The Athertons leave longtime sponsor GT; Form Trek Factory Racing
They are a family of three media darlings hailing from the UK, and two of them (Gee and Rachel) are DH World Cup/World Championship-contenders. The other one (Dan) has numerous World Cup 4X podiums (and a win) under his belt, but now that they don't have those anymore he spends most of his time building obnoxiously huge courses for his own "Red Bull Hardline" events.
That other guy with the bike, his last name isn't even Atherton (it's Vernon), and he's a Junior. He's very fast and has potential, but he's a development project. We'll talk about him more next year, if things pan out... for now let's go meet the siblings.
Is Gee wearing a Trek shirt with bike parts in the shape of the American flag, even though he's proper-British? We're gonna have to let it slide. This time. |
Gee can do backflips and such, but in his heart he's a racer boy. |
My face's natural go-to position is looking pissed off. I'm actually normally in a pretty good mood. - Gee
He didn't have a great 2015, where all the World Cups were won by Aaron Gwin or a Syndicate rider, but he's always right there, knocking at a winning time, even in the wet. He'll be hungry on the new bike and Bontrager tyres (see there, I even spelled "tire" like a limey) this year. With that, I think you have all you need to know about Gee, so let's move on to Rachel.
How can you not love the smile of an Englishwoman? |
Rach has 26 World Cup DH wins at this point to Gee's 8, which is stunning considering she's only 27 years old and more than a couple of those years have been plagued with injury. She's obviously dominantly fast, largely from training and riding with her brothers. In the Women's category, it doesn't really matter the course or her equipment, if she is healthy and keeps her head on straight (and she almost always does) she will win.
She's looking to bring another girl onto the team to mentor and wants to further the sport. She's generally in a happy mood and has been a bit of a crossover star, especially in the UK, because she does a lot of media work and because she's such a colorful, fun interview. Like all the Athertons, she doesn't mind swearing and does it in the most endearing, English of ways. It only serves to aid her charm.
She's looking to bring another girl onto the team to mentor and wants to further the sport. She's generally in a happy mood and has been a bit of a crossover star, especially in the UK, because she does a lot of media work and because she's such a colorful, fun interview. Like all the Athertons, she doesn't mind swearing and does it in the most endearing, English of ways. It only serves to aid her charm.
Though the eldest, this one is quite childlike in his passions. Dan likes to jump, dig in the dirt, and wear skinny jeans. |
Dan's built like a brick-*hithouse and tough as a coffin nail both physically and mentally. He gets hurt from time to time because he builds and then launches himself off some crazy-big hucks. Now, with social media and filming and his Red Bull Hardline thing, he doesn't have to race...but break out the goggles and fanny packs 'cause he's going to try his hand at Enduro this year anyway. "It just seems like the right thing to do," he probably said.
What else about Dan? Oh, for a while he was dating this smokin' hot chickie from Fox Racing's Marketing department, but then they had to let her go because she {allegedly} was a bit too much of a pro-racer superfan. Still, that had to be a life-highlight for him.
And there you have it, your brief intro to your new Trek Factory Racing team. All the best in 2016.
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