MTB

5 Things you probably didn’t know about… Rachel Atherton

Hardcore admirers, racing attire and.... parsley?

Here’s an athlete who needs little introduction, but we’ll give her one anyway…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Rachel Atherton. The British born downhill mountain bike racer is one of the few athletes, men included, to have transcended the bubble-realm of MTB and made a name for herself in mainstream sports. But how did Rachel achieve this exactly? Well, how much time have you got?

To summarise her rainbow-striped years on the podium, her efforts to encourage women’s cycling and the incredible titles and awards the Queen of Down has accumulated is no easy feat. For a woman who won every World Cup round in 2016, scooped up both the BT Sports Action Woman Of the Year award and the Prestigious Laureus World Action Sportsperson Award, it’s easy to come around to the belief that Rachel Atherton is nothing short of super-human. So, here are a few fun facts about Rachel which proves she’s an adorable weirdo like the rest of us!

I can rap (& frequently do) most of Eminem’s songs. My favourite is “The Real Slim Shady”, I know it word-for-word perfectly, I’ve even sung it at karaoke which was horrific!
I used to play the cello!
I love parsley on toast
There’s a guy in Thailand that got my face tattooed on his leg!
I freak out and hate it if someone sneezes near me!
Bonus Fact (and our favourite): I secretly would like to race in skinsuits!

Well, we didn’t see them coming! Sadly, we couldn’t find the tribute tattoo online, but we’re sure it inspires the owner with enormous amounts of radness.