‘Fastest mum in the world’: Rachel Atherton wins UCI Downhill World Cup

Rachel Atherton triumphed in the UCI Downhill World Cup in Lenzerheide on Saturday, staking her claim as “the fastest mum in the world”.

The six-time world champion had only raced once since 2019 after suffering a serious achilles injury and then, in 2021, giving birth to her daughter, Arna. Nonetheless, she won the women’s elite title in three minutes 7.514 seconds to deny Camille Balanche, the semi-final winner, victory on home soil in Switzerland.

“I just actually can’t believe it, it hasn’t really sunk in,” Atherton said afterwards. “You get so fired up and then it’s three minutes and it’s over.

“Coming into this I didn’t know if I would qualify, yesterday [qualification] was mind-blowing. I was like: ‘Woah!’ And this new format is so hard, doing semi-finals, you’ve got to save some energy. It’s mental, oh my gosh!”

Asked how it felt to have 21-month old Arna in attendance, Atherton said: “I want to cry! People said ‘leave her at home and come out and focus on yourself’ but having her here helps me relax and takes your mind off it.

“This morning I woke up at 5am and was like: ‘Oh my god, I’m so nervous.’ So I went into her room and I was like: ‘Yo, do you want to play?’ It takes your mind off it and it’s so good, I would recommend.”

During the race Cedric Gracia, the Eurosport commentator, dubbed Atherton “the fastest mum in the world” and “wonder woman”. Following her victory, the Salisbury-born racer headed straight back to the pits to breastfeed her daughter.

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“I’ve always wanted to try and put Arna first by breastfeeding on demand and that’s been so amazing but also