Manon Carpenter put in a storming run to take the fastest time in qualifying at the Fort William World Cup in. Carpenter, who took her first World Cup victory at the start of the season in Pietermaritzburg, had already stated that Fort William is her main goal. With over 10 seconds up on Myriam Nicole, the next fastest rider in qualifying, that dream seems one step closer to being realised.

Rachel Atherton, who won her last year in 2013, seemed to still be suffering the effects of the virus that struck her at the start of the season. She qualified 5th, 16 seconds behind Carpenter. Commencal rider Myriam Nicole took second place in qualifying, and Emmeline Ragot bagged third on her new Lapierre DH bike.

Another rider putting in a great performance at Fort William is Tahnee Seagrave. Graduating to the elite category this year, she’s started strongly with two top ten positions in rounds one and two. She looked fast coming down the mountain and sure enough placed fourth place behind Carpenter, Myriam Nicole and Emmeline Ragot, just over 12 seconds back from Carpenter.

Katy Curd, who is returning to Downhill this year after racing 4X, made Fort William the first World Cup race of her season. Despite crashing, she placed 14th of a field of 31 riders. She also found time to join the 4X Pro Tour competition, so post qualifiers she’ll be heading over to race that this evening.

Great Britain was well represented in the elite women’s category, with 9 women from the UK racing. Fionn Griffiths was just shy of placing in the top ten by a matter of milliseconds, beaten by Micayla Gatto of Canada.

Results:

Manon Carpenter, Madison Sarcen Factory Team. 5:09.915
Myriam Nicole, Commencal/ Riding Addition. 5:20.651
Emmeline Ragot, Lapierre Gravity Republic. 5:21.215
Tahnee Seagrave, FMD Racing. 5:22.134
Rachel Atherton, GT Factory Racing. 5:26.759

For full results visit the UCI Results Page. Don’t forget the finals are broadcast live tomorrow on Red Bull TV. Tune in and cheer!