August 10, 2014 (Windham, New York) – On what could very well be the fastest UCI World Cup DH track of the season, Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate rode his peaking confidence to another win this season in the Elite men’s race. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic returned to form and took home the victory for the Elite women. In the Junior Men’s race it was Taylor Vernon (Gbr) GT Factory Racing earning his first WCup win.

For Canadian fans Vaea Verbeeck (Intense/GoPro) led the charge with a strong 7th place finish in the Elite women’s race spending some time in the hot seat. Jack Almond in Team Canada colours was top Junior man in 10th, while Forrest Riesco (Banshee/RaceFace/North Shore Billett) was the top Elite man in 35th.

The race track in Windham is fast, loose and natural. It takes no prisoners, as could be seen in a spate of huge crashes this weekend during practice. Sam Dale (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team, Sam Blenkinsop (Nzl) Lapierre Gravity Republic and Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH took the brunt of the track’s fury by  going down hard in different sections of the track. However all managed to walk away and race in the final.

Just under 3 minutes long, the Windham DH could be the most physical tracks on the circuit, as racers need to go full tilt anaerobic right out of the gate, and stay redlined until they cross the finish line – all the while hitting some fairly precise lines. Heavy rains on Wednesday did nothing to slow the track down, but did help make it slightly rougher by softening up the dirt before the first big practice session. By the end of the day, it was dusty and hardpack again.

The Junior Men kicked things off as Windham fans were hoping to see local favourite and World Cup leader, Luca Shaw (USA) SRAM/TLD Racing, continue his winning streak following his Mont-Ste-Anne victory. But GT’s Vernon had other plans and stole the thunder at the only US stop on the circuit for his first WCup victory.

For Canada, Almond delivered a top-ten result finishing 10th while Jack Iles (Evil Vengeance Tour), who scored his first podium at MSA in second, finished 16th. Shaw still leads the overall series with 214 points over France’s Loris Vergier (Lapierre) at 200 while Vernon is in striking distance at 181. Canada’s Iles sits in sixth with 68 points.

In the Elite women’s race Verbeeck, the reigning national DH champ, put down a solid run and landed in the hot seat with her time of 2:56.864. But fans were on the edge of their seats when fellow Canuck Micayla Gatto (Pivot Factory DH Team) crashed and a red flag halted the competition. A bruised Gatto was able to walk away but DNF’d.

Verbeeck’s time was soon eclipsed as Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR hit the mark with 2:47.094. Ragot, who had a horrendous crash here last year right at the finish line, showed her mettle delivering the winning run that no one could touch 2:40.146 besting Rachel Atherton (Gbr) GT Factory Racing in second by almost 3 seconds. Casey Brown (Bergamont Hayes World Team) was a solid 10th while Jaime Hill finished 17th.

Manon Carpenter (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team in 4th continues to lead overall with 1,180 points followed by Ragot with 1,110 and Atherton at 1,060 with more fireworks still to come. Gatto is the top Canadian in 9th with 399 points.

The Elite men’s race was a nailbiter as well with Michael Jones (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof in the hot seat with a time of 2:27.734 until the final riders came down the mountain. First Brook Macdonald (Nzl) Trek World Racing bumped him and then Blenkinsop nailed 2:27.544.

Brosnan set the bar higher breaking thru with 2:26.455 until his teammate Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH, the second last rider, took it away with 2:25.913. It all came down to Bryceland who sailed across the line in 2:24.332 for another resounding victory.

Bryceland was excited for the win commenting, “It’s a great course and I felt good on most sections hanging it out there. My confidence is high… I like going for it.”

Bryceland slides into first place with his win at 1,007 points with Brosnan just behind at 964 and Gwin is at 925. With 200 points available for the victory at the next race, and 50 points up for grabs in qualifying it is truly coming down to the wire!

Windham sets us up for the penultimate round of the World Cup in two weeks time in Meribel, France. This brand new World Cup venue is steep and technical and the points haven’t been this close in a long time.

Full results for all races here.