World Cup 2018 - Fort William, Scotland

Juni 03 — 2018 | Fort William, Scotland

In the western Scottish highlands lies the town of Fort William, an area known for whisky, its love for downhill racing, and for having one of the longest, roughest, and most-storied tracks on the World Cup.

Before the first bike hit the Highlands dirt, the news started to fly. The Syndicate’s prototype V10 lit up the Internet, Greg announced that he would be out of the race due to injury and, with the seven-time Fort William winner out of the lineup, speculation flew about who was going to take the lead. The young guns of the Syndicate would have to step up.

Qualifiers were met with afternoon showers and fresh rain on the track. Luca and Loris adapted to the changing conditions, kept it fast and smooth, and finished 1st and 3rd. Only five seconds separated the top ten riders at the end of qualis which, along with a huge question mark on the weather, meant it was still anybody’s race.

Fortunately the skies would clear and Saturday’s rain would actually improve the track conditions for Sunday’s showdown. With a crew spectating at Fort William and live watch parties in the Santa Cruz factory showroom and The Hub in Pisgah, NC anticipation was building as everyone hoped for fast, clean runs from the boys and their prototype V10s.

Loris put together an impressive run but a slight dab in the new woods section would slow him down just enough to keep him off the top step. He would finish second on the day, his best elite result to date. The quickest man in qualifying and last out of the gate in finals, Luca would put down a lightning fast first split (up by a second) before falling victim to a flat tire. He would pick his way down the hill to 59th place, but remains 6th in the overall standings.