Easy one to start with. Who are
you?
I’m Charlie Hatton. I’m 20 years old
and I live in Forest of Dean in the UK. I
race downhill mountain bikes for Trek
Factory Racing.
So, how’s this year going for you
so far?
It’s going good. I joined Trek Factory
Racing at the end of last year and I’m
now racing alongside Dan, Gee and
Rachel Atherton and Kade Edwards.
I’m really just getting used to the
new team and its setup. It’s working
really well and I’m starting to feel
comfortable. I came 38th at the first
World Cup in Croatia, which wasn’t
amazing but it’s a good start for sure.
You obviously moved from a UK-
based team to one of the biggest
factory teams going… That must
have felt like a big leap?
Yeah, it felt a lot different. There was
a new bike, new people, new team
manager, new mechanics, it was
all new. When I first walked in I was
pretty overwhelmed… it’s a much
bigger setup than I was used to on
previous teams. I was just like “Whoa!
What the hell!”. You’ve just got to get
used to it all though.
It’s really good, I love riding with Gee
and Rach, they’re great to ride with
and absolutely flat out. It’s good trying
to keep up with Gee!
…is that easy to do?
No! He’s been racing for so long. He
knows exactly what his limits are and
exactly where to push. He just rides
on his limit the whole time.
Let’s jump back a few steps. Where
did MTB start for you?
I grew up in the Forest of Dean and
still live there now, it’s pretty perfect
for mountain biking. My brothers used
to ride and I got a little JCB bike that
I used to go into the woods on with
them. They’d build jumps and bully me
into hitting them first. I remember one
time I crashed and my brother Sam
thought I was faking it so he just left
me there! I’d had a massive crash and
I was stuck there for an hour! My mum
had to come and carry me out!
It all started at the Forest of Dean
Cycle Centre. It’s a great place to
get into it and there’s nothing too
technical. I did the Mini Downhill
races first as it’s the only series with a
Rippers class for young ones. It all just
went from there.
And how did it grow from there?
I worked my way up from the local
races to Regional races like Pearce
Cycles and up to the British National
downhill series. I picked up a ride with
Wideopenmountainbike.com, where
I won the Junior overall at the British
Nationals and raced Junior World Cup.
That got me onto the IntenseUK team
with Saddleback. I won the overall
British National Series on Intense and
raced my first year of Elite World Cups
It probably feels like a little while
ago but how did it feel starting your
first World Cups as a junior?
It was a massive step. It was totally
different. World Cups are a four-
day event, rather than two-day. The
tracks are much more gnarly than at
a British National, and the amount
that they change over a weekend is
huge. You’ve got the fastest riders in
the world riding down and they get so
rough - it’s pretty overwhelming really,
but it’s an amazing experience.
I think that’s the most nervous I’ve
ever been dropping in at Lourdes at
my first ever World Cup. Definitely a
good memory though!
What were the real stand-out
memories of the junior years?
S**ting myself at my first World Cup
will always be a memory! I had some
alright results, including a 6th at the
World Champs. That’s what got me
onto the next step.
And going into your first Elite year.
What was your head like at that
point?
It was quite a weird one really.
I’d done World Cups before so I
knew what to expect. I was on the
IntenseUK team, and there was no
pressure to even race World Cups
so there was no pressure to perform.
That really helped me. That was the
year that I won the overall British
National which was a big confidence
boost, and it snowballed from there.
That was a big boost. u