Athertons - 2009
Bios, Photos and Background
Date: 2009-02-27
ATHERTON RACING – BACKGROUND
Atherton Racing comprises of brothers Dan, Gee and sister Rachel Atherton. This family trio rides under the team name of Animal Commencal and are globally recognised as mountain biking champions.
The story began back in a small Devonshire village in 1996, where all three Athertons spent their early years riding bikes of all kinds.
Their mutual taste for speed and adventure soon gathered momentum and it wasn’t long before the small slopes of Kerswell were swapped for mountains and trails around the world.
The early days - Kerswell, Devonshire.
In 2000, the family moved from Devon to the more suitable terrain of North Wales where they are still based and train to this day.
The move to higher climbs benefited the family immensely and their rise to the top of the sport soon followed – with Dan and Gee being crowned National Champions in 2004.
Since then, Atherton Racing has gone on to become the fastest family on two wheels – winning World Championships, World Cups and European titles.
These days, Atherton Racing is followed by fans the world over – from Brazil to South Africa and Canberra to Montreal.
Gee 'Don't call me George' Atherton
Downhill Mountain Bike Rider
Nickname: Gee
Sport: Mountain biking
Discipline: Downhill and Freeride
Lives: Oswestry, Shropshire, UK
Nationality: British
DOB: 26.02.1985
Who: Gee Atherton is widely regarded as one of the world’s most talented and versatile bike riders. His main discipline is downhill however he is seen as a leading freerider.
Along with brother Dan and sister Rachel, Gee forms the international pro mountain bike team, Atherton Racing www.athertonracing.co.uk
2008 review
2008 was triumphant year for Gee. The second round of the World Cup, saw Gee win the Downhill and take the second World Cup win of his career.
Gee continued on his winning streak with a floorless run at the World Championships in Val de Sole, Italy which led him to a well deserved World Champion title. 
Gee pinning it as usual.
Gee’s consistency when competing saw him take to the podium for six of the seven races and be placed third overall in the Word Cup Series
Gee proved his crown as the best all rounder in the business when he competed in the Red Bull Rampage freeride event. Gee stomped out some massive lines and qualified in 2nd place. A crash leading up to his final run meant he had to sit out the finals but the World was watching and they know Gee can hang it on and off the race track.
2009 is going to be another big season for Gee, with his sights set on the World Cup overall and retaining his World Championship jersey.
Career Highlights:
• 2008 World Champion
• 3rd Overall World Cup Series
• 2nd World Cup Round 3 2008
• Winner World Cup Round 2 2008
• Winner Red Bull Down Metro 2007
• 3rd World Championships 2007
• Winner World Cup 4X Round 1 2007
• European DH Champion 2006
• Winner Red Bull Goldmine race 2006
• European Champion 2006
• 5th Overall World Cup 2006 Downhill
• Winner Red Bull Gold Mine 2006
• 5th Overall World Cup 2005 Downhill
• 5th Overall World Cup 2005 4-Cross
• 5th Mountain Bike World Championship 2005
• Winner World Cup round 2004
• National men's elite champion UK 2004
• 2nd Red Bull Rampage 2004
• World Championship Silver medal Junior
• 2003 Junior European Downhill Champion
• 2003 Junior National Downhill Champion
Hobbies: BMX, motocross, skiing, golf, Guitar Hero,
Ultimate ride song: Dre - The Next Episode
Favourite food: Sushi
Philosophy for life: You get out what you put in!
Best memory: Winning my first world cup round
One wish: An injury free season for the whole team
Dan Atherton
Downhill Mountain Bike Rider
Nickname: Affy
Sport: Mountain biking
Discipline: Downhill and Freeride
Lives: Oswestry, Shropshire, UK
Nationality: British
DOB: 25.01.82
Who: Dan Atherton is a World Cup winning pro mountain biker born in Wells, Somerset.
Still in his twenties, Dan is the eldest sibling in the international pro mountain biking team, Atherton Racing. www.athertonracing.co.uk
2008 review
2008 saw Dan win his first World Cup in the 4X in Andorra and with his brother and sister’s similar success at the event, they showed the mountain bike world the pure talent in Team Atherton.
Dan went on to demonstrate a best for the season with a downhill sixth place at the World Cup Round Three, showing he can cut it in both disciplines. He followed this with a third in the 4X on Fort William’s challenging track on the same weekend.
Dan getting his DH on.
Dan broke his shoulder at the World Championships in Italy but he came back strong at the end of the season when his solid performance secured him a third place overall in the 4X World Cup, narrowly missing another win at the final round in Austria.
This year Dan is working towards a top ten place in the Downhill World Cup, the World Championship gold and the World Cup overall in 4X.
Career Highlights:
• World Cup winner 4X Round 2 2008
• 3rd Overall World Cup 4X 2008
• 2nd World Cup Round 7 2008
• 6th World Cup DH Round 3 2008
• 3rd -World Cup 4X Round 3 2008
• 3rd- World Cup 4X Round 5 2007
• 10th- DH World Championships 2007
• 4th-4X World Championships 2006
• 5th-DH European Champs 2006
• 4th-4X World Cup Round 6 2006
• 2nd-DH World Cup Round 3 2005
• National Champion 2004
Hobbies: BMX, Moto Enduro, Skiing
Ultimate ride song: LTJ Bukem
Favourite food: Lasagne
Philosophy for life: Never be satisfied
Best memory: Andorra 08
One wish: To never lose direction
Rachel Atherton
Downhill Mountain Bike Rider
Nickname: Rach
Sport: Mountain biking
Discipline: Freeride and Downhill
Lives: Oswestry, Shropshire, UK
Nationality: British
DOB: 06.12.87
Who: Rachel followed her brothers Dan and Gee into professional mountain biking in 2003 and was crowned Junior World Champion in 2005 at just 17 years old.
With her brothers, Rachel forms the international pro mountain bike team, Atherton Racing www.athertonracing.co.uk
2008 review
Rachel became the first British woman to win the Elite Women UCI Downhill World Championship in June 2008 at only 20 years old with an impressive margin of 12 seconds.
Rachel took the World Champ's by an impressive 12 seconds in 2008.
Rachel saw similar success in the World Cup taking first place at rounds in Andorra, Mt St Anne (Canada), Bromont (Canada) and Schladming (Austria) meaning the overall title was hers before the final round. Rachel didn’t get complacent though, taking the final round in Austria by a massive 13 second margin.
With Rachel’s success in downhill mountain biking came much welcomed mainstream acknowledgement for the sport. In December, Rachel won the BBC Midlands Sports Personality of the Year, beating stiff competition from Rebecca Addlington and Elly Simmons. Rach was also shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Sportswoman of the Year 2008.
With an outstanding 2008 season under her belt, Rachel is planning to retain her World Cup and World Championship titles in stlye in 2009.
Career Highlights:
• World Champion 2008
• World Cup Champion 2008
• Winner World Cup Round 7 2008
• Winner World Cup Round5 2008
• Winner World Cup Round 4 2008
• Winner World Cup Round 2 2008
• BBC Midlands Sportswoman of the year 2008
• Winner World Cup Round 5 2007
• World Championships 2007 – Bronze medal
• European DH Champion 2006
• Lisbon Downtown Champion 05 and 06
• DH World Championships 2006 - Bronze Medal
• Winner-DH World Cup Round 5 2006
• Junior World Champion 2005
• European Champion 2005
• National Champion 2005
• The Times Young Sportswoman of the Year 2005
Hobbies: Moto enduro, bmx, climbing, reading, dancing.
Ultimate ride song: Girls Got Rhythm, AC/DC
Favourite food: 'Asian fusion'
Philosophy for life: 'Kindness effects more than severity', and: 'the more it hurts the better it will eventually be'
Best memory: Being on top of the podium at the 2nd round of the World Cup series flanked by my brothers, arms around each other after we all 3 won our respective disciplines. I will never forget how proud of them i was
One wish: That the days were longer.
ATHERTON RACING LAUNCHES NEW LOOK AND SPONSORS FOR 2009
The Athertons, mountain biking’s most famous family, have announced details of their new kit and partners for 2009 which include Animal, Commencal, Nissan and Shimano.
Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton will continue to ride under the name Animal Commencal to reflect its ongoing relationship with the two brands.
The team’s new look is inspired by Animal’s Summer collection which see the lightning bolts of 2008 replaced with Animal’s famous check.
Commencal has given the Supreme DH frame a matching makeover with a slightly modified frame for the new season. Bolt on race tuned Fox 40’s and DHX RC 4 shock and the bike will help the team push for podium positions.
Nissan is the major new ‘off-bike’ addition to the team’s portfolio and the deal sees the team benefit from using Nissan’s Navara and Pathfinder vehicles. Also, both Rachel and Gee will join Dan on the Nissan Sports Adventure Programme.
Shimano Saint will keep the Atherton’s shifting and braking up to speed as the team continues its developments with the brand.
Dan, Gee and Rachel will also make use of another Shimano affiliated product range – PRO accessories, who will be supplying handlebars, stems, saddles seatposts and grips to the World Championship-winning family.
The Atherton’s will work with Pro on a signature line of products that will become part of the PRO STAR series. The tried and tested products will be launched at Eurobike however expect to see prototypes being used throughout the year.
Team director Dan Brown commented: “2008 was a fantastic year which saw the Animal Commencal team pick up a triple win in Andorra, followed by the two rainbow jerseys in Italy and a World Cup title in Austria. Hopefully our new kit and partners will help make 2009 even better.
“With Animal and Commencal‘s continuing support we can really start to focus on our main goals for the year. The World Championships and World Cup overall remain the main competitive goals but we also aim to get people excited about our sport and in turn get more people on bikes.”
“The development work with Shimano and Fox has had a direct benefit to our results and this is something we are actively getting more involved with this year. Winning can come down to such a small margin that the R&D work behind the scenes really does make the difference. We are just thankful the team we have behind us is on our side!”
“We have always used off road vehicles for training aids and the addition of Nissan to the team’s roster ensures we are now using the best on the market. The Nissan Navara and Nissan Pathfinder will be used both on and off road as the Atherton’s prepare to make their assault on the 2009 season.”
Nissan’s sports adventure (NSA) programme illustrates Nissan’s commitment to mountain biking and other adventure sports such as freeride skiing and snowboarding. The NSA athletes are a key part of this programme and they have all been selected because they are inspirational in their different disciplines and the way they lead their lives. Nissan is proud to announce that Dan, Gee and Rachel Atherton have joined the NSA team in 2009.
The Atherton’s embody the spirit and passion of adventure that it takes to be successful in mountain biking, and that is at the heart of the Nissan Sports Adventure programme which was created to encourage an active outdoor lifestyle.
Jean-Pierre Diernaz, General Manager of Nissan’s Marketing Communications in Europe, said: “Nissan is pleased to welcome the Atherton family to our Nissan Sports Adventure athlete team and we look forward to following their progress in the Nissan UCI World Cup and UCI World Championships. The Atherton family are at the pinnacle of both the men’s and women’s mountain biking circuit and they embody the inspirational spirit that has helped to increase the interest and engagement with mountain biking. We wish Dan, Gee and Rachel the best of luck this season.”
The Athertons are also supported by the following:
• Fibrax brake pads
• Red Bull energy drink
• E-13 chain devices
• Cycleops turbo trainers
• Oakley eyewear
• Six Six One protection
• SAQ International gym products
• Neoguard mudguards.
For more on the Athertons in 2009 check out animalcommencal.com
About Atherton Racing
Atherton Racing is made up of brothers Dan, Gee and sister Rachel and race under the name Animal Commencal. This family trio is globally recognised as mountain biking champions and has won national, European and World Cup titles. Atherton Racing is based in Llangynog, Wales. For more information visit www.athertonracing.co.uk
About Animal
Established in 1987 in Poole, Dorset, Animal is one of the UK's leading freesport brands specializing in the design, marketing and retailing of freesports influenced clothing, technical clothing, footwear, luggage, eyewear, accessories and watches. Actively involved within the freesports of surfing, snowboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing and mountain biking, Animal sponsor high profile riders, events and operate a number of sports academies and camps giving newcomers and experienced riders the opportunity to pursue their chosen sports further. www.animal.co.uk
About Commencal
Commençal is a small bike company with a massive reputation. Based in the Andorran Pyrenees, 1400m above sea level, the Commençal offices have unrivalled views of ski slopes in the winter and bike trails in the summer. Everyone at Commençal rides, not all are championship winners but all are certainly passionate about mountain bikes. Commençal bikes are not just tubes of metal and carbon bonded together; they are the objects of passion. www.commencal.com
About Nissan
Nissan Sports Adventure (NSA) brings Nissan’s spirit of adventure to life. Its athletes demonstrate a passion for an active outdoor lifestyle, its events illustrate our commitment to developing these adventure sports & and its ethos captures our dedication to being challenging in all we do. The NSA programme commences the year with winter sports events the Freeride World Tour across Europe & North America and the Nissan Outdoor Games, before switching to summer events including Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, UCI World Championships & summer version of the Nissan Outdoor Games. www.nissan-sportsadventure.com
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