George David Atherton, known as Gee Atherton (born 26 February 1985, near Salisbury, England) is a British professional racing cyclist specializing in downhill and four cross mountain bike racing, and is a multiple national champion, multiple World Cup winner, and 2008 & 2014 Downhill World Champion. He is also a rally driver and competed in his first International event in 2017 at Wales Rally GB.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | George David Atherton |
| Nickname | Gee, GeeMan |
| Born | 26 February 1985 Salisbury, England, United Kingdom |
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Atherton Bikes |
| Discipline | DH MTB |
| Role | Explorer |
| Rider type | DH & 4X |
| Professional teams | |
| 2001 | Animal |
| 2002–2003 | Animal/Muddy Fox |
| 2004 | Muddy Fox |
| 2007–2011 | Animal Commençal |
| 2011–2015 | GT Bicycles |
| 2015–2019 | Trek Factory Racing |
| 2019- | Atherton Racing |
| Major wins | |
| |
Medal record | |
Career
edit
Gee made his debut at Red Bull Rampage in 2003 at the age of 18, following his silver medal win at the Junior World Championships earlier that year.[1]
From 2007 to 2011, Gee was one third of the Animal Commençal racing team, alongside brother Dan Atherton and sister Rachel Atherton. In 2012 the Athertons started riding for team GT Factory Racing, along with Marc Beaumont.
Gee, along with Rachel and Dan, is the star of the web series "The Atherton Project" a series which follows their day-to-day lives. In 2012 Gee was racing for GT racing.
On the 25th of January 2019, Gee launched Atherton Bikes along with Rachel Atherton and Dan Atherton and renowned suspension designer Dave Weagle, utilising the latest additive manufacturing technology to create the range of bikes they have always wanted to ride.
In the 2012 season, Gee finished 3rd overall to Greg Minnaar and American world cup winner Aaron Gwin. At the world championships in Leogang Austria Gee finished 2nd by 0.58 of a second to Greg Minnaar.
He was pre-qualified for the world-renowned 2012 Red Bull Rampage in Utah but after a major crash in practice, he was unable to compete.
Gee appeared on the BBC's Top Gear (series 7), racing a Renault Clio down the streets of Lisbon and winning.[2]
Palmarès
edit- 2000
- 3rd DH, British National Mountain Biking Championships - Youth
- 2001
- 1st
DH, British National Mountain Biking Championships - Youth
- 2002
- 1st DH, British National Mountain Biking Championships - Junior
- 2003
- 1st DH, British National Mountain Biking Championships - Junior
- 2004
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 3, Schladming, Austria
- 1st DH, British National Mountain Biking Championships
- 2nd FR, Red Bull Rampage
- 2007
- 1st
DH, European Mountain Bike Championships - 3rd DH, UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, Fort William
- 1st 4X, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Vigo, Spain
- 6th DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Vigo, Spain
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 4, Schladming
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 5, Maribor
- 4th NPS DH, Round 3, Moelfre
- 1st NPS DH, Round 4, Caersws
- 1st NPS DH, Round 5, Innerleithen
- 1st Fat Face Night Race
- 1st Red Bull Metro Ride
- 1st Red Bull Goldmine
- 2nd Urban Pro, Paris
- 2008
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 2, Vallnord, Andorra
- 1st Maxxis Cup, Gouveia, Portugal
- 1st Alpine Bikes Winter Series, Scotland
- 1st DH, Monster Energy Garbanzo Downhill, Kokanee Crankworx, Whistler, Canada
- 1st NPS round 1 Ae (Scotland)
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, Trentino, Italy
- 2009
- 1st UK National Champs DH Innerleithen, Scotland
- 2010
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Maribor, Slovenia
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 2, Fort William, Scotland
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 3, Leogang, Austria
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 4, Champery, Switzerland
- 3rd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 5, Val di Sole, Italy
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 6, Windham, United States
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Overall
- 2nd FR, Redbull Rampage
- 2011
- 3rd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
- 4th DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 2, Fort William, Scotland
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 3, Leogang, Austria
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 6, La Bresse, France
- 5th DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Overall
- 2012
- 4th DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
- 2nd DH, 2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, Leogang-Saalfelden, Austria
- 2013
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 1, Fort William, Scotland
- 1st DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Round 2, Val Di Sole, Italy
- 2nd DH, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Overall
- 2014
- 1st DH, 2014 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships, Hafjell, Norway
References
edit- ^ Griffith, Dan (10 May 2023). "Utah Diary: The full story of Gee Atherton's Red Bull Rampage 2023". Red Bull.
- ^ "Gee Atherton vs. Renault Clio". YouTube/BBC. December 2005.
External links
edit- Athlete profile of Gee Atherton on Redbull.com
- athertonracing.co.uk
- Atherton Racing Profiles, Silverfish
- George Atherton, Doug Cook, Descent World, 2004
- "Gee Atherton Interview", British Cycling, 29 April 2006
- An interview with the Athertons, Steve Thomas, Cycling News, 6 September 2007
- Gee Atherton Wins Garbanzo Downhill, NSMB, 10 August 2008
- Roots and Rain - race results