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Manitou Gold Rush: Hattie Harnden Strikes Gold in Les Gets.
Aug 24, 2026
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Hattie Harnden Claims Her First Elite DH World Cup Victory in Les Gets
Dorado means gold in Spanish. In Les Gets, Hattie Harnden took it literally.
Hattie claimed her first Elite UCI Downhill World Cup victory, putting herself, AON Racing and her Manitou-equipped Gamux on the top step after an extraordinary race on one of the most insidious tracks of the season.
The victory also made history. Hattie became the first Elite rider to win a UCI Downhill World Cup aboard a Gates belt-driven bike, unlocking the €100,000 Gates Belted Purse in the process.
Gold on the podium. €100K in the purse. And a Manitou Dorado leading the way.
The victory also made history. Hattie became the first Elite rider to win a UCI Downhill World Cup aboard a Gates belt-driven bike, unlocking the €100,000 Gates Belted Purse in the process.
Gold on the podium. €100K in the purse. And a Manitou Dorado leading the way.
Making Rough Look Smooth
Les Gets was anything but smooth.
Rain transformed an already demanding World Cup track into a brutal combination of mud, roots, ruts, impacts and constantly changing grip. The course caused problems throughout the field and left precious little margin for error.
For suspension, conditions like these represent the ultimate test.
The inverted Manitou Dorado is designed to keep the front wheel working with the terrain rather than fighting against it, combining exceptional sensitivity, tracking and control with the support required for World Cup speed. At the rear, the Mara Pro works in concert with the fork and the highly developed AON Racing Gamux chassis to keep the bike composed through repeated impacts and unpredictable terrain.
The objective isn’t comfort. It is control. When the course becomes increasingly violent and unpredictable, sublime suspension performance can make that chaos more manageable. It helps maintain traction where others struggle to find it, preserves precision when lines deteriorate and gives the rider the confidence to continue attacking.
Les Gets threw just about everything it could at Hattie. Manitou helped smooth the way through it.
The inverted Manitou Dorado is designed to keep the front wheel working with the terrain rather than fighting against it, combining exceptional sensitivity, tracking and control with the support required for World Cup speed. At the rear, the Mara Pro works in concert with the fork and the highly developed AON Racing Gamux chassis to keep the bike composed through repeated impacts and unpredictable terrain.
The objective isn’t comfort. It is control. When the course becomes increasingly violent and unpredictable, sublime suspension performance can make that chaos more manageable. It helps maintain traction where others struggle to find it, preserves precision when lines deteriorate and gives the rider the confidence to continue attacking.
Les Gets threw just about everything it could at Hattie. Manitou helped smooth the way through it.
From Enduro Champion to DH World Cup Winner
The result adds another remarkable achievement to Hattie’s already extraordinary palmarès.
Having won at the highest level across multiple mountain bike disciplines, including taking the Enduro World Cup overall, Hattie has increasingly turned her attention toward downhill with AON Racing.
Now she is an Elite Downhill World Cup winner too. Her versatility also makes her an invaluable development athlete. Hattie understands how suspension needs to perform across an enormous range of terrain, speeds and riding situations. Combined with the technical curiosity of the AON Racing program, that feedback provides Manitou with an exceptional environment in which to test, refine and continue pushing suspension performance forward.
Having won at the highest level across multiple mountain bike disciplines, including taking the Enduro World Cup overall, Hattie has increasingly turned her attention toward downhill with AON Racing.
Now she is an Elite Downhill World Cup winner too. Her versatility also makes her an invaluable development athlete. Hattie understands how suspension needs to perform across an enormous range of terrain, speeds and riding situations. Combined with the technical curiosity of the AON Racing program, that feedback provides Manitou with an exceptional environment in which to test, refine and continue pushing suspension performance forward.
Racing Is the Laboratory
AON Racing isn’t simply racing Manitou suspension. We are developing it together.
The team’s willingness to question convention makes it one of the most fascinating programs in the World Cup paddock. Chassis behavior, geometry, rider position, spring characteristics, damping and suspension setup are considered parts of the same performance equation. Settings are tested. Ideas are challenged. Prototypes are ridden. Feedback becomes development.
The goal isn’t to make something different simply for the sake of being different. It is to make something better.
Physics, not fashion. And there are few better ways to validate that philosophy than taking an unconventional race bike, fitted with an inverted Manitou fork, down one of the roughest and most treacherous tracks of the season faster than anyone else.
The team’s willingness to question convention makes it one of the most fascinating programs in the World Cup paddock. Chassis behavior, geometry, rider position, spring characteristics, damping and suspension setup are considered parts of the same performance equation. Settings are tested. Ideas are challenged. Prototypes are ridden. Feedback becomes development.
The goal isn’t to make something different simply for the sake of being different. It is to make something better.
Physics, not fashion. And there are few better ways to validate that philosophy than taking an unconventional race bike, fitted with an inverted Manitou fork, down one of the roughest and most treacherous tracks of the season faster than anyone else.
A Golden Weekend
The €100,000 Gates Belted Purse makes an already remarkable weekend even sweeter. But beyond the prize money is something perhaps even more valuable: validation.
A forward-thinking bike. A belt-driven drivetrain. Manitou suspension. A team prepared to experiment. And one of the world’s most accomplished mountain bike athletes putting the entire package onto the highest step of a World Cup podium. Dorado means gold.
At Les Gets, Hattie Harnden delivered exactly that. Congratulations Hattie and AON Racing. Sometimes the roughest road is the one that leads to gold.
A forward-thinking bike. A belt-driven drivetrain. Manitou suspension. A team prepared to experiment. And one of the world’s most accomplished mountain bike athletes putting the entire package onto the highest step of a World Cup podium. Dorado means gold.
At Les Gets, Hattie Harnden delivered exactly that. Congratulations Hattie and AON Racing. Sometimes the roughest road is the one that leads to gold.
