She’s one of the most talented downhill mountain bikers in Europe, and a mighty force on the World Cup circuit, and, get this, she’s only 20.

Photos by: John Gibson

Places to ride:

North Wales (close to my house)
Morzine, France
Sauze d’Oulx, Italy
Maribor, Slovenia
Brazil (tracks that finish near the beach are always good!)

Heroes:

Gee Atherton (my brother)
Dan Atherton (another brother)
Ricky Carmichael (motocross legend)
Brian Foster (BMX legend)
Shaun Butler (BMX legend)

Biggest slams:

Breaking my collar bone
Having operations on both shoulders to fix dislocations
Breaking my arm and needing plates in it
Needing cortisone injections in my shoulders
Compressing my femurs

Bands:

AC/DC
Rancid
Pendulum
Zutons
Fleetwood Mac

Advice for aspiring mountain bikers:

Ride as much as you can
Ride as many different bikes as possible
Ride with boys or people who are better than you
Ride Moto for strength
Ride BMX for precision and skill

For more info on Rachel visit athertonracing.co.uk, or check her out in action in one of our favourite videos ever!