It's not about the bike. Well, not entirely.
The Fort William round of the 2017 World Cup Downhill was always going to have a 29er aspect to it but here’s why a big wheeler will win.
1. Greg Minnaar
Minnaar’s track record at Fort William is simply untouchable. Greg Minnaar has won the Fort William World Cup race six times. Six times! This includes the 2016 and the 2015 events.
Minnaar has even won a round of 4X at Fort William (back when some DHers used to do the 4X as well). He clearly likes the place.
Minnaar comes into this year’s Fort William World Cup in a funny sort of way. He must be buoyed by his practice and qualifying performance at Lourdes but, like all the top guys, he will have left that event full of frustration. And with something still to prove.
He’s proven to be the consummate professional though and we fully expect him to keep his cool and let his riding do the talking. Unlike some of his rivals who seems to be mouthing off at any given opportunity!
Greg will be riding a Santa Cruz V10 29.
2. Danny Hart
To our mind there is only one person who can beat Minnaar at Fort William and that person is Danny Hart.
Hart is infamous for practically living in the Ft Bill car park during the off-season. He knows this mountain. He knows it in various weather conditions.
He even knows it on various wheel sizes; he won the recent British Downhill Series race at Fort William on a 29er.
Danny will be riding a Mondraker Summum 29.
Hang on a mo
Don’t forget this guy…
It seems like we’ve all forgotten about Aaron Gwin. Don’t forget about Gwin. Gwin is the reigning World Cup champion and he will want to remind everyone of that this weekend.
Gwin will be riding a YT Tues 27.5.