On October 7–8, 200 mountain bike riders gathered in Machynlleth, Wales, for the annual all-female Red Bull Foxhunt race. The premise of the event is that the double century of female riders set off on a downhill course en masse with the selected chosen chaser trying to pass as many riders as she can before the finish.
Following a nasty crash at the recent World Championships in Cairns, favourite Rachel Atherton was resigned to being a spectator on the sidelines with her Trek Factory Racing Enduro teammate Katy Winton taking up the chase.
The 200 slots were snapped up in just 12 minutes, with Norwegian rider Mille Johnset, one of the few not to be caught by Winton, taking the win in three minutes and 50 seconds. Afterwards, she said: “It was so amazing. It was really fun but I was also really pleased just to get across the finish line.”
Winton, meanwhile, relished the chance to step into Atherton’s saddle in what were tricky conditions on a technical course.“It is such a honour to get to come to this event and ride with a bunch of rad ladies, who just went for it despite the weather,” said the Scot.
Atherton, who was on hand to pass pointers onto the riders, all of which were decked out in red, said: “Everyone was so proud of themselves today. Seeing their faces and, you know, that’s what Foxhunt is about. Suddenly, it all becomes about how they’re feeling, it’s all about the women and what they’ve achieved and it’s so cool.”
For more information on Red Bull Foxhunt head to the website.