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Four by Three: Exclusive Dan Atherton interview
Expert commentator Richard Cunynghame spoke to Dan Atherton about the new film in which he stars
By Richard Cunynghame
6 min readPublished on
Dan Atherton at Mega Avalanche 2012
Dan Atherton at Mega Avalanche 2012© [unknown]
The eldest of the Atherton siblings, Dan’s career has been as diverse and interesting as it has been accomplished. Second place at the 2005 Downhill World Cup in Willingen and a win in four-cross at the Andorran World Cup in 2008, among many other incredible results, show the high level he has taken his riding to. Throw in a few races at the peak end of BMX as well and it becomes less surprising when one finds out that Dan is trying yet another new discipline and naturally doing well at it.
“The switch over to Enduro was kind of a slow one, last year I rode downhill and wasn’t enjoying it too much and felt like the level of downhill had definitely gone up and I wasn’t ready to step up to that level after coming back from injury, so I thought, ‘Go and race Enduro and have fun on the bike and see what happens.’”
If you’re not willing to go 100 per cent, 100 per cent of the time, then there’s no point racing
When he says “coming back from injury”, he neglects to mention that it was one that could have ended his life, let alone his career. In 2010 Dan’s world was turned upside down when he broke his neck on one of his massive dirt jumps, a lengthy road to recovery is now behind him and it hasn’t put him off jumping at all. The size of his backyard jumps, which he has spent the last year crafting, would have most of the competitors at Red Bull Rampage straightening wheels and sewing up rips in their jeans for at least a day before they conquered them. But his downhill racing was affected a bit: “If you’re not willing to go 100 per cent, 100 per cent of the time, then there’s no point racing. Enduro is definitely fast, the guys who are winning the Enduro races are definitely World Cup speed, but they’re not top-10 World Cup speed. It’s fast, but it’s a little bit more drawn out and there are more places to gain time because of that. In downhill, five or six minutes max, there are very few places to pull back time, but Enduro’s a little bit slower-paced and I guess that suits me at the moment.”
Mass start at Mega Avalanche
Mass start at Mega Avalanche© [unknown]
In the latest in the epic Clay Porter-filmed series Four by Three, we see Dan take on the now-classic Mega Avalanche race in Alp d’Huez. “It was the first event that opened people’s eyes to Enduro. It’s mass-start, so it’s not my favourite sort of event. I think I do well at them because of my four-cross background, but I don’t think it’s the future of Enduro. When you’re racing mass-start events and there’s guys all around you, anything can happen and it’s not just down to you. I think the multi-stage events is where the sport should head, you’re by yourself on those and it does come down to your decisions and the choices you make as opposed to someone crashing in front of you. Mega Avalanche is a cool race, but it is definitely a standalone event, it’s more of a show than anything.
“You only know it’s a mass start in the first minute or two, by the time you’ve come off the singletrack, everyone’s separated out so much, especially up the front – I was riding by myself most of the time, so it’s basically down to you, how hard you push yourself. You’re looking over your shoulder and you see the other guys coming and it does come down to a test of your mental strength. In the film, you can see I gave it everything I had and I literally had nothing left.
Who knows, in another year or so then maybe I will go back to downhill
“For this season I did more cross-country training. Gee, Rach and I have never really ridden cross-country, we’ve always ridden dirt jumps, BMX and skate park and that’s kinda been where we’re at. This year has definitely opened my eyes to how hard you have to be able to push yourself, but at the same time you can’t lose that downhill skill because at the end of the day it is a downhill race still.
“I do totally miss downhill, I went riding with Marc [Beaumont] and Gee the other day on downhill bikes and it totally reminded me of how much I love it. I think I’m slowly getting confidence back after breaking my neck and, who knows, in another year or so then maybe I will go back to downhill, it’s hard to get that feeling you get on a downhill bike anywhere else, but at the moment I’m enjoying Enduro.”
I love riding stuff that pushes us, and that requires me to dig because no one else is going to bloody do it
After the wild experience of the Mega, the film follows Dan to the Italian resort of Alpi where the family spend time training and get some time away from the hectic race circuit, “Out in Alpi, the riding’s really natural, you do get to step away from that competition life. For me that’s really important, I definitely need to step away from competition quite a lot and just ride my bike, that’s why I got into it; because I love riding my bike and I’m not just a racer for sure.”
Dan Atherton gets third place at Mega Avalanche
Dan Atherton gets third place at Mega Avalanche© [unknown]
But when asked if he could maintain his lifestyle without racing, the answer is a resounding, “No! I definitely need that structure in my life.”
Alongside his diversity, another characteristic Dan is renowned for is his constant drive to build new tracks and riding spots. “I was actually saying to my mate last night, ‘I wonder if people think that I dig because I purely love digging?’ But it’s not that, it’s the fact that I love riding new stuff and I love riding stuff that pushes us, and that requires me to dig because no one else is going to bloody do it so I gotta man up and do it. It’s hard to compare that achievement of riding something new to racing. If you win a race, the whole race is about you and everyone's eyes are on you so it’s hard to replicate that feeling but you definitely get a good sense of achievement when you ride something new and because you’ve built it, it’s even better. All that hard work’s paid off.”
I’ll just keep on that mindset of doing events that I’m stoked on doing, not events that I have to do
This winter’s going to hold more hard work for Dan on the training as well as the digging. “I’m going to switch up the training a little bit, we’re working with a new coach this winter and that’s going to make a big difference. I definitely need to get stuck into some big-base miles, some big-base fitness for Enduro, but I’ve already been riding my BMX and dirt jumps and loving it. Gee’s the same and that’s kinda what it’s all about at the end of the day. Next year there’ll hopefully be an Enduro World Cup series for me to do and I’d like to still ride some downhill; Fort William and some other ones; just keep on that mindset of doing events that I’m stoked on doing, not events that I have to do.”

Go to redbull.com/fourbythree to watch all the films so far and stay tuned for more from the series.

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