June 13, 2014 (Leogang, Austria) – The spring campaign of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano concludes this weekend with Round 4 of the downhill series in Leogang, Austria. A well-respected and experienced World Cup organiser, Leogang played host to the downhill finale last year and the World Championships in 2012. Twelve Canadians are registered for the DH this weekend.

Leogang is also hosting the 2014 UCI 4X World Championships this weekend however no Canadians will be competing.

The downhill became a much more open competition last weekend, in Fort William, Scotland, with the series leaders for both the men and women failing to score victories.

In the women’s competition, the two British riders who had been tied atop the standings – Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) and Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) – both flatted in the final, opening the door for Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic) to take the win. Carpenter still holds the overall lead, but only by a slim five points over Ragot, while Atherton dropped to fifth. However, both Brits will be eager for revenge, so this should be a battle.

On the men’s side, Troy Brosnan (Specialized Racing DH) took his first ever World Cup victory in Fort William, and stated that he is eager for more. World Cup leader Aaron Gwin (Specialized Racing DH) was fifth, but continues to lead the standings.

Others to watch include Gee Atherton (GT Factory), and Canadian Champion Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing). Smith made a remarkable return from injury to finish sixth in his first race of the season last weekend. He won the World Cup title last year with a victory here in Leogang and would love to take the victory on Sunday

Qualifying takes place on Saturday, and you can watch all the action live on Sunday on www.redbull.tv.