courtesy Ari Cheren/UCI
July 14, 2002 (Telluride, CO) – Anne-Caroline Chausson (FRA,
Volvo-Cannondale) made a heroic comeback from injury to win her
third-straight world cup downhill final and retain the series lead,
while Steve Peat (GBR, Orange England) won his second consecutive downhill
to also remain #1 in the overall series.
With hot and dusty conditions in
the high altitude of drought-stricken Telluride, the downhill finals took
the riders’ breath away as they flew down this 10,000 foot high mountain.
Men’s Event:
Steve Peat (GBR, Orange England) was also anything but a sure bet for the
win, as he raced with an injured knee that had swelled to the size of
a grapefruit by race day, after crashing on it during practice. His chances
of winning seemed further in doubt when Fabien Barel (FRA, Maxxis-MSC)
qualified fastest with a time of 2:03, Peat only managing to qualify
8th-fastest in the semi’s .
But what Peat knew is that Barel often goes his fastest in qualifying. So
when Peat was able to post a time of 2:03 in the final, he was confident
enough that his time could hold for the win. But, as it was in the women’s
final, it was extremely close in the men’s race.
Peat took the hotseat from Canadian Dustin Adams (Giant), who posted a time
of 2:02 – his career’s best run compared to his previous best of 25th in a
world cup. Peat’s time was a second faster at 2:01.81, but 7 more riders
remained.
“I made a mistake in my qualifier, but this run was pretty much 100%,” said
Peat as he peeled off his skinsuit in the hotseat – a race uniform he was
averse to wearing – as he changed back into traditional loose “moto”
clothing. “It’s definitely harder at this altitude,” he added. “But I flew
in late this week and have felt good.”
Cedric Gracia (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale) came down the mountain soon after
Peat, and was fastest at the intermediate time. But he lost speed on the
course’s final open sweeping turns and finished in 2:03 after sliding in the
soft and deep dust. “I had a foot out and was just sliding,” said Gracia. “I
thought I was close to dying today.”
Mick Hannah (AUS, Haro/Lee Dungarees) was next and posted a time of 2:03,
good enough for an eventual 5th place finish. “I lost it a little bit on the
last turn,” he said.
Then 4th-seeded Cyril Lagneau (FRA, Maxxis-MSC) made his final run to post a
time of 2:02.52 – just .71 slower than Peat. Peat remained in the hotseat,
but the competitors were getting close to his time, and two fast riders
remained.
First 2nd-seed Mickael Pascal (FRA, Be-One Team) came through the finish,
but could only manage a 2:03.26 – a quarter second from the podium. That
left top-qualifier Fabien Barel (FRA, Maxxis-MSC), who had been studying
each section of the course meticulously all during practice.
But while Barel was .65 of a second faster than Peat at the intermediate
split, he was only able to shave two seconds from his qualifier time. He
posted a time of 2:01.96, an impressively close 0.15 from Peat’s time –
bringing yet another world cup downhill win to a matter of hundredths of a
second.
“I had a good start and rode smooth at the top,” said Barel. “But near the
end I broke my chain retention device on a rock, and lost some time getting
my bike to pedal right. But I did the best I could, and feel good with my
race. Today there were good riders from all over the world.”
Peat celebrated his second win of the season and an extension in the points,
after rival Chris Kovarik (AUS, Intense Cycles) finished a distant 21st.
Kovarik, as it turned out, was riding injured with a broken thumb, a
fractured rib and a bruised kidney – injuries sustained in a practice crash
at the previous round in Mont Sainte-Anne.
While Barel finished second, Lagneau earned his career’s best world cup
finish after placing 9th and 6th in Vars and Kaprun, respectively last
season. “Today was just a great combination of elements,” he said. “The
team, the bike – it gives me a lot of confidence for future races.”
“All of those last riders were tough,” said Peat. “I was nervous waiting for
them, and I knew Fabien was fast and always rides as hard as he can. So I
went as hard as possible. Now I’ll go home for a couple weeks and race the
British National Championships, then go to Kaprun for Worlds.”
Peat now leads the overall series with 752 points compared to #2-ranked
Gracia’s 609. Kovarik drops a spot to 3rd overall, with 604 points.
Women’s Event
Anne-Caroline Chausson (FRA, Volvo-Cannondale) was not even expected to race
on Sunday, after a crash in Saturday night’s 4X race sent her to the
hospital dazed, and with a sore back. After being x-rayed and CAT-scanned,
she awoke Sunday with no intention of racing, but simply had to heed the
call of the series championship.
And so, at the last minute, Chausson came up from the town of Telluride to
the mountain village to race in the semi-final qualifiers, and finished 6th
in the semi’s to earn more points toward the championship. She was simply
hoping to control whatever damage #2-ranked Sabrina Jonnier (FRA, Intense
Cycles) might inflict with today’s final. And, were it not for the
championship being
on the line, Chausson said she would not have raced at all.
In the finals Diana Marggraff (ECU) took the leader’s hotseat early, and was
soon replaced by April Lawyer (USA, Maxxis) – who also finished 2nd in the
4X this weekend. Then, with 8 riders remaining, 2000 Jr. World Champion
Kathy Pruitt (USA, Santa Cruz/Azonic) took over as the race leader with a
time of 2:25.
But Chausson came down the mountain two women later, and posted a time of
2:21.73 – nearly 7 seconds faster than her qualifying time. She took the
hotseat, but was barely able to climb into the chair as she was still in
pain from her crash. “It hurts me more to walk than to ride,” she said as
she sat down.
Five riders remained, but none were able to beat Chausson’s time. 4th-seeded
Jonnier came close with a 2:22.23, and was surprised to see Chausson sitting
in the leader’s seat when she arrived at the finish line. “I thought ‘Oh no,
not again’,” she said afterward. “I was angry.”
Missy Giove (USA, Global Racing Team) came next, and posted a time of
2:22.80 – just a half second slower than Jonnier. Then Giove’s teammate
Marielle Saner (SUI, Team Global Racing) raced down the mountain and posted
an outstanding time of 2:22.24 – just .01 slower than Jonnier and .51 slower
than Chausson.
#1 seed Tracy Moseley (GBR, Team Kona) had posted a time of 2:23.49 in the
semi-finals and was last down the mountain, but made enough small mistakes
to finish 5th for the day, with a nearly identical time of 2:23.57.
That gave Chausson her hardest-fought victory of her career, as she won by
just a half second over her fellow French rival on this Bastille Day. “Tracy
was faster than me at the intermediate time, but missed the last turn. But I
was most happy to beat Sabrina for the championship.”
“I just wanted to get some points today, and didn’t think I would race this
morning,” she added. “I made a mistake on the entrance to the forest, but
didn’t want to go too fast. Luckily there was no pedaling on this course.”
“Hopefully we will decide the overall championship at the finals,” said
Jonnier. “I made a mistake on the turn before the woods, but didn’t know
that Anne was in the leader’s seat when I came down.”
Saner was quite happy with her third place after bruising her eye in a crash
at the last round in Quebec. “I went 3 seconds faster than my qualifier, and
it’s a pity I didn’t get second because I was so close – but I’m happy with
my race today.”
Chausson now has 777 points to Jonnier’s 715, with Moseley 3rd overall with
650 points.
Final Results
Women’s DH
1. Anne-Caroline CHAUSSON (FRA VOLVO-CANNONDALE)
2. Sabrina JONNIER (FRA)
3. Tracy MOSELEY Tracy (GBR)
4. Vanessa Quin (NZL)
5. Fionn GRIFFITHS (GBR)
6. Marielle Saner (SUI GLOBAL RACING)
7. Missy Giove (USA GLOBAL RACING)
8. Mio Suemasa (JPN TREK VOLKSWAGEN)
9. Celine Gros (FRA MORZINE-AVORIAZ)
10. Helen Gaskell (GBR)
Men’s DH:
1. Steve PEAT (GBR) ORANGE ENGLAND
2. Fabien BAREL (FRA) MAXXIS-MSC
3. Cyril LAGNEAU (FRA) MAXXIS-MSC
4. Dustin ADAMS (CAN)
5. Mick HANNAH (AUS) HAROLEEDUNGAREE
6. Cedric GRACIA (FRA) VOLVO-CANNONDAL
7. Mickael PASCAL (FRA) TEAM BE ONE
8. John WADDELL (AUS)
9. Julien POOMANS (FRA)
10. Ivan OULEGO MORENO (ESP)