After racing his last World Cup back in 2021, Gee Atherton is now the latest Atherton sibling to make a comeback after sister Rachel Atherton made a fairytale-winning return in Lenzerheide in June. Rachel also raced in Leogang before she unfortunately crashed out of the World Championships in Fort William with a broken collar bone.
Gee has been seen out on the course walk with the Continental Atherton riders Charlie Hatton and Andreas Kolb who took gold and silver in the Fort William World Championships. Hatton will have the opportunity to wear the World Champion's rainbow jersey for the first time in Andorra, after Atherton kit maker Endura unveiled his new kit this week. Having been spotted paying extra attention to the line choices of the Atherton dream team duo, Gee revealed in an Instagram post that he will be inside the tapes in Andorra saying he, "is taking a couple of chilled laps this weekend". Although, with a Timed Training run coming in 46th place, it's pretty good considering the length of time he's been away.
Gee has been out of World Cup action since his horrific crash suffered while filming 'The Knife Edge'. I interviewed him at Atherton HQ not long after that, though he was still clearly battle-scarred, and he told me at the time he aimed to get back to racing and filming more of his jaw-dropping edits like 'The Slate Line' ASAP. Gee did return to Red Bull Hardline last year where he achieved a top ten finish, and with the event canceled due to high winds and rain this year, he now takes the step back into World Cup racing. We can't wait to see how he goes – a return like sister Rachel would be a big ask in a stacked field but you never know...
You can watch the Pal Arinsal Downhill World Cup in Andorra live and on-demand, through Discovery+, on the Eurosport App, and globally on GCN+. This weekend also sees coverage of the UCI World Cup Olympic Cross-Country (XCO) and Short Track Cross-Country (XCC).
For more details, check out UCImtbworldseries.com.
