CensoredDH
03-04-2006, 11:31 AM
RED BULL CHALLENGE IN THE GOLDMINE
PRE-ANNOUNCED VICTORY
He came, saw and conquered. After the qualifying round Gee Atherton was sure he would not be beaten in the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine. After the final his rivals ungrudgingly admitted that his gut feeling had not deceived him.
35,000 tons of gold have been mined in the past from the hills surrounding the small Brazilian town of Mariana. Today the tunnels in the Mina de Passagem are used only by tourists – and by the world’s twenty best mountain bikers, who met here in late March for an unusual competition: they raced their bikes 860 metres deep into the mountain. And Gee Atherton did it faster than anyone else.
Faster than his bike
In first place after the qualifying round, the 21-year-old Briton was bursting with self-confidence: “I had the feeling that the bike crossed the finishing line a little bit behind me. I was so fast that I’m pretty sure nobody is going to be able to beat me in the final. All I’m thinking about now is victory.”
Not even double World Champion Nathan Rennie from Australia could stop him from thinking about victory – and even less from winning. The starting order for the final was the reverse of the result from the qualifying round: Rennie was the last-but-one to start and improved his qualification time by four seconds. Despite being more than two seconds faster than Gee in his qualifying round, he sensed immediately after his run that he hadn’t been fast enough to win: “Nobody came here to be runner-up. But I don’t think I’ve improved enough to beat Gee.”
Recipe for success: pedal harder
And that’s how it was: Gee was the last to start in the final and again coped best with the unusual conditions. He pedalled through the narrow and only dimly lit tunnels in the rock at speeds exceeding 60 km/h. The last ascent was decisive: “Nathan is bigger and stronger than I am, but today I pedalled harder than he did”, Gee said after the victory celebrations. He was the only rider to complete the course in less than one minute.
RB Goldmine
RB Goldmine
RB Goldmine
LINKS, DOWNLOADS, CONTACTS
www.redbulldesafionamina.com.br
Visit the official website
FINAL RESULTS
1. Gee Atherton – 00:59:988
2. Nathan Rennie – 01:00:550
3. Markolf Berchtold – 01:02:284
4. Walace Miranda – 01:03:091
5. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:03:348
6. Djone Fornari – 01:04:000
7. Mario Jarrin – 01:04:016
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:04:666
9. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:05:313
10. Robert Sgarbi – 01:06:877
RB Goldmine
PRE-ANNOUNCED VICTORY
He came, saw and conquered. After the qualifying round Gee Atherton was sure he would not be beaten in the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine. After the final his rivals ungrudgingly admitted that his gut feeling had not deceived him.
35,000 tons of gold have been mined in the past from the hills surrounding the small Brazilian town of Mariana. Today the tunnels in the Mina de Passagem are used only by tourists – and by the world’s twenty best mountain bikers, who met here in late March for an unusual competition: they raced their bikes 860 metres deep into the mountain. And Gee Atherton did it faster than anyone else.
Faster than his bike
In first place after the qualifying round, the 21-year-old Briton was bursting with self-confidence: “I had the feeling that the bike crossed the finishing line a little bit behind me. I was so fast that I’m pretty sure nobody is going to be able to beat me in the final. All I’m thinking about now is victory.”
Not even double World Champion Nathan Rennie from Australia could stop him from thinking about victory – and even less from winning. The starting order for the final was the reverse of the result from the qualifying round: Rennie was the last-but-one to start and improved his qualification time by four seconds. Despite being more than two seconds faster than Gee in his qualifying round, he sensed immediately after his run that he hadn’t been fast enough to win: “Nobody came here to be runner-up. But I don’t think I’ve improved enough to beat Gee.”
Recipe for success: pedal harder
And that’s how it was: Gee was the last to start in the final and again coped best with the unusual conditions. He pedalled through the narrow and only dimly lit tunnels in the rock at speeds exceeding 60 km/h. The last ascent was decisive: “Nathan is bigger and stronger than I am, but today I pedalled harder than he did”, Gee said after the victory celebrations. He was the only rider to complete the course in less than one minute.
RB Goldmine
RB Goldmine
RB Goldmine
LINKS, DOWNLOADS, CONTACTS
www.redbulldesafionamina.com.br
Visit the official website
FINAL RESULTS
1. Gee Atherton – 00:59:988
2. Nathan Rennie – 01:00:550
3. Markolf Berchtold – 01:02:284
4. Walace Miranda – 01:03:091
5. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:03:348
6. Djone Fornari – 01:04:000
7. Mario Jarrin – 01:04:016
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:04:666
9. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:05:313
10. Robert Sgarbi – 01:06:877
RB Goldmine