Blog
The Biggest Moment that Sowed a Seed...
15 July 2025 / Words: Richard Cunynghame
The first of June 2008 was the day the Athertons went into overdrive on the World Cup circuit. Previously, Dan had a career high of second in Willingen, Germany. Gee had won a World Cup four years earlier but was yet to repeat it. Rachel had won her third World Cup at the opening round of the season, foreshadowing what was to be an epic season.
Andorra was the location for the second round of the series, and where the alchemy would take place.
At the time, the family were riding for Andorra-based Commencal, and this was the first year the principality would welcome the World Cup series to its Pyrenean mountains.
Dan had been ruling the 4X track all the way through practice. There were lines he was doing that others wouldn’t get close to. On Saturday evening, Dan was lifted in the air after he sealed that win.
Looking back, I ask Rachel what her memories are, “I remember we were running down the side of the 4X track in finals, screaming at him all the way, and he did the massive quad into the lead, which was so sick. Later that night, we were eating ice cream in the hotel with our legs up the wall, saying, ‘imagine if me or Gee could win the next day'.
The next day came and brought the downhill. Rachel had qualified first by 14 seconds, and Gee had qualified fastest by two seconds, ahead of his constant challenger, Sam Hill. Rachel claims she was not feeling any extra pressure, “For me, the pressure was almost the same. I try to win every race. I was leading the series, and it was my first year not getting injured, so I was sort of living in this heightened race machine state. When you’re young, confidence goes such a long way, so there was pressure, but it felt doable.”
She went on to win by eight seconds. Now the triple win really was on the table. On that day, Gee said, “No one wants to talk to me in the pits, they're all asking where my brother is. The pressure is on me to bring this one home.” Rachel remembers, “whilst Gee was racing, being stood at the bottom, feeling so nervous and filming, we were self-filming the Atherton project. I just remember swearing so much at Gee whilst he was racing, shouting ‘PEDAL’.”
Despite Sam Hill improving on his qualifying time by eight seconds, Gee was able to match that and take the win by three-tenths of a second. Keeping the tension high until the last moment. The finish area erupted.
“It was a huge weekend in our careers and my addiction to winning and confidence in racing,” adds Rachel, “I remember standing on the podium with them just feeling so proud of my big brothers and so relieved I didn’t let the side down with my race. I’ve felt that devastation since, when Gee won the World Champs in Norway, and I was second. I felt distraught. I think that just goes to show that we are always stronger as a family.”
As onlookers, all we have known is the three siblings on the same team, but this wasn’t always a pre-ordained certainty. Something that has stuck with Rachel, “It felt like something different at the time, to start our ‘own’ team and stay together as a family team.
This was the first moment we proved that it was the right decision. Commencal also have a strong sense of family, and it was super inspiring. Looking back, it laid the foundations for us. Looking up to Max Commencal, we felt super proud that we could win those races for him and the brand in their home town.
“In hindsight, that has influenced us a huge amount. At the time, we didn’t think ‘oh let’s start a bike company and a bike park’ but we have always looked at what’s next. When we decided to start the bike company, it had to be real and be a part of our lives. So we decided to take the very real risk of basing a startup mountain bike company in the rural town we live in, Machynlleth, Wales. Very near to Dyfi Bike Park, because we believed, as the race team had shown us, it’s the people in the company that make it. We knew we loved to live and ride in the mountains, so we hoped others would want that lifestyle too and move for a good job in a sick riding spot. With the bike park close to town, it felt like the only way to do it and for sure echoed Commencal and Andorra.”
“Still a long ways to do something similar but to have a big race at Dyfi in my eyes would be insane! We have talked about it before but you know, the area just isn’t ready for it yet. I think that is the ultimate goal but everything needs to follow suit, it’s not enough to just have a sick bike park, you need the infrastructure to grow with it. You only really get one chance at that, if you do it too soon, it’s a waste. If it did happen, I’d be so annoyed that I wasn’t able to race. Maybe I’d train for it, imagine, at something like 48 years old.”