Rachel Atherton reckons living next to Dyfi Bike Park has been absolutely key to regaining some of her stunning speed.
The 35-year-old sent the mountain bike world into a frenzy when she won her 40th World Cup at the first round of the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup at Lenzerheide last weekend.
Her first victory since Andorra in 2019, Atherton only started training two months ago and has juggled her quest for fitness on the bike with looking after her 22-month-old daughter Arna.
Initially she planned to spend a couple of extra days holidaying in Switzerland with the family before returning home to Wales to focus on training ahead of August’s World Championships at Fort William.
But the temptation to race again proved strong and Atherton announced earlier in the week she’d ride at round two in Leogang, Austria.
The six-time World Champion says getting in shape has been a proper balancing act.
“I’ve been training for about two months, I’ve been doing as much as I can, no way near the level I used to but as much as I can while Arna’s napping and still having energy left over to be there for her all day,” she said.
“But I think people are surprised because I’m saying this and the results are different
“I live at Dyfi Bike Park, I literally live next door and I ride there every weekend and two or three days a week. That has got to be good for you, lapping the bike park all day. Big runs, it’s over five minutes, it’s amazing training and you’re not really realising you’re training.”
The 650-acre park in north-west Wales is an Atherton-family affair featuring enduro and downhill tracks which have been designed by brother Dan - himself a legend of the sport.
Representing her family’s Continental Atherton team, six-time overall World Cup winner Rachel says that she has thrilled to her progression in a new way.
“Other racers come up, Brendan [Fairclough] and Danny [Hart} and Jordan Williams is there a lot and Bernard [Kerr] has moved to our local town so there’s a good crew to ride with. It’s been a real natural progression….
She explained that she’d mastered a technical section in the bike park that she had walked initially.
“Just to see that progression it’s mind blowing, “ she said.
“It’s so cool to go through that and it not to have been an injury… so you don’t have that fear of hurting yourself because it’s not been an injury but you’ve been off the bike.”
Atherton says that whatever happens in Leogang, her goal is the World Champs in Fort William, Scotland.
“For me this year, the goal is not to win World Champs but that’s the goal I know I’ve got a solid few months of training before that so I can be a lot stronger and fitter and these races were all about that, “ she said.
“Now I won last weekend and I’m just here to have fun still. I really missed it being at home and being a new mum it’s so different, it couldn’t be more different to this adrenaline-fuelled extreme, testosterone-driven lifestyle and I’m just so stoked to be back here ….”
