Brian Lopes rides at UCI World Cup

WE all knew he'd do it. The man who needs no cups of tea or chit-chat about the British weather has come good at the second heats at the UCI Wolrd Cup in Andorra.

Brian Lopes, who gave Mountain Bike Skills, a fab interview last week was back on form and back on the grid - skidding into second place.

Read his own take on the event and how things went.

But it's the Scots who took the lead and have received a personal congratulations from the big man.

AFTER coming 33rd in the first World Cup of 2008, the king of skills Brian Lopes was all out to get back on the podium - after putting his faulty rear wheel to rights.

His 'match report' gives a real flavour of what it must be like taking on the best of the best.

But he conceded the first place spot to Scot Dan Atherton who is now preparing for the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William.

Confidence is high after Britain's most talented mountain biking family triumphed in achieving the first ever triple family win in a World Cup competition.

Brian said the talent in Britain is on the up and offered congratulations to Dan on his first win. 'Dan first, Me second, and Guiddo third. I was OK with second considering how bad I felt the day before on the track and having such bad lane choice throughout the day. Congrats to Dan on his first WC win.'

The Athertons are now gearing up to take on the rugged terrain of the Nevis Range ski area and the Leanachan Forest.

Their trio of tremendous wins last week means they will descend on Fort William at the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on the June 6-8 2008, knowing that they have what it takes to gain their first wins at the celebrated course.

Hoping to continue their recent domination of a World Cup competition, the Athertons' determination means that Rachel and her two brothers are ready for the challenge.

At last week's World Cup in Andorra, Dan won the 4-Cross World Cup round, while Rachel beat her closest rival by a staggering eight second margin to scoop the women's downhill race and her brother Gee completed the feat as he emerged as winner of the men's downhill competition.

Read the full report at Cycling Weekly.

Over 20,000 fans, families and enthusiasts are expected to attend the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on the June 6-8 2008 to soak up the electric atmosphere, stunning surroundings and action packed adventure of the biggest and most important pre-Olympic mountain bike event at Fort William.

Riders will compete across three disciplines, 4-Cross, cross-country and downhill - each requiring skill, speed and stamina that will test each rider's technical ability. The Forestry Commission World Championships' course is a spectacular mix of singletrack and wide trail with technical sections, draining climbs and fast flowing downhills.

Brian is ready for the next challenge but is still buzzing from last weekend. He said: 'After a horrible qualifier on Friday I decided to pull my head out of you know where, make a few small changes to my bike, and make the best of my 11th place qualifier.

'I knew I was getting good starts and felt fast on the first straight, which is always important in the 4x races. The rest of my track speed was feeling better, so I was feeling confident that I could get a good result. The challenge was on since after the first round I already didn't have lane choice. With the soft boggy conditions on the first straight, lane 1 was the best to have as it was the most packed down. Lanes 2 and 3 were probably the worst and lane 4 was the second best. In the semi final I was left with last choice in the start and that put me in gate 3. I got a good start and was in the lead, but Dan had lane one and about three quarters the way down the straight away he was able to get next to me, having the inside into turn one. He over cooked the turn and I managed to get back past him and take the lead.

'In the final I was left with 3rd choice, so I took lane 4 as there were only 3 and 4 left. Again I had a great start and was in first, but once again Dan came from lane one just before the first turn with a good run and had inside position. There was not much I could do but hope he would make a mistake again, which didn't happen.