.

And it always provides good racing.

The actual layout of the course, the corners that are used,

and just the way it rides.

Always expect the unexpected, you know, crashes, drama and overtakes

is just part and parcel of the Four Cross. It's a head-to-head race,

where we all start at the same time, and you must finish in the top two riders

to transfer to the next round, and that's all there is to it.

A former BMX world champion, Scott Beaumont's been at the forefront

of British Four Cross racing for the past decade.

Britain's leading woman, 23-year-old Katy Curd,

is currently seventh in the world.

One of her greatest strengths is over the jumps,

so she should do well here in Fort William.

Straight out the gate, it's quite technical,

so it's not all about power here, which is good for me.

And then, yeah, it's a bit more rough than usual courses,

so, yeah, it suits my style.

You never know what's going to happen, you could be behind

and the people in front crash, or you could be in front

and you could take yourself out. You've got three other riders

around you, so you've got to be aware of

what you're riding and what they're doing as well.

And we're joining the action in the Four Cross

for the women's semi-final.

And in this year's event, there's a massive British presence

with three Brits in the first semi-final race.

They're up against the reigning world champion Anneke Beerten

from the Netherlands in lane one.

Next to her it's Katy Curd in lane two.

In lane three, 20-year-old Suzanne Lacey, really focused.

Finally, it's 19-year-old Jessica Greaves in lane four.

So, three Brits up against Anneke Beerten. She's the one to beat,

fastest down the track in qualifying.

And just look at the concentration.

And they're off!

Anneke Beerten just gets the edge out of the gate,

and it's Katy Curd pulling up into first position

as they head towards the first... Oh, how did she manage

to stay on there?!

Scuffed it on the jump. But she's lost a shoe, though.

Anneke's making the most of that through her powers, though,

all the way out in front to the rock garden.

Suzanne Lacey in second place, Jessica Greaves in third, and Katy Curd way behind now.

Anneke Beerten hammers on. She's miles in the lead now.

As she heads down into the arena, they're really spread out.

It's going to be Anneke Beerten first by a mile,

with Suzanne Lacey coming in second. What a race for her.

They go through to the final.

Jessica Greaves in third, with Katy Curd fourth.

And holding her leg there, took a pounding at the top of the course,

got her foot stuck in the rear wheel.

So it's Beerten and Lacy through, Greaves and Curd miss out

on a shot at the top spot.

Right now, though, Katy needs to find a shoe.

Ah, there it is.

Time now for the second semi-final, and lining up

in the gate, it's Celine Gros from France in lane one,

Melissa Buhl from the States is next to her in lane two,

Tereza Votavova from the Czech Republic in three.

And another French rider, Melanie Rugin, in lane four.

Celine Gros and Melissa Buhl qualified in second and third place,

so there's going to be a battle on here.

Waiting for the gate to go...

And there it is.

The course is really tricky from the moment they leave the gate.

Over the first few jumps,

and it's looking like Melissa Buhl into the first corner,

with Celine Gros in second place,

Melanie Rugin in third with Votavova in fourth.

As they head down towards the rock garden,

veteran Melissa Buhl is flying over this bumpy section,

but Celine Gros hot on her heels.

But they're well ahead of the rest of the field, Rugin and Votavova.

Into the final stretch and Buhl's just hanging onto first place.

Gros is chasing her down,

she's closing that gap as they charge down into the arena...

But Buhl is just too strong and holds onto that lead.

Yeah, good win for Melissa Buhl, with Gros in second place.

They're both through to the women's final.

Votavova comes down in third,

with Melanie Rugin limping back in fourth place,

with very little left of her rear tyre.

Look at the state of that - this really is a brutal course!

So here we have it, the women's Four Cross final,

and it's favourite Anneke Beerten in lane one,

Melissa Buhl is in two,

Celine Gros in lane three,

and keeping British hopes alive, Suzanne Lacey is in four.

Can Lacey come up with something special here?

But she's up against the big guns.

Gates down and they're off.

Anneke Beerten gets a great start.

Over the initial set of jumps, into the first corner...

And it's Beerten out in front, taking the very fast line,

Buhl's in second, Gros in third, Lacey way back in fourth.

Poor start and the pressure of the final may be taking its toll,

so it's a tight pack of three heading into the rock garden.

Beerten's flying and...

-SUDDEN POP

-What was that? It must be a tyre,

did you hear that? Beerten's blown a tyre!

Melissa Buhl goes thundering through into first place,

with Celine Gros right behind. What a disaster for Beerten,

she's riding on the rim, but the tyre is all over the place.

Suzanne Lacey swoops into third place,

but it's going to be Melissa Buhl over the line first,

with Celine Gros in second and Suzanne Lacey taking third.

Anneke Beerten, fastest qualifier,

has been awesome on the track all the weekend,

but she limps across in fourth place.

What a ride, though, by Melissa Buhl.

Took full advantage and belted past Beerten into the final corner

to take a great win.

I was just trying to stay smooth behind Anneke,

and unfortunately she got a flat. She was riding so awesome tonight,

but that's racing and it happens

-and I'm happy to take the win, I'm stoked tonight, so...

-The atmosphere is amazing,

-and can you hear that up the top before you start?

-Oh, yeah,

I love racing here, it's one of my favourite venues.

And to win here feels amazing.

The huge crowd, the even louder noise and the carnival atmosphere

are what makes Fort William one of the best weekends in the world.

So, confirmation of those final results.

Anneke Beerten from the Netherlands takes fourth place,

Britain's Suzanne Lacey is in third,

French rider Celine Gros comes in second,

with Melissa Buhl from the States

taking top spot.

But what a day for Suzanne Lacey.

Just 20 years old, in her first final,

she's taken a podium place here at Fort William.

Such an amazing experience to ride against them girls,

they're so fast. I love it,

it's amazing, I can't believe it.

When you were sitting on the line before starting,

what were you thinking? Was it important to get a good finish

-or were you thinking, "Let's get through this?"

-"Let's get through this,

"I want to get down, top to bottom." I had not a very good start,

but somehow managed to get third place, it's just amazing.

A fantastic result there for Suzanne Lacey.

Since 2002, the Fort William Four Cross has been part

of the UCI World Cup Series.

This year, they decided to drop it from their schedule.

But no-one wanted to lose the spectacular event,

so enthusiasts Scott Beaumont and Chris Roberts started a new event,

the Four Cross Pro Tour.

It was a shock to everyone, I think, in the world.

The reaction online was, you know, on all the forums,

and all the e-mails we were getting,

and obviously telephones calls

and everything else was of shock and horror, really.

We were as shocked as anyone else,

but at the same time saw it as an opportunity to pick up the reins

and inject what we feel was a little bit more passion.

We're very passionate about Four Cross, we believe in the sport,

we enjoy doing the sport and we wanted to inject that enthusiasm

and passion back into it, take it to the next level, as it were,

from where it's been in the past.

Scott Beaumont is also one of the leading British men's Four Cross racers.

Today he's up against the world's best.

And in this discipline, it's the Czech riders to watch out for.

They always do well.

I've been here, like, ten times

and always it's good to race here, you know.

Yesterday we had the qualification, I had a good qualification run,

and it's always a place where there's always such a big crowd,

pushing you down the hill, so it's awesome to race here.

So to the final heats of the men's Pro Tour Four Cross,

and it's time for the first semi-final.

In lane one, it's a young British rider, Isaac Mundy.

Just 18 years old today, he's up against the big boys

and he knows it.

He's standing next to fastest qualifier Tomas Slavik in lane two,

and donning the stripes in lane three is reigning world champion

and fellow Czech, Michael Prokop.

Finally in lane four, it's the French rider Quentin Derbier.

So, Mundy's got it all to do against Derbier

and the two Czech heavyweights, All eyes on the gate...

They're off. Held for a wee while, now powering down the course.

And that's a blistering start by Slavik,

Prokop's in second place,

but he's under real pressure from Isaac Mundy in third,

Derbier currently in fourth.

Out in front it's Slavik, really fast and low over the jumps there,

leading them into the corner and down towards the rock garden.

At the back Derbier is closing the gap on Mundy.

It's a tight pack of four thundering over the rocks

taking big air from the jumps and heading towards the bottom of the course.

And Slavik holding onto the lead, looking really strong,

has a little glance back there, but he's safe.

It's going to be Slavik over the line in first position,

Prokop second, Mundy in third, and Derbier in fourth.

So, Slavik and Prokop through to the final.

Lining up for the second semi-final is Joost Wichman

from the Netherlands in lane one. Next to him

is his team-mate Petrik Bruckner from Germany.

Britain's Scott Beaumont's in lane three.

And finally in lane four is Czech rider Jakub Riha.

So with Isaac Mundy knocked out in the first semi-final,

all British hopes lie with Scott Beaumont.

And they're away, neck and neck out of the gate.

Oh, no, Scott Beaumont's down in a clash of bars at the first jump!

That must surely be it for him.

Wichman's in first place, with Bruckner in second,

Jakub Riha right behind in third, but Beaumont's way back on his bike,

but it must be too far for him to get back into the race. It's Wichman over the rocks, though.

Bruckner glances behind, and that looks like a wee tumble by Riha

in the rock garden, yes, it is.

So, it's the boys in the matching jerseys

and matching bikes pounding down to the bottom of the course.

Joost Wichman first,

Petrik Bruckner second. They'll go through to the final.

And Riha and Beaumont are out.

So, here it is, the four fastest men down the track

lining up for the final.

Joost Wichman's lane one,

Tomas Slavik's in lane two, Petrik Bruckner next to him in lane three.

And current world champion Michael Prokop in lane four.

This really is a world-class line-up.

I wouldn't want to call it, any of these guys could win.

And it's off. Very tight, but Slavik just has the edge over the jump.

Oh, but he slightly overcooked it, that could cost him.

Prokop's not going to let that one go, he's away.

Slavik just holds onto second place, Bruckner right behind him

battling in third, with Wichman currently in fourth.

One little dab there in the corner by Bruckner.

They hammer into the rock garden - Prokop, Slavik, Bruckner,

not much between them. Wichman, though, way behind.

Prokop is flying, very fast line there.

But Slavik has cut the corner and he's over the flag...

And then Bruckner through into second.

It's Prokop well in front, though, he's over the line first,

takes first place. What a ride by the Czech.

World champion and winner here at Fort William.

Bruckner's in second,

but today there was no-one to touch Michael Prokop.

I pedalled as hard as I could,

and suddenly I see Tomas and Joost, he got tangled, so...

I just passed him and tried to be smooth till the finish line.

So, confirmation of those final results.

Czech rider Thomas Slavik finished fourth,

Joost Wichman from the Netherlands

is in third.

Second place went to the German rider Petrik Bruckner,

and over the line first to take top spot

is the amazing Michael Prokop

from the Czech Republic.

We'll be back with the fast and furious action

here at Fort William shortly.

Right now, we're joining Cameron McNeish, as he takes to the hills

at a more leisurely pace.

I'm in Glen Nevis in Lochaber.

And the hill I want to climb today

is a hill that many people every year mistake for Ben Nevis,

Britain's highest mountain.

They look up the length of Glen Nevis

and they see this big rounded hill at the end,

its summit slopes glistening like snow.

Except that it's not snow. It's quartzite. And it's not Ben Nevis,

it's a hill called Sgurr a' Mhaim, an outlier up to the main Mamores ridge.

Nobody's going to see very much of it today unfortunately,

because it's just a wee bit cloudy, but to be a hill walker in Scotland,

you have to be an optimist.

And I'm hoping that in the course of the day the mist will dissipate

and we might even get some views.

Most hill walkers climb Sgurr a' Mhaim by the Ring of Steall,

a circular walk that starts below the waterfall on Upper Glen Nevis.

But today we're taking a more direct route up Coire a' Mhusgain,

with its beautiful indigenous trees, birch and rowan.

It'll take us up into the upper corrie.

And from there we'll access Sgurr a' Mhaim itself

by the dramatically-named Devil's Ridge.

As I climb up the corrie, the scenery's becoming more dramatic by the minute,

as the mist swirls round these big buttresses ahead of us.

Pretty special.

It's a lovely still and mild morning,

and you think there's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be.

And then the devil himself raises his head,

in the form of tens of thousands of these biting insects

that we lovingly call midges.

IRRITABLY: Oh...

I've climbed up out of Coire a' Mhusgain onto the main Mamore's ridge,

and Stob Ban is up there somewhere.

Sgurr a' Mhaim is over there somewhere, I can't really see very much because of the mist.

But it could be a lot worse actually.

I'm now on the main crest of the Mamore ridge,

which takes in no less than 11 Munros.

And, as I mentioned earlier, Sgurr a' Mhaim is slightly out on a limb,

so we have to cross the Devil's Ridge to get out to it.

So that's not too far. I'm just going to have a cup of coffee and something to eat,

do a bit of navigation, because I think it'll be map and compass work

when we get onto this narrowest section of the route across the Devil's Ridge.

The Mamores is one of the great classic ridges in Scotland.

I did it when I was a youngster, 17 or 18 or something like that.

We started very early in the morning and got to the final summit by evening.

But then we'd to walk back down the whole length of Glen Nevis.

It was a big, big day, but it really was an amazing experience.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the mountain gods are on your side.

And when you're not quite sure where you are,

the mist just lifts enough to let you see exactly where you are.

And that's the start of the Devil's Ridge.

It's quite a dramatically named ridge, as you can imagine,

the Devil's Ridge.

And you expect something that's really, really difficult

and quite risky. In actual fact, it isn't.

But in wintertime it's a different proposition entirely

when it's covered in snow and ice, you have to be pretty careful,

and pretty skilled in the use of an ice axe and crampons

and all the rest of it, so very much a different ball game in winter.

It's not technically difficult,

but it is a wee bit slippery here and there.

Oh, I had a little moment there, and there's nothing to stop you.

If you went down, it's a long way to the corrie bottom.

And that was the Devil's Ridge. Not too bad, eh?

Plus there's a sting in the tail at the end,

a 100-metre climb from the top of the Devil's Ridge

up onto the summit of Sgurr a' Mhaim at 1,099 metres.

And I wish I could tell you how wonderful the view is.

But I can't, because I can't see the view for the cloud.

But you'll just have to take it from me that it's a tremendous viewpoint,

with Ben Nevis across there, the Aonachs, and the Grey Corries and the Mamores stretching down behind,

Glen Nevis stretching out down towards Fort William.

It's fantastic, and you'll just have to come up

and have a look at it for yourself.

Pick a good day, come up and see this fantastic viewpoint

because it's well worthwhile.

But for me, it's now a long, knee-grinding descent

back into Glen Nevis, so see you next time.

Welcome back to the action here

at the Fort William Mountain Bike World Cup.

Now, it's time for the downhill.

Top to bottom, it's nearly three kilometres,

with 550 metres descent,

and the best guys get down in less than five minutes.

It's certainly quite a ride.

We asked former world champion and previous winner at Fort Bill,

Steve Peat, to show us how it's done.

When you're at the top of the track warming up for your final run,

people looking on that from the outside,

you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

Everybody's getting in their own zone,

getting in the right mindset to have that perfect run down the track.

You can win or lose a race by milliseconds,

so it's just 100% focus.

And we're off, straight into a pedalling part on the track.

Nice little jump just here for the fans.

What a rock... You've got to sit up for these turns.

'You know how fast you've got to go,'

you've been those speeds before, but when you're putting it together in a full run

there are definitely some hairy moments when you're trying to make up those seconds

and split seconds against the other guys.

There's a real rough section here, it speeds up again here.

You can see just how rough it is.

'You've done your practise runs, you know every rock, root, wind, tree.

'Every single thing on that course, so you've just got to try and put the best run you can together.'

Yeah, a little bit sort of steeper down this section,

but the key is to just link all these turns together.

Try and stay out of the big holes, the big rough stuff.

'The speed on this track is pretty high speed, but it feels good.

'It feels good for me, I'm used to doing it.

'You can gauge whether you're on a good or bad run sometimes,

'You might have a little slip, and it puts a bit of pressure on

'to get back up to speed quick.' Whoa!

A bit of a moment there for me!

Yeah, I'm pretty tired by this part of the track.

It's the only bit of sort of wood that's rooty and rocky.

I'm coming to a road gap here.

Quite a big road gap but easy to do. Motorway section.

Gets up to speed really fast. Yeah.

We're coming to the new big jumps.

KLAXON

That one's a big one. Up and into the finish.

This is where the crowd go crazy on race day.

There it is, full run down Fort William.

Steve Peat showing us just how it should be done.

We're going to start with the women's downhill.

And British hopes are high with Tracy Moseley and Rachel Atherton,

both former world champions taking part, flying the flag for the UK.

But they'll face stiff competition from overseas riders.

The French, they've got a lot of good riders,

and we try and keep them off the top step as much as we can.

But we're all quite friendly, which is nice, you know.

I used to be quite vicious, but I think you get a bit older and you chill out a little bit.

You're racing against each other. You always want to beat everybody.

And how big a deal would it be for you to top the podium at the end of the day?

Well, I'm not going to lie, I want the win so much here.

I just... I don't know, it would mean the whole world.

Rachel's main British opponent is Tracy Moseley.

Twice world champion, Tracy's won here at Fort William five times.

But now she's concentrating on other cycling disciplines.

In fact, this is her first downhill race this season.

For someone who's at the top of her sport, why change?

It got to the point where I finally achieved everything I wanted to do in the sport.

I won the World Championships, had a great year last year

winning the World Cup overall and four rounds of the World Cup.

So it was kind of a perfect year,

and it was like, "I guess this is a good time to stop."

So, yeah, it was a hard decision to make, but at some point...

You can't race forever, and I've had a pretty amazing run of it.

I decided that I wanted to take a break and move directions,

and still wanted to race.

So this year I've been doing more cross country and endurance-based stuff,

but I couldn't resist coming back to race at Fort William

cos it's been such an amazing place to me over my career.

At 33, Tracy is one of the older competitors here.

But there's a number of up-and-coming young riders.

22-year-old Jessica Stone recently swapped a career

as a professional footballer for mountain biking,

and she's already competing against the veterans at the highest level.

It's just an absolute honour really,

to be able to say I can ride with these people.

They've been so high up in the sport, and Tracy Moseley as well,

she's a legend in the sport of downhill mountain biking for women.

So, you know, to do runs with her this weekend as well

and follow her and learn from her is just such a great thing.

So you had a difficult sporting career choice to make?

I had the dream of being an England football player,

and the opportunity arose with a new sport.

And wow, you know, that's a pretty incredible sport,

and I saved up for my bike and gave it a go.

And instantly, from the first day that I rode,

I just knew it was the sport for me, and I've not regretted the decision at all.

Look where I am, I'm travelling the world riding a bicycle.

I mean, you can hardly complain really, can you? So it's great.

Jessica did well in yesterday's qualifying round,

where she was 12th fastest on the course.

But with the rain pouring down

and conditions at the top of the hill tricky,

she didn't manage to pick up enough speed to challenge the top riders.

Into the arena at the bottom, and that was a disappointing result.

She's already almost 19 seconds behind the current leader,

but undoubtedly we'll see lots of her in the years ahead.

One of the strong young French riders

is 26-year-old Emmeline Ragot.

She's the current world champion,

but has never won here at Fort William.

I think it's bigger... and I'm a bit small,

so it's hard for me to carry spin.

And especially on the bottom parts.

I try to go quicker on the technical parts so I can...

yeah, get some time.

And we're picking up the action in the women's downhill final,

as Emmeline Ragot hurtles down the course.

And Duncan McCallum's up there in the mist and the rain.

Wearing number one, having won the first few races of the season.

Absolutely flying,

showing the other girls who have been before her how it's done.

Fearless performance so far from Emmeline.

Was the Elite World Downhill Champion in 2009.

Very, very fast.

Absolutely the fastest we've seen so far.

That could well be a winning time we're witnessing.

Very, very impressive so far.

So, here comes Emmeline Ragot the Frenchwoman.

My goodness, she's absolutely flying! Well inside Celine Gros' time,

Emmeline Ragot, seventh place in Fort William 2011,

but she has got the power to get first this year, absolutely flying.

What a time that is, incredible for Emme Ragot.

Fourth in the UCI world ranking,

but will she be top at the end of play here today in Fort William?

Next up at the start gate is Britain's Tracy Moseley.

And with 5:27:01 to beat, she'll have to give it everything.

This is the biggest hill we've got in the UK

and we don't get to ride here that frequently.

And the rest of our tracks are two, three minutes long.

When you get to a World Cup race, it's five, six minutes long.

It's rough, technical. It's proper mountainous terrain.

And we don't get to ride on that stuff a lot of the time.

-MAN IN CROWD:

-Go on, Tracy!

So on the course now, Britain's Tracy Moseley,

who has not raced downhill this year.

She's been concentrating on other things, long enduro.

She was the 2011 British champion,

has won in Fort William in 2002, '05, '06, '08, and '11.

Tracy loves this place, always gets a huge amount of support.

Now racing for her own team, TMO.

A little scrub of the back brake there to keep the back end of the bike down before the big drop off.

Phenomenal technique even in desperate conditions like this. KLAXONS

And the big noise is that Tracy Moseley is on the course.

She's way down on Emmeline, but she is still pretty fast.

As she drops into the arena, the crowd go absolutely mental.

Big, big welcome from the Fort William crowd for this woman.

Just so dominant in the early and middle 2000s here at Fort William...

But she has had a mechanical. She's 15 seconds down.

She actually goes straight into second place, Tracy Moseley,

hasn't raced a downhill this year.

And she's back, and she's back and meaning business.

She looks absolutely exhausted.

Wow! What a run for her.

And at the top of the course next up is another young French rider,

Floriane Pugin.

Floriane came second in the World Cup last year,

and third place in Fort William.

He knows the course well, very young rider aged 23,

currently ranked third in the world.

Riding in the yellow, the Scott team.

Absolutely flying, this looks like a good ride.

Just as you can see, there's not so much movement in the suspension,

the bike is keeping light.

Trying to skip over all the little obstacles.

Just letting it drift.

A lovely, lovely rider, she's so smooth when she needs to be,

and she breaks lots air when she needs to as well,

but has she got a problem? Is that slowing her down?

Here she comes.

Well, you'd normally expect Floriane Pugin to be

bigger off that jump at the top of the Scotland Arch,

she's just rolling things down.

She was eleven-and-a-half seconds down on our leader,

but will she knock Tracy Moseley off of second place?

Yes, she will! Floriane Pugin, winner here in 2007

when she became junior world champion,

currently sitting in second place.

At the Downhill World Cup at Fort William

there's two riders still to come.

And next is another French girl, Myriam Nicole.

Myriam's currently in the top five,

but she's never won here at Fort William.

It's a really fast course, it's really rough as well.

There is many rocks.

But that's the coolest tracks,

That's one of the best tracks in the world and everyone loves being here.

Myriam Nicole who is the French national champion,

ranked second in the world this year,

came fourth in Fort William in 2011.

Very technical, very smooth rider.

She's in good form, a consistent top ten finisher

in all her major World Cup races.

Absolutely terrific line there, very smooth,

missed out a whole bunch of the rocks.

She's scoped this course out very well.

she looks very, very solid so far.

Myriam Nicole was the 2008 junior world champion,

finished fifth in the senior World Championship last year,

but she had a couple of World Cup wins as well, one in France and one in Canada.

And has she got the power, has she got the ability,

has she got the strength to win here

in Fort William to get her first victory of 2012?

She was eight seconds down in the second split,

she'll have to absolutely fly the bottom half of this course.

It's almost too big a ask.

Yes, it is! Nine-and-a-half seconds behind Emmeline Ragot,

but she got second fastest,

which pushes Tracy Moseley off the top three.

And it means it's France one, two, three here in Fort William,

and the only person that can do anything about it

is Rachel Atherton.

It's definitely slipped away from me a few times here before, the win.

But I think almost that helps. I've had experiences

of pretty much everything that Fort William can throw at you,

you know, nerves, the crowd and weather and all sorts.

So hopefully I'm well-prepared for today.

World champion in 2008, World Cup Series winner in 2008,

came second here last year, Britain's Rachel Atherton,

from the famous Atherton dynasty,

currently ranked number one in the world,

coming out last here in Fort William.

Hoping for a podium place

here in front of what is essentially her home crowd,

Rachel now riding for GT.

-MAN IN CROWD:

-Come on, Rachel!

The consummate professional, a tall, rangy, strong rider.

Huge support on the top of the hill for Rachel,

and that looks very, very good.

It looks like a nice ride here on the top of the course.

Rachel Atherton is up on Emmeline Ragot at the first split.

She's finished second here far too often.

She's lost a lot in the middle, but what can she do at the bottom?

A lot of noise as she comes down. She has to power on now, though.

Rachel, you have to really go for it!

She said earlier on today it would mean the world to win here

at Fort William. Power on down, Rachel, if you are going to do it.

-ANNOUNCER:

-It's going to be close!

-Oh, just outside!

Rachel Atherton finishes second again,

for the second year in a row. And that's what it means to her.

she tried everything to get to the top of the podium.

But Emmeline Ragot was sensational.

But my goodness, Atherton gave it her all.

But Ragot is the champion here at Fort William,

and what a ride it was.

Emmeline, an absolutely fantastic ride, congratulations.

I just tried to not go to too crazy, knowing the limit,

controlled everything,

cos because it was pretty slippery on the top and muddy in the woods.

I made a mistake, I almost cried,

but I didn't get stressed, so that was good.

But yeah, really hard conditions actually,

because on the bottom section, it's really soft and it's really hard to pedal.

I can see Rachel pedal really hard on the bottom,

and I am like, "I'm done!" It was OK.

Great news for Emmeline Ragot,

but it's yet another second place at Fort William for Rachel Atherton.

She is gutted and doesn't want to talk to anyone.

So, confirmation of those final results,

and it's the French and British

dominating the podium.

In fifth place, Tracy Moseley made it down in a time of 5:41:34.

Fourth, Floriane Pugin in 5:38:78.

Third place goes to Myriam Nicole

with 5:36:05.

Rachel Atherton's in second

with a time of 5:28:04.

But just a second ahead

is Emmeline Ragot,

with that fantastic run of 5:27:08.

The World Cup is the biggest mountain biking event in Britain,

and this year is on the route of the Olympic flame.

Former world champion and five-times winner here

at Fort William, Tracy Moseley has the honour of being a torchbearer.

Pretty amazing to get a chance to ride a little bit of the course

one-handed with the torch. Really cool.

Sadly it's not part of the Olympics,

but it's still an amazing opportunity

to be part of a big sporting spectacle and a great year for the country

to have the Olympics here. So it's pretty special to combine it

with the biggest race in the UK. It's been amazing.

Was there ever a lobby to get downhilling as part of the Olympics?

I actually don't know the politics behind it.

I think a lot of it's down to the location, being able to hold

a downhill in all the different places they go to with the Olympics year after year,

so I think that's one reason. Also they don't want to increase the number of sports,

so someone has to lose out for a new sport to get taken on board.

It would be amazing,

I think you can see the support the sport gets at this race every year.

It's growing, people love to watch it.

It'd be amazing to see it as part of the Olympics, but hopefully

-that's something that will happen in the future, we'll see.

-That would indeed be great news.

We'll be back with the men's downhill shortly.

Right now, though, we're leaving the action at Fort William

and we're heading out to sea for a very different kind of adventure.

We've joined Doug Cooper,

an instructor at our National Outdoor Centre, Glenmore Lodge,

on Scotland's northeast coast.

This isn't the best known destination for sea kayakers,

but it's one of Doug's favourites.

We're at Portknockie Harbour here, which is on the east coast,

and we've got the Moray Firth out there.

And we're here cos the weather's always fantastic on the east coast.

It's an amazing bit of coastline.

And many people generally go in the sea paddling across the west coast and the islands,

which, sure, is world class.

But on the east coast, which is kind of my local coastline,

there's lots of absolute hidden gems.

And those hidden gems can involve the beaches,

the beautiful local harbours, which have a fantastic amount of history

with the fishing industry of the past.

We've got the Moray Firth dolphins out there who live and reside

kind of on the east coast and there are a lot in the Moray Firth,

so hopefully we may see some dolphins.

And just round the corner, the cliff architecture is second to none.

So why do I like sea kayaking?

It's definitely the variety. It's just fantastic.

I can go out for a day with a group of friends for a social, mellow paddle,

I can go out and see a whole variety of wildlife,

and you can chose to push your limits as much as you feel comfortable.

So you can be dodging around the rocks, playing in the tide races,

the surf, or looking for flat, calm conditions.

And you see the coastline

from an angle which you can only see and explore from a sea kayak.

It's just an amazing playground,

all within, like, 2K of this section, isn't it? As good as it gets.

I come across here pretty regularly. For myself, it's great,

but if I get a chance, I'll bring groups out here

for kind of two or three K's worth of paddling.

It's absolutely stunning and loads people can learn and enjoy it.

It's brilliant.

In some ways, you feel very exposed to the environment

because you are sat on a moving body of water,

you are in amongst rocks, you're around and about wildlife.

So you're very much living as part of the environment,

and moving as part of it, and it demands a huge amount of respect.

But from that respect, you see the coastline

from that unique perspective, from a height where you are

very much in amongst it and part of it.

So, the great thing about paddling along these bits of coastline

is the rock-hopping potential, and what we've got coming up here

is kind of a gap between a bit of rocks, we've got some swell coming through.

We've got a bit of an easterly swell running today.

So there's a lot of sport to be had dodging the rocks

and timing it well with the swell.

One of the key things is patience and standing it off a little bit,

watching what the swell's doing, cos timing is the art

to good rock-hopping, so that you've time to go

when the swell's appropriate,

as opposed to when the swell could cause you a little bit of hassle.

The sea is a potentially incredibly unforgiving environment,

so anybody venturing out on it definitely needs to be aware

of the safety considerations and get the appropriate training

and learn what's required.

With that knowledge and choosing the right days and knowing the weather

and the tides, then you've got a limitless playground

and you can bite as much or as little a challenge as you wish.

This is Bow Fiddle Rock,

quite a unique bit of rock architecture, as you can see,

and a complete hidden gem. It's fantastic, eh?

Fantastic!

When you land, you can enjoy the landing kind of area

and have your picnic, your packed lunch, it's great.

And just sat having your sandwich,

taking in the environment a little bit more is brilliant.

Lots of the coves along here, the only way you can land on it

is by a craft like a sea kayak,

so you'll always feel as if you're the first person perhaps ever there

because the sea will wash away the footsteps

and you're arriving there as if it was for the first time.

But certainly not many people have been there before.

Load your boat and then you're self-contained,

and whether it's a single day or multi-day, you're self-contained,

you're your own boss and your life revolves around the weather

and the environment, the friends you're with

and the food and the drink you've got,

and the simplicity of that is fantastic.

Having been lucky enough to paddle all over the world,

I consistently come back to Scotland

and think you don't get much better than this for what it offers.

To find out more about what's on offer

at our National Outdoor Centre, Glenmore Lodge,

and to keep up-to-date with The Adventure Show,

follow us on Facebook.

Well, welcome back to Fort William and the Mountain Bike World Cup.

We're preparing now for the men's downhill.

Rachel Atherton was disappointed in the women's,

but her brother Gee is in action here,

as is Danny Hart and Mark Beaumont flying the flag for the UK.

But expect strong challenges from Aaron Gwin, the American,

and last year's winner Greg Minnaar.

It's really challenging, as you don't know where your rivals are.

When you're on track, you're by yourself.

You don't have time to make a mistake and catch up

cos you can't see where your competitor is,

you've got to nail everything at 100%.

And if you don't make it 100%,

you've got to catch that 100% back up, so it's a tough thing to do.

Mentally it's hard,

and at the end of the day you've just got to ride as hard as you can,

as fast as you can down this hill.

Every year the track's a little bit different

and riders ride a little different, so it's always a new challenge.

So, just trying to focus on this weekend,

and just putting together the best run that I can.

It's pretty physical. We just did the first longer run just now

and you'll be pretty tired at the bottom.

In this competition, it's not just about speed.

The condition of the track means riders must adjust their technique.

It's something Britain's Gee Atherton is fully aware of.

Yesterday, we were racing a track that was dusty, dry.

You know, as fast as Fort William every gets really.

And we wake up today and it's almost a different track,

6so we've had a short amount of practise

to try to get used to the course. But race-wise, I think it's going

to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, so to speak.

Will it hold the track together given it's now a bit wetter?

Cos it was so dusty the last few days.

Yeah, it was really dusty. At the top it was breaking up,

it was crumbling, and traction was a bit of an issue.

But now the top section's probably just as fast as yesterday,

minus the visibility issues on your goggles.

The bottom sections, well, it's changing all the time.

I don't know what's going to happen there, really.

This is a sport where the Brits do really well.

One young rider who hit the big time in 2011

is 21-year old Danny Hart from Redcar.

He flew down the course at Fort William last year

to snatch second place. Now he's the current world champion.

I come here every year, a couple of times a year.

And it's just a bonus to have the stripes round my waist, you know,

so, yeah, it's good. I mean, like I said, I've been saying

that was last year now and this is this year

and a whole other ball game. So, everyone's going fast

and that's how it is, and I'm world champion.

How big a deal would it be for you to stand on top of the podium

-at the end of the downhill?

-If I wanted to do it anywhere,

at World Cup, this would be the World Cup to do it in, so...

it would be like a dream come true.

Nothing is certain in downhill mountain biking,

and one of today's surprises is that yet another Brit, Mark Beaumont,

had the fastest time in the qualifying rounds.

It's always awesome to be here racing in Fort William,

and, you know, probably one of my favourite events for the year.

And I'm sure a lot of the riders would agree with me,

it's one of the best World Cups each year.

As far as my riding, yeah, it's been going pretty good,

good practice, course is good,

and I managed to qualify first.

No Fort William would be the same

without the doyenne of British mountain biking, Steve Peat.

We're joining the action for the 2012 men's final

as he prepares for the 550 metres of descent.

He had a bad crash in qualifying yesterday

and is riding with a torn hamstring.

It's one of those sports that's so tough, you've just got to

go as hard as you can to the finish line

and hope you've done well. You never know what the other guys have done,

cos they're setting off at different times from you.

It's one of those sports that's very individual,

where you've got to have 100% focus on yourself

and get to the bottom as quick as possible,

cos you never know what the other guys are going to do.

And the rider who needs almost no introduction here,

52 World Cup podiums to his name so far,

it's the legend that is Steve Peat.

He is the legend that has really started British downhill riding.

Ever-popular, ever-strong, ever-competitive,

always has time for people. He's going very slow,

it looks like he's already completely ripped up the back tyre.

There's something wrong here...

He's maybe had a fall, but that is not the Steve Peat

we see normally competing here.

Conditions are worsening,

and in the fog Steve Peat slid off the course higher up,

aggravating his injury.

And with competitors set off at minute intervals,

already the next rider, Aaron Gwin, is set to go.

Currently ranked number one in the world, fifth here last year.

One of the hot favourites today.

Very, very strong rider from the States.

Number one on the bike, hopefully number one on the podium.

Big, big wide handle bars there, wider than normal.

He's going to overtake Steve Peat for sure.

And Aaron is smooth, collected.

Looks like a very economical rider.

So, we're looking for Steve Peat at the top of the hill,

riding with a torn hamstring.

But Aaron Gwin is coming down,

he's way inside of the second split, doing incredibly well.

He's wearing the black jersey of the World Cup leader at the moment.

He's nine, ten seconds inside, watch him go through here.

Aaron Gwin, that is fantastic! 4:48:21 for Aaron Gwin,

currently leading the World Cup Downhill,

and he's currently in first place. Number one on his back...

He could well finish number one at the end of today

with that performance. 'And at last here's Steve Peat.

'Despite really bad luck and a poor time,

'he's still a hero with the Fort William crowd.

'Back at the top, next up it's Josh Bryceland from Manchester.

'He now rides on the same team as Steve Peat and Greg Minnaar.

'He's definitely the new kid on the block.'

There's always an apprentice in a workplace

who gets, you know, not picked on,

but I get the brunt of all the abuse.

But it's good fun, it's character-building. Yeah, we keep it light-heated.

Josh Bryceland, aged 22, ranked 16th in the world.

Josh, very tall, rangy, rangy rider in the model of Steve Peat.

That looks very solid.

Just stood up a little bit there,

a little bit nervous about that drop-off, maybe.

Bending the bike over, pushing out of these berms,

trying to get the maximum out of the bike on the course,

trying to accelerate out of the corners

and keep the speed up and the intensity.

Looking very good indeed is Josh Bryceland from Manchester.

He was just four-and-a-half seconds outside Aaron Gwin.

-Can he pick it up down the bottom?

-EMCEE:

-It's Miami Bryce!

They call him Miami Bryce! He's such a talented rider,

racing since the age of 10, now 22.

Extremely talented, extremely experienced, but what's he got?

Oh, second for Josh Bryceland!

Wow, that's very nice indeed.

There you go, there's the point

to the boys on the podium.

He means business, Josh Bryceland in second.

'So Aaron Gwin's safe in the winner's seat,

'but some of the big names are still to come.

'Next down it's Sam Hill,

'and, in typical Australian style, he's keen to keep things cool.'

Yeah, I think you can over-try and make mistakes and it ends up...

probably end up going slower than if you just back it off a bit

and ride at your ability and try and stay smooth.

Especially on a big, rough track like this,

it's important to stay out the holes,

and if you're going flat-out and off your line and hit every hole,

it just takes all your energy

and you end up going slower at the bottom.

On the course now is the downhill phenomenon that is Sam Hill,

World Championship winner in 2007 and again in 2010.

Had a couple of bad crashes in 2011, still recovering from injury,

but he is now back on top form here,

absolutely loves the Fort William course.

An incredible rider. One of the few riders

still to be riding flat pedals.

There's no clip in here, just sticky rubber and very, very sharp pedals.

Supremely technical rider, always known for his unusual lines.

One of the finest rides many people have ever seen in the rain

was back in 2007 when Sam Hill won the World Championship

at Fort William.

He absolutely loves it when it's wet and muddy and horrible.

One of the most talented riders on a bicycle.

What's he got, Sam Hill?

Ninth place last year

-at Fort William, what's he got?

-EMCEE:

-Last jump!

Oh, it's second place for the Australian!

He rides that bike and that kit, the pink and yellow kit,

goes onto eBay and all his stuff

gets sold off for Cancer Research. Really talented boy, Sam Hill.

That ride's pushed Josh Bryceland into third place.

But there are still three Brits to go.

And it's Danny Hart up next on what is effectively a home track.

I've been up here doing a lot of preparation

and feeling strong up there.

It's one of my favourite tracks of the year,

and a fast track, which is good for me.

Lay off the brakes and away you go.

And on the course now, barely visible in the cloud of Nevis Range,

is Danny Hart, the world champion in 2011.

Danny has been riding bikes pretty much all his life,

rides motocross, cross country, swims.

He is a world, world-class rider,

and he's just starting his career, really.

At 21, he is the future of British downhill riding.

Very, very smooth and quick.

It must be extremely difficult to see now, very low cloud,

damp, cold conditions here in Nevis Range.

Well, Danny Hart was given special dispensation to race

in the downhill series in the UK when he was just 10-years-old.

Just one second out on the split,

can he pull it out in the bottom half of the course?

Here he comes, smoothing it up.

It's beautiful! What's he got left?

Come on, Danny, power it all the way to the line!

Is it enough? Oh, just outside!

Less than a second, 0.83 outside Aaron Gwin.

He made up some time right at the bottom.

Look at him there, look at him there, such a popular rider,

Does so well here at Fort William.

'Just two more riders to go.

'Next up, Gee Atherton, someone who's hugely experienced

'on this course.'

Another rider on the course,

it is Gee Atherton, ranked sixth in the world,

fourth here last year in 2011,

and he was the downhill world champion in 2008.

Gee from the famous family is on the top part of the course,

coming through the mist.

Riding very, very well this year,

has been riding at the upper levels of the World Cup circuit

for many years now,

Gee is flying in the upper part of the course.

It must be very difficult to see your line now.

This is almost going to be riding by instinct.

The 2009 world champion, the 2010 World Cup Champion,

Gee Atherton is absolutely flying down this course.

But it's not enough, is it?

Unless he makes a lot up in the bottom section of this course.

Four seconds down on the second split,

he really will have to power everything,

give it everything he's got.

He said he likes the long physical courses.

He finishes third.

So, quite extraordinary. 4:50:72.

So, it's Aaron Gwin,

Danny Hart and Gee Atherton,

and the only man that can make any difference to that right now

is Mark Beaumont, who's still to come.

Mark Beaumont, the last and fastest

rider here in qualification yesterday, ranked 11th in the world.

Mark has been riding on the World Cup tour for many years, now 28.

Has suffered a little bit in the past

from a little bit of lack of confidence, but has been a consistent strong rider.

Certainly in the last 18 months his riding has improved

and he's reached top form again. Oh, a big stall there.

There's something wrong here...

-FAN:

-Go on, lad. Go on.

It might not be Mark's day today, that is going to cost him.

CHEERING The crowd will be cheering him down,

he's a firm favourite is Mark.

But it might be a little bit of a lost cause

unless he pulls something super special out of the bag here.

FRANTIC CHEERING

Mark Beaumont is 18 seconds down in the first split,

and he will not get that back.

What a shame for Mark Beaumont.

He qualified in the fastest time,

but he's just had a bit of a nightmare here.

Watch out for some style, though.

Wait until you see the tail whip here.

Oh, lovely biscuits!

That's nice, they love that here in Fort William.

Mark Beaumont knows that he will get nowhere near the podium today,

but he'll get a huge round of applause

from this Fort William crowd

for putting the style on at the top of the course.

Oh, that's disappointing from him.

So we have a winner,

and that winner is Aaron Gwin.

The second win of the World Cup Series so far this year,

and a very fine one indeed.

Danny Hart, the world champion, a sensational ride from him,

and in third place, Gee Atherton, the world champion back in 2009.

The conditions were changing every few minutes.

The track was getting rougher.

But I think it's just down to the fastest man down the hill today.

I had a good run, you know.

It was so misty and such bad conditions at the top.

And to go and do 48 or whatever it was, it's good times, you know.

Everyone went fast today. Oops, sorry, sir.

Yeah, you got to give it up to everyone,

and I was just second fastest.

And confirmation of those final results,

Mark Beaumont never recovered from that brake problem

at the top of the course.

So, in fourth place, Sam Hill

completed the run in 4:51:74.

Gee Atherton came in third,

with a time of 4:50:72.

Danny Hart was in second

with 4:49:04.

But the fastest down the course today with the time of 4:48:21

was America's Aaron Gwin.

Man, can't believe it. I was having a hard time all weekend,

kept crashing and just doing dumb stuff,

but just knew if I could put down a solid run

at least to get me up there towards the top... Really happy,

and thanks to everybody so much, All the fans here, man,

I mean, they make this race so much fun. So, thanks to everybody.

It's been another fantastic Fort William,

but for now that's all for this month's Adventure Show.

We'll be back in the autumn

with some of the hardest events Scotland has to offer.

It's going to be a tough experience for us too.

In the next programme, Desiree will be tackling the Goatfell Hill Race,

and after that one, I'll be in the saddle,

potentially for over 18 hours,

trying to complete 300 kilometres of road biking

in the Snow Roads Audax. Join us for that if you can.

Until then, bye for now.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd