Rachel
Atherton
United Kingdom
·
MTB
Date of birth | December 6, 1987 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Wells, UK |
Age | 38 |
Nationality | United Kingdom |
Career start | 2007 |
Disciplines | Mountain Bike Downhill |
Over the years, Rachel Atherton has become the dominant force in women's downhill racing. After winning a host of categories in 2005, she was named Times Young Sportswoman of the Year and hasn’t looked back since.
She totally dominated the women’s downhill circuit in 2008, winning the World Cup overall and taking World Championship gold. On her way to the World Cup overall she took four World Cup wins and only missed out on a top two finish at one race, in Fort William.
Unfortunately, Rachel was involved in a road accident during pre-season training and took time out to recover, missing the entire 2009 season. But she returned and proved she was worthy of world titles after taking an impressive number of victories in 2010 to leave her in seventh place overall in the UCI Women’s Elite downhill ranking.
2011 saw improvement to fourth overall and 1,365 points, only a slender 21 points behind third-placed French rider Myriam Nicole, with victory in her home race at Fort William and in the final event of the season at Windham on the way. In the past few years, Rachel has done nothing but go from strength to strength.
Since 2008, she has taken five UCI World Cup titles (2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016) and four World Champion titles (2008, 2013, 2015 and 2016). Only overwhelming illness during the 2014 season put Rachel off her game, but she bounced back to redefine women’s DH racing, doing the ‘double double’ in 2015 and 2016, and completing an unprecedented perfect season in 2016 by winning every World Cup round.
Rachel looked set to continue her dominance of the World Cup in 2017 after winning the season-opening race in Lourdes, France, but a dislocated shoulder suffered at Round 2 in Fort William ended her record-breaking winning streak. She returned to action and scored podium finishes later in the season, before sweeping all before her once again in the following season.
2018 saw her take a record sixth World Cup overall, before capping the season off with a fifth World Championship, thus reconfirming that she's the best female downhill mountain biker on the planet.
All eyes will be on Rachel during the 2019 season as she embarks on an exciting new venture with her very own Atherton Bikes brand alongside her brother, Gee Atherton. It's quite a major departure and financial undertaking for Atherton Racing but you can be assured they'll take on the new business with the same commitment that we see when Rachel and Gee Atherton perform at World Cup races.