Are we up to Episode 8 already? Episode 8 of The Atherton Project begins with the team heading out on enduro bikes with 7-time Paris-Dakar rider Mick Extance – and getting stuck into some North Wales mud, quite literally. Then it’s on to World Cup Round 6 at La Bresse in France, where legendary bike designer Max Commencal pays the team a visit and lends some words of advice and encouragement.

Spoke Magazine issue 43 hits newsstands and letterboxes next week so to give you a taster of what’s inside we thought we’d give you a little behind the scenes information from some of the content. And what better way to start things off than at the beginning, the cover shot.

So to explain a little more about how the cover shot came about, let’s hear from the cover star and the cover shooter themselves, Sven Martin and Dan Atherton.

“If I could get a dollar for for every time I have heard one of the Athertons say, “Why are you shooting that, nobody will want to use THAT!” I’d be a rich man. I usually tell them to do their job and I’ll do mine. In this case we had just pushed up a big hill above the bike park in Queenstown and I thought I’d try my luck and have them push even further up a sketchy narrow exposed goat path. Dan (Atherton) was the only one game and this is the result. I’m especially happy as now I can rub their noses in it and say I told you so.” Sven Martin, issue 43 cover photographer.

“Ever since I was a kid I dreamt of getting a cover on a shady New Zealand mag, with a photo that was shot by an even shadier, part time schizophrenic photographer. Now I have reached that goal it feels like my life is complete; I guess all there is to do is kick back and let the cash come rolling in… I would like to thank my sponsors for my high seatpost and my Camelbak. Without them, this dream would not have been possible.” Dan Atherton, issue 43 cover star and reluctant bike pusher.

As well as the cover, the Athertons and Sven Martin get a full feature about the two months they spent in Queenstown training for their racing off-season.

Tune in over the next few days for tasters of the articles in issue 43.

Added to the team’s main partners of Animal clothing, Fox Racing Shox and Shimano components is the Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport van. The Vito Sport is the perfect van for any mountain biker or outdoor enthusiast making it a perfect match to the Atherton Family.

Gee floating somewhere above Queenstown. Photo Sven Martin

The team has also forged a partnership with the Italian bike Mecca, Alpi Bike Resort. Just 45 minutes from Turin airport and with a variety of riding means the team has a great base between European rounds of the World Cup. The family will be working with the resort throughout the summer to help and develop the region.

The Athertons rolled out the new Commencal Supreme V3 with a few new additions for the 2011 season. Having worked with Continental tyres for two seasons on development the team showed off the latest addition, which they referred to as the ‘Rammstein Project,’ a dry tyre that incorporates the Black Chilli compound and the quality of a hand built German built tyre.
Working alongside the Continental tyres the Athertons will be using Stans No Tubes tubeless solution in a bid to save those ever important, tenths of a second.

Rachel shredding Queenstown just prior to the $2000 excess baggage charge! Photo Sven Martin

Also new on the bike is headsets and Tiramic cartridge bearings from Token. These trick and lightweight components help keep the Supreme’s weight a cool 2lbs lighter than 2010.

To give an added edge on the race track the team also adds Contour to the roster; the cutting edge GPS head cameras allow the Athertons to learn the track while sat in their hotel rooms.

Rachel also announced her plans to skip South Africa in a bid to ensure she is 100% for the rest of the season. With a host of tracks on the calendar that Rachel hasn’t ridden before she is raring to get going this year and will return for Fort William along with brother Dan.

Dan. Steez. DH. Three good words for 2011. Photo Sven Martin

Gee will be looking to start the World Cup season off in style down in South Africa in two week’s time but before then he will tackle the British Downhill Series on home turf at Moelfre, Wales just four miles from the Athertons’ home.

You will be able to keep up with all that is Atherton on the ‘Atherton Project’, a biweekly reality online series starting on the 27th May.

Check out athertonracing.co.uk , join us on facebook.com/athertonracing and follow us on Twitter @athertonracing

It’s not exactly news but Shimano’s off-shoot company PRO has been working on pro model parts, aka the “Star Series” with Thomas Vanderham and The Athertons. These two choice little vids produced by Anthill give a pretty cool introduction to the parts and the time and thought that has gone into their production. Hit up your local shop to find out if Shimano in New Zealand are bringing them in!

Gee looked set to take the win but flatted on his race run.

Members of the international downhill mountain bike elite were confronted with obstacles of a very different kind at “Red Bull Desafio no Morro” as they raced though the winding paths and over the roofs of the Favela Dona Marta at the foot of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ statue. Slovak rider Filip Polc powered his way to victory in the Brazilian metropolis.

Gee Atherton rails a steep spectator heavy portion of the complicated course

Downhill mountain bikers may well be more than used to sprinting, jumping and sliding down over steps, roofs, walls and rocks, but the challenge that awaited some of the world’s best at “Red Bull Desafio no Morro” in Rio de Janeiro surpassed anything and everything that had gone before. The 760-metre course descended 170 vertical metres, contained 13 special obstacles and was punctuated with plenty of jumps. So, sounds like a normal downhill, right? Wrong. The location for the high-speed event wasn’t a mountainside but the Favela Dona Marta at the foot of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue dominating the Rio de Janeiro skyline. Reaching speeds of up to 50km/h, the athletes hurtled through alleys no more than 80cm wide in places as they passed living rooms, bars and shops.

Filip Polc pins it past locals on his way to the podium

“It’s a bit like in motor rallying when the drivers manage to squeeze the car through the gap at the very last second,” commented Slovakia’s Filip Polc. As if the course through the shanty town wasn’t challenging enough, the competitors also had to contend with unexpected obstacles of the winged and four-legged kind on their way down.

Canada's Stevie Smith made the trip to Rio for the event.

Victory in the ten-man final went to the Slovak rider Filip Polc, with Brazil’s Marco and Britain’s Dan Atherton finishing second and third respectively. World champion Gee Atherton’s hopes of glory were dashed by a puncture, and the Briton could do not more than trundle in last in the final.
The favela community also profited from the special one-off event, with more than 100 locals employed before, during and after the race.

RED BULL DESAFIO NO MORRO – FINAL RESULTS:
1. Filip Polc (SVK) – 01:39:91
2. Markolf Berthold (BRA) – 01.41.57
3. Dan Atherton (GBR) – 01:42:29
4. Stevie Smith (CAN) – 01:45:16
5. Wallace Miranda (BRA) – 01:46:61
6. Doron Cattoni (BRA) – 01:49:80
7. Antonio Leiva (CHI) – 01:50:48
8. Mario Jarrin (ECU) – 01:52:20
9. Volkmar Berthold (BRA) – 01:53:35
10. Gee Atherton (GBR) – 02:06:80