Charlie Hatton should need no introduction to fans of mountain biking! The 2023 Downhill World Champion riding for Atherton Racing was kind enough to show us his bike and chat with us before his finals run at Round #1 of the 2024 Downhill World Cup series at Fort William.
It’s really good to have you here and riding at Fort William. How was your off-season and your recovery for that wrist injury?
So I ended last season with a broken wrist, well halfway through last season! A lot of my off-season was recovery as well so I didn’t really have an ‘off-season’, just straight to rehab.
I went out to New Zealand for the first time though which was absolutely amazing. Best place I’ve ever been. And yeah got some good riding trips in Europe.
And now back to Fort William. You won here last year… What is the track like compared to World Champs?
Yeah, feeling pretty good on the track although it’s super different to last year. Conditions were so wet last year in that race run and now it’s super dry. As you can see from the floor, it’s like riding on a gravel car park! So loose and really, really rough. It’s really challenging.
I see a lot of stones on track getting picked up but your bike is protected right?
Oh yeah the invisiFRAME is doing its job! There’s so many stones and stuff flying up at the bikes so I think it’s pretty key to have that protection on this weekend.
In terms of bike set-up are you very precise with how you have your bikes configured?
Yeah, we spend a lot of time in the winter prepping and tuning the bikes to how we like them but to be honest, at a race I don’t change a lot. I think I’ve got the set-up dialed from the previous three / four months I’ve been riding and testing so only make minor changes on the race weekend. I think the bike has proven itself here before! It feels really good.
Are you eager to go racing?
Yeah, I am nervous but it’s all good – I channel it in the right way!
Massive thanks to Charlie for answering our questions, look out for him this season and be sure to follow him on Instagram.
Photos courtesy of Twentyfourmedia and Atherton Racing