Fort William often produces great drama for both the fans that pack into the venue and for the hundreds of thousands watching at home; with this year’s edition being no exception. Most of the top ranked riders from 2016 arrived into Scotland without protected status thanks to the rained out end of round 1 in Lourdes (FRA). Other riders had higher than expected rankings that they wanted to hang on to, so the stage was set for a many changes in the overall ranking, and many possible surprises.