British downhill star Gee Atherton is the "crack of the hills". No cliff too steep, no jump too far, no challenge too big and even if he falls once, there's only one thing, get up again and keep going. Impressive: the results, the guy and the family.
by Rolf and Bruno Fleckenstein
The 28-year-old Briton George Atherton, known to most only by his nickname "Gee", has been making a name for himself in the world of the "bravest" mountain bike sport for quite a while now. Back in 2004, the world took notice of Gee when he won the Downhill Cup in Schladming, Austria, at just 19 years old. In 2006 he became European Downhill Champion, and two years later he topped that success by winning the 2008 World Championships in Vale di Sole, Italy. What he put up in the following four years in terms of placings should actually earn him the nickname "Dr. Podest." In 39 of the 72 races counted in the past four seasons, he was always somewhere on the podium, which corresponds to a "podium quota" of 54%. If you were to place bets on Gee, you would have a good chance of winning. Overall, 2010 was certainly his best year to date: In particular, the three wins in Windham, Champéry and Fort William lifted him to the top of the UCI* downhill world rankings at the end of the 2010 season (*UCI=International Cycling Union). In particular, a completely botched World Championships was a reflection of a more difficult 2011 season. The small dip pushed Gee back to 5th in the world rankings, but he worked his way back up to second place in the following 2012 season, behind Greg Minnaar, his constant rival. The South African snatched the 2012 world title from under his nose in Leogang by a mere 0.5 seconds - not even a whiff. Gee was therefore understandably disappointed, not because he was "only" runner-up, but because he had missed out on victory by such a narrow margin. A small consolation should be the repeated title as British champion, and the Athertons' double victory at the Giant Air DH race in Les Deux Alpes, France, where he and his sister Rachel were crowned winners, certainly put a smile on his face.
The Family: Tough as nails
And Gee is not alone, the Athertons are a true phenomenon as a mountain bike family. No family has so many trophies in the mountain bike circus....
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