After his incredible victory at Saturday's UCI DH World Championships in Fort William and some emotional celebrations in the Atherton Racing pits, we figured it was about time we caught up with young Brit Charlie Hatton to get the lowdown on his race weekend, finals run and what it's like to be the new downhill world champ.
Did you have any inkling it was going to be a special weekend for you?
To be fair, yes! After the Fort William Nationals, I was feeling good (I came third, behind Laurie Greenland and Matt Walker), it’s probably my favourite track, and World Champs is extra special, so I was excited for it. I’d had a really good two weeks’ training, so physically I felt strong and I was feeling really good on the bike.
A couple of days before we headed up to Scotland, we headed over to Antur Stiniog for some laps, and there was a really big British crew there – me and Rach, Joe Breeden, Bernard Kerr, Jordan Williams. We had a great time, so I was pretty buzzing after that. I thought if I had a great run, a medal would be possible.
How did you feel during your finals run? Did you have any idea what the conditions would be like?
After qualis, I knew I was riding well, so that gave me a bit of a confidence boost. I had no idea what it’d be like because we’d all practised in the dry, but Joe Breeden was in the woods for me, sending reports back up to the top on what the track conditions were doing.
At World Champs, full commitment is always required, but when conditions are so wild, if you’re real confident on the bike and just let it slide around a little bit, that’s the key. I do really like the wet.
It’s often hard at Fort William to know if you’re going fast, but especially with the weather being so different, it was so hard to judge, and vison was so much worse, so again that made things harder.
But it felt like I was at one with the bike, no real mistakes, perfect flow, so I could attack at the top, get through the woods solid and pedal like mad at the bottom! I was absolutely gassed at the finish. I put everything into that run.
What do you think helped you stay upright and fast while others slipped out or crashed?
The confidence to just keep going and let the bike do its thing and move around a bit. There were a few places where I look back and think, “If I hadn’t relaxed there, I could have come unstuck”, but that’s the big advantage of the Atherton bike and the trust we have in it.
Andi [teammate Andreas Kolb] will tell you exactly the same – he made that little mistake in the woods but he didn’t panic, just trusted his bike and rode it out.
How did it feel sitting in the hot seat, especially when it became clear that last-man-down Loris Vergier wasn’t going to beat your time?
Honestly, it was the weirdest feeling ever! You’d think the emotions would be flying, but I felt almost nothing. Maybe, like, shock and disbelief that it was actually happening!
When Andi won at Leogang in front of his home crowd, he was bawling! But I was … I dunno, I can’t describe it really. The emotions hadn’t kicked in, for sure!
After Andi came down, I knew I had a medal so I did start to get a bit excited then. We’ve joked for the last couple of years about going one-two in a big race, but not like it could happen… and it did! Ridiculous!
So good for Atherton Bikes, too – a British guy winning at home on a British bike designed by his teammates! With Andi winning the silver, too, if Rach hadn’t been injured, who knows what the weekend would’ve looked like!
Has it all sunk in yet?!
No, definitely not. Throughout the day I get little reminders and I’m like, “Wow, it was real!”. It’s definitely going to take a while. It’s been a bit crazy – like, some of the team stopped for a meal in the services, and this family came and sang them a Charlie Hatton song!
Anything you’d like to add?
Yeah, a huge thanks to so many people who’ve been a part of this. To Andi, for constantly pushing me on and dragging me upwards. To my family and Cara for putting up with everything! [Dad] Les for traipsing me around Europe in his van, back in the day.
To the team – Lloydy [team manager Tom Lloyd] and the boys do such a great job; you’ve got the two Bens [mechanics Ben Lovell and Ben Oakeley] pumping up the tunes and bringing the good vibes in the pits; [Alan] Milway and Wayne [Peter] on the coaching and physio; Dan, Gee and Rach for believing in me; Dom [Platt], our junior, for making us laugh and not minding that we bully him rotten; and to Brownie [team director Dan Brown].
And to the guys at Athy Bikes who’ve made this beast of a machine. Ed [Meakes], one of the frame builders, had put in so many extra hours polishing the lugs and making it look extra-special, and we had fresh kits from Endura, custom mudguards, brakes –the team partners really went the extra mile! Unreal.
