June 7, 2009 (Fort William, Scotland) – The legendary downhill course at Fort William, Scotland has seen better days, but it has not often seen better race day conditions. Sunshine and warm temperatures greeted the top 80 men and top 20 women as they took to the hill this morning. Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis) proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with, winning by 9 seconds, putting in five of them on the last pedaling section alone. “I thought my body was going to collapse and I wasn’t going to make it to the line, I was so tired!” It was an all-French podium, with Emmeline Ragot (Suspension Center) and Celine Gros filling in the other two steps.

For the men, it was Greg Minnaar (RAS) Santa Cruz Syndicate with yet another win. The South African is on fire this year, so much so that nine members of his fan club made the flight up from South Africa with flags, horns and jerseys. They went beserk and rushed the finish as Minnaar used his long legs to pedal like a banshee for the last 30 seconds of the track in order to pass Australian Sam Hill (Monster Energy Speccialized) for the top place on the podium. Kiwi Sam Blenkinsop (Yeti) took third place.

Canadian Steve Smith (MS Evil Racing) finished in 12th place, his best finish ever at a track that usually sends him home injured. Now in 10th overall he commented, “I sort of rode like a pussy in a few spots, but I made it down in one piece this year. I didn’t expect to do this well.”

Meanwhile Claire Buchar (Chain Reaction Intense) and Micayla Gatto (Commencal/Oakley) finished 8th and 9th in the women’s DH, another great results for the pair of Canadian downhillers. “I had a spoke wrapped around my wheel the entire way!” commented Gatto, laughing.” I am super happy with this result, it’s a tough track here in Scotland.”

Results

Elite Women

1. Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 05:17.6
2. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 0.09.02
3. Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 0.12.95
4. Floriane Pugin (Fra) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 0.13.70
5. Myriam Nicole (Fra) 0.14.10
6. Mio Suemasa (Jpn) 0.15.19
7. Tracy Moseley (Gbr) Trek World Racing 0.15.51
8. Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 0.25.04
9. Micayla Gatto (Can) Commencal/Oakley 0.25.07
10. Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott 11 0.25.37
11. Melissa Buhl (USA) 0.27.54
12. Fionn Griffiths (Gbr) Norco World Team 0.31.63
13. Anita Molcik (Aut)0.32.88
14. Katy Curd (Gbr) 0.33.93
15. Miriam Ruchti (Swi) Team Vario Racing 0.38.04
16. Joanna Petterson (RSA) 0.39.35
17. Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) 0.45.94
18. Sarah Newman (Gbr)0.48.18
19. Sophie Borderes (Fra) 0.48.27
20. Jessica Stone (Gbr) 2Stagefactory 0.52.16

Elite Men

1. Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 04:39.0
2. Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Catz 0.01.45
3. Samuel Blenkinsop (Nzl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 0.02.87
4. Gee Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal 0.02.99
5. Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles 0.04.15
6. Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0.05.63
7. Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0.07.17
8. Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing 0.07.46
9. Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 0.07.74
10. Marc Beaumont (Gbr) GT Bicycles 0.08.36
11. Justin Leov (Nzl) Trek World Racing 0.09.35
12. Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing 0.09.39
13. Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi 0.09.41
14. Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 0.09.98
15. Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 0.10.91
16. Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 0.11.43
17. Robin Wallner (Swe) 0.11.54
18. Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 0.12.07
19. Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 0.12.18
20. Danny Hart° (Gbr) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 0.12.45
21. David Vazquez Lopez (Spa) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 0.12.51
22. Brendan Fairclough (Gbr) Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Catz 0.13.05
23. Dan Stanbridge (Gbr) 0.13.19
24. Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 0.13.51
25. Brook Macdonald° (Nzl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 0.13.56
26. Joshua Button (Aus) 0.13.89
27. Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH 0.13.91
28. Sam Dale (Gbr) 0.14.26
29. Joseph Smith (Gbr) Kona 0.15.02
30. Thomas Braithwaite (Gbr) 0.15.06
31. Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) 0.15.21
32. Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 0.15.49
33. Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi 0.15.86
34. Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing 0.15.96
35. Joris Bigoni (Fra) 0.16.18
36. Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn 0.16.53
37. Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing 0.16.63
38. Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team 0.17.22
39. Rhys Willemse° (Aus) 0.17.47
40. Nathan Rennie (Aus) Kenda Morewood 0.17.68
41. Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 0.17.89
42. Matthew Simmonds (Gbr) 0.18.93
43. Jared Graves (Aus) 0.19.05
44. Cesar Rojo (Spa) 0.19.18
45. Marco Milivinti (Ita) 0.19.24
46. Aari Barrett° (Nzl) 0.20.12
47. Will Rischbieth (Aus) 0.20.21
48. Antoine Badouard (Fra) 0.20.32
49. Mitchell Delfs (Aus) 0.20.59
50. Mathieu Troquier (Fra) 0.20.76
50. Nico Vink (Bel)
52. Kyle Strait (USA) 0.20.81
53. Bernard Kerr° (Gbr) 0.21.27
54. Harry Heath° (Gbr) 0.21.30
55. Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) 0.21.65
56. Benny Strasser (Ger) 0.22.29
57. Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) 0.22.40
58. Neil Donoghue (Gbr) 0.22.75
59. Wyn Masters (Nzl) 0.22.83
60. Robert Smith (Gbr) 0.23.14
61. Mathieu Gallean (Fra) 0.23.99
62. Scott Laughland (Irl) 0.24.05
63. Cody Warren (USA) 0.24.62
63. Herman Olund (Swe)
65. Marcel Beer (Swi) 0.24.85
66. Dominik Gspan (Swi) 0.26.02
67. Cameron Cole (Nzl) 0.26.58
68. Ralph Jones (Gbr) 0.27.98
69. Arran Gannicott° (Gbr) 0.28.39
70. Elias Somvi (Ita) 0.28.77
71. Andréa Gamenara° (Ita) 0.31.50
72. Shaun O’connor° (Aus) 0.36.23
73. Bryn Atkinson (Aus) 0.41.17
74. Joe Barnes (Gbr) 0.47.64
75. Fabien Cousinie (Fra) 2.54.73
76. Mickael Pascal (Fra) 3.20.58
DNF Damien Spagnolo (Fra)
DNF Tom Deacon (Gbr)
DNF Markus Pekoll (Aut)
DNF Nicolas Ortiz (Fra)
DNF Matthew Scoles (Nzl)
DNF Ben Cathro (Gbr)

Overall after Round #4

Elite Women

1. Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 892 pts
2. Tracy Moseley (Gbr) Trek World Racing 750
3. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 725
4. Myriam Nicole (Fra) 496
5. Floriane Pugin (Fra) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 439
6. Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 421
7. Mio Suemasa (Jpn) 375
8. Fionn Griffiths (Gbr) Norco World Team 355
9. Melissa Buhl (USA) 284
10. Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott 11 242
11. Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 235
12. Joanna Petterson (RSA)135
13. Micayla Gatto (Can) Commencal/Oakley 110
14. Petra Bernhard (Aut) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 97
15. Katy Curd (Gbr) 92
16. Helen Gaskell (Gbr) 80
17. Anita Molcik (Aut) 80
18. Miriam Ruchti (Swi) Team Vario Racing 75
19. Anais Pajot (Fra) Team Sunn 60
20. Sarah Newman (Gbr) 60
21. Diana Marggraff (Ecu) 60
22. Anka Martin (RSA) 40
23. Jessica Stone (Gbr) 2Stagefactory 40
24. Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) 35
25. Miranda Miller (Can) Mad March Racing/Santa Cruz30
26. Elisa Canepa (Ita) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 30
27. Risa Suseanty (Ina) 25
28. Harriet Rucknagel (Ger)20
29. Victoria Phillips (RSA)20
30. Antje Kramer (Ger) 15
31. Sophie Borderes (Fra) 10
32. Fanny Lombard (Fra) 5
33. Caroline Sax (Fra) 5

Elite Men

1. Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 762 pts
2. Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 758
3. Gee Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal 657
4. Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles 652
5. Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Catz 607
6. Samuel Blenkinsop (Nzl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 406
7. Justin Leov (Nzl) Trek World Racing 386
8. Brendan Fairclough (Gbr) Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Catz 354
9. Marc Beaumont (Gbr) GT Bicycles 329
10. Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing 301
11. Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing 298
12. Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 293
13. Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 288
14. Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 285
15. Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi 279
16. David Vazquez Lopez (Spa) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 273
17. Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 261
18. Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) 259
19. Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing 241
20. Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing 238
21. Robin Wallner (Swe) 228
22. Mickael Pascal (Fra) MSC Bikes 209
23. Dan Stanbridge (Gbr) 206
24. Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kenda Morewood 201
25. Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 184
26. Danny Hart° (Gbr) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 184
27. Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 179
28. Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 171
29. Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn 169
30. Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi 166
31. Thomas Braithwaite (Gbr) 164
32. Joseph Smith (Gbr) Kona 159
33. Fabien Cousinie (Fra) 153
34. Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) 153
35. Joris Bigoni (Fra) 151
36. Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 145
37. Nathan Rennie (Aus) Kenda Morewood 143
38. Cameron Cole (Nzl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 142
39. Joshua Button (Aus) 139
40. Kyle Strait (USA) Specialized Team America 138
41. Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 138
42. Dan Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal 134
43. Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 133
44. Cody Warren (USA) Specialized Team America 131
45. Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 130
46. Bryn Atkinson (Aus) 124
47. Sam Dale (Gbr) 121
48. Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH 118
49. Tom Deacon (Gbr) 2Stagefactory 110
50. Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team 106
51. Antoine Badouard (Fra) 101
52. Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 101
53. Matthew Simmonds (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 101
54. Ruaridh Cunningham (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 100
55. Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 99
56. Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 95
57. Brook Macdonald° (Nzl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 90
58. Nathan Rankin (Nzl) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 89
59. Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Team Sunn 81
60. Cesar Rojo (Spa) 80
61. Benny Strasser (Ger) 80
62. Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 79
63. Aari Barrett° (Nzl) Scott 11 75
64. Wyn Masters (Nzl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 74
65. Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 71
66. Bradley Benedict (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 70
67. Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 69
68. Will Rischbieth (Aus) 69
69. Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 66
70. Florent Payet (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 66
71. Cédric Gracia (Fra) 62
72. Adam Vagner (Cze) 61
73. Ben Cathro (Gbr) 61
74. Nicolas Ortiz (Fra) 57
75. Ryan Condrashoff (USA) X-Fusion-Intense 54
76. Marco Milivinti (Ita) Dytech DH 53
77. Romain Paulhan (Fra) 52
78. Neil Donoghue (Gbr) 52
79. Jonty Neethling (RSA) 51
80. Joe Barnes (Gbr) 51
81. Matthew Scoles (Nzl) 49
82. Herman Olund (Swe) 48
83. Rhys Willemse° (Aus) 46
84. Harry Heath° (Gbr) 45
85. Kieran Bennett (Nzl) X-Fusion-Intense 44
86. Bernard Kerr° (Gbr) 43
87. Dominik Gspan (Swi) 42
88. Georg Sieder (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 40
89. Johann Potgieter (RSA) 38
90. Esteban Deronzier (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 38
91. Adam Brayton (Gbr) Just Reid Race Team 38
92. Vlastimil Hyncica (Cze) 37
93. Matej Charvat (Cze) 36
94. Dennis Dertell (Swe) 33
95. Nico Vink (Bel) 31
96. Mathieu Troquier (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 31
97. Rowan Sorrell (Gbr) 28
98. Arnau Sugranes Mateu (Spa) 27
99. Marco Bugnone (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 26
100. Claudio Cozzi (Ita) Dytech DH 25
101. Emanuel Pombo (Por) 24
102. Kevin Aiello° (USA) GT Bicycles 24
103. Curtis Keene (USA) 23
104. Maximilian Bender (Ger) 21
105. Robert Smith (Gbr) 21
106. Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Team Sunn 20
107. Rémy Charrier (Fra) Team Sunn 19
108. Scott Laughland (Irl) 19
109. Scott Mears (Gbr) 19
110. Arran Gannicott° (Gbr) 19
111. Maxime Remy (Fra) Suspension Center 16
112. Marcel Beer (Swi) 16
113. Carlo Gambirasio (Ita) Surfing Shop 15
114. Pierre Van Der Merwe° (RSA) 15
115. Timothy Bentley° (RSA) 14
116. Kim Petersson° (Swe) 13
117. Ralph Jones (Gbr) 13
118. Iago Garay Tamayo° (Spa) 12
119. Louis-Bresler Knipe (RSA) 12
120. David Eme (Fra) 11
121. Laurie Dinham° (Aus) Suspension Center 11
122. Jorge Aguin Castro (Spa) 11
123. Elias Somvi (Ita) 11
124. Gary Barnard (RSA) 10
125. Markus Olkkonen (Fin) 10
126. Andréa Gamenara° (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 10
127. Darryn Stow (RSA) 9
128. Shaun O’connor° (Aus) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 9
129. Hayden Brown (RSA) 8
130. James Hughes (Gbr) 7
131. Emyr Davies (Gbr) 5
132. Martin Frei (Swi) 4
133. Simon Dinkelman° (RSA) 4
134. Daniel Critchlow (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 3

°=Junior