Dan and Gee Atherton were in action in the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships in Australia from September 3–6, where the going was tough.
In 4X, Dan had qualified a solid eighth overall in Canberra, but when it came to the finals, he just missed out on a semi-final spot. In fourth as the quarter-final heat drew to a close, Dan’s final push just failed to get him into the qualifying spot as he finished third. Home rider Jared Graves won the heat – and eventually the 4X title.
There was better news for brother Gee, however, in the Downhill contests. Though he missed out defending his 2008 title with an agonising fourth in the individual rankings, Gee, on a specially-modified bike set-up with added shock absorbency for the short but physically-demanding track at Canberra, took sixth in the team event – meaning that he and fellow Britons Steve Peat (who came first and also won the individual event) and Marc Beaumont took second place overall from the 15 competing nations, just behind the Australians.
The third Atherton sibling, Rachel, still recovering from surgery to a shoulder injury, was unable to defend her 2008 title – the 2009 crown in the women’s downhill went instead to Emmeline Ragot. It was a sweet victory for the Frenchwoman, who took advantage of Atherton’s absence and the unlucky puncture of her compatriot Sabrina Jonnier, who beat her to second last year behind Atherton, to claim the title this year.
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