Saracen British Downhill Series Round 3: Innerleithen - MoreDirt report

Last weekend saw the third round of the prestigious British Downhill Series take place on the steep slopes of Innerleithen, Scotland. With a rabbit-warren of tracks criss-crossing through the forest, it's not hard to keep this venue feeling fresh and original and it's always popular with riders and spectators alike.

Due to the first round of the UCI World Cup being hosted a couple of hours away at Fort William next weekend, the weekend saw plenty of big names looking to get in one last race before their World Cup seasons begin. A quick glance down the Elite start list saw the likes of Hill, Macdonald, Smith, Blenkinsop and Pugin to name a few, accompanied by the usual group of British World Cup standard riders spotted at BDS rounds.

The well-travelled riders from distant shores must have brought the weather with them, as the sun was shining and the track remained bone dry and dusty throughout the weekend. The track was steep and tricky for the most part, but opened up in the lower half, finishing with some fast, loose berms and jumps that certainly drew the crowds in the finals. The middle section of the track was natural and diverse, presenting plenty of line choices to pore over. Another challenging section was a loose, steep chute topped off with a drop into it that was only braved by a few riders throughout the weekend, most avoiding the drop in order to take a straighter line into the chute. If that wasn't enough, the chute lead directly onto the fireroad, where the track turned right before dropping back down into the forest, forming a flat chicane on the loose surface that caught more than one rider out throughout the weekend.

The uplift was rammed on Saturday morning as the racers took to the track. Due to agricultural reasons, the field that was originally to host the finish area could not be used so the uplift had to pick up just over a mile away. However, there were few dampened spirits as the wait was rewarded with a track running at it's best. Local lad and world cup rider Lewis Buchannan was looking like an early favourite for the mens, putting in some blistering runs in practice. The CRC/Nukeproof team consisting of Sam Hill, Matt Simmonds, Joe Smith and Nigel Page would occasionally appear, smashing down the track like a blue and yellow freight train. Gee Atherton made the step-down-into-chute section look easy and Dirt/Norco rider Ben Reid was looking characteristically fast and loose in the Elite practice on Saturday evening. In the women's category, Rachel Atherton was looking as confident and as rapid as always but Floriane Pugin was hot on her heels, looking focused and calculated, carefully inspecting lines in the loose wooded section.

Once the finals came around on Sunday afternoon, the sun was out and the track was rolling fast and loose. A large (and vocal) crowd had gathered in the final wooded section to watch the worlds best battle it out over the ski jump and through the final berms to the finish.

Peaty had been looking fast and smooth all weekend, making rock gardens look buttery smooth and the crowd favourite began yet another year on the podium, coming in at fifth. Brook Macdonald put in a solid run to claim fourth and the fastest-in-seeding Lewis Buchanan claimed the third step onboard his 650b-wheeled Intense. Gee Atherton was on blistering pace at the split, but arrived at the finish to take second place. It's a result he'll no doubt be pleased with, but he will certainly be hungry for that top spot heading into the World Cup season. The top spot was claimed by Adam 'Gas-to-Flat' Brayton, taking the win by less than half a second with his distinctive aggressive style. It'll be a great boost for Adam heading up to Fort William next weekend, another race on home soil, and he'll definitely be looking for a result this time next week. There will be some big names disappointed with their absence from the podium but with only four seconds separating the top 15 riders, it really illustrates the high standard of the BDS series and will hopefully bring the international riders back hungry for revenge!

In the elite women's category, Fionn Griffiths and Casey Brown came in a hair apart, taking 5th and 4th place respectively. Floriane Pugin came in almost ten seconds faster in third, and certainly looked to be in great form tackling the well-specatated ski jump and berm section heading toward the finish. Promising young gun Manon Carpenter of Madison-Saracen put in a great time to take second place but it wasn't enough to topple Rachel Atherton, who took the win and has seemingly begun another year of dominance with a weekend of consistently fast riding.

The riders now either head off home, or north to Fort William after great weekend of racing. The start-of-season buzz around the pits was noticeable and the fierce competition on the track looks set to continue into both the World Cup and the remainder of the BDS series.

Photos by Rich Easton

Words by Tim Easton