The women’s Red Bull Foxhunt by Jeep is now in its third year and has ventured south of the border into England for the first time bringing pastures and competitors anew to the popular format. The new Cumbrian venue was excellently placed to welcome women from all across the UK to take part in this unique race and come they did with the race sold out in less than 8 hours.
There cannot be many downhill races that can boast over two hundred enthusiastic female racers, but once again the Red Bull Foxhunt’s legendary inclusive nature and friendly welcoming atmosphere brought 230 excited ladies to a muddy hillside in Cumbria. The Fox Hunt is all about having a weekend of fun and the race format is very simple, after a morning of practice on the open hillside course each racer takes a solo run down the bottom 2/3rds of the course which acts as their seeding run. Inclusivity is key and 30-second gaps mean that riders have plenty of time to finish their runs without the pressure of a rider hot on their tails. On day two, riders can practice the top of the course before being lined up for the mass start according to their ranking from the seeding run. Nervous and excited they wait for the madness to start, before careening down the hill, chasing, overtaking, whooping and shrieking to the bottom. And to add to all of this, Rachel Atherton, fresh from her indomitable season at the top of World Cup Downhill racing, chases down the pack, picking riders off one by one in her quest to get to the front.
Like many a lady at the event, we took the opportunity to get a proper road trip going, the Jeep Renegade was packed to the max with kit, full face helmets, tents, the occasional bottle of prosecco and our mini team of racers, Fi Berry, Nic Fell and Tara McKay, to head south and join the masses. With camping included in the cost of the event, tents and camper vans spread across the hillside and morning brought the smell of bacon and coffee wafting across the campsite to many a covetous look from those heating porridge.
As any woman who races knows, we are pretty much always in a minority on race day, which is why seeing so many women of all ages and abilities preparing to throw themselves down a hill is quite inspirational, and while everyone is engaged in their own race or worried about different lines the main focus is to make new friends.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t being particularly kind to the ladies Red Bull Foxhunt this year, conditions leading up to the event made the ground as sticky as a sticky toffee pudding with extra sauce in places (more about the food later). The organisers did their absolute utmost to get the uplift running, work on the track started at first light and ‘argocats’ (forget 4×4 and think 8×8) were brought in at short notice to get bikes up the hill. Sadly, this all turned out to be too little too late for practice so all the riders took to pushing their bikes up to reach the top of the scar.
On arrival at the top and a pause to take in the view and get some advice from Rachel Atherton and other riders, bikes started to peel down the hill for the first look at the trail to come. Rachel wanted the course to be more technical than it had been in previous years and the 2 km course achieved this without being overly terrifying for ladies relatively new to the sport. A and B line options gave people the opportunity to miss out sections that were intimidating with one such A-line posing a gut-wrenching rocky drop into a sharp corner which only a few girls attempted in practice (including Nic ‘the sender’ Fell) and none in the actual race. One of the sections causing the most nervous banter was a seemingly innocuous looking off-camber grassy (read slidey) traverse into a tight right-hand corner, and to add further pressure, it was in full view of all the spectators gathered at the bottom of the trail.
Comparisons are often made of mountain bikers to other sports people not known for the hardiness (footballers, you know who you are) so credit goes to all the women and their attitude whilst hefting bikes up the grassy slopes, spirits were high, chat was flowing and laughter rung out across the flanks of the hillside. There was some talk by the organisers of reducing the length of the race run due to the conditions but the enthusiasm and spirit of the riders meant that they were able to run the full event as planned and give everyone the full race run that they had come for.
Race Day dawned with clear skies and atmospheric patches of clouds flowing up the valley to occasionally engulf the camping field, the morning briefing brought the joyous news that uplift was going to run to get everyone up the hill with only a short push to the take in the previously unridden top section of the trail. After a morning of optional practice, uplift started for the race itself, the vehicles were still struggling to get up the mud luge with each car that went up it making it a fraction worse for the next. The unfortunate result was that the fastest seeded women, those travelling up the hill last for the race run, had to walk to the top with their bikes travelling up on the Argocats.
With views across Cumbria and the air filled with the excited chatter of 230 nervous and excited riders, the wait for the starting line was exhilarating for everyone on the hillside, drones buzzed overhead and Rachel mounted her starting ramp above the last of the gridded riders.
Mere minutes after the starter’s gun, the fully pinned leaders hit the final drop propelling them into the finish area, the first and second place riders less than 0.5 seconds apart. The finish area was a study of human emotion and triumph, with a hundred separate races going on, the race winners weren’t the only people triumphant. For some, not being overtaken by Rachel was the best thrill, for others finishing the challenging course was enough and for a few running down with flat tyres the rapturous applause of supportive competitors made their day complete.
More than a race, the event constituted a mini festival style weekend, with heated event tent for the evenings, all-inclusive food and morning yoga and obviously, as much Redbull as you could drink. Rachel Atherton spent the weekend coaching, chatting, singing, signing and dancing with as many people as she could, not only an inspiration for women, she was a fantastic ambassador for her sport and what can be achieved with hard work and dedication whatever your gender. Yes, the mud made organisation difficult and there were not enough toilets, but in the end riders went back home pumped with excitement and planning their next foray into racing.
Do you want to see some of the bikes that the riders brought to the event? Check out the next page for 18 of the coolest riders, and racers of the 2016 Foxhunt.
We would like to say a huge thanks to Jeep UK for supplying the awesome Jeep Renegade. Not only was the interior and ride super comfortable on the drive down, but the capable 4×4 made leaving the muddy car park and getting around the site a driving pleasure. For more information on the Jeep range you can check out the Jeep UK website.
Story: Cat Smith
Photos: Cat Smith and the awesome photographers from the Red Bull Content Pool
