April 25, 2014 (Cairns, Australia) – Four Canadians qualified for Saturday’s final of the DH MTB World Cup in Cairns. Casey Brown (Can) Bergamont Hayes World Team, Micayla Gatto (Can) Pivot Factory DH Team, and Claire Buchar (Can) Kovarik Racing finished sixth, 10th, and 11th, respectively, in the women’s qualifications, while Forrest Riesco (Can) Banshee/RaceFace was the sole Canadian to advance to the final in the elite men’s field, qualifying 46th. Read the Cycling Australia release below.
New Zealand’s Samuel Blenkinsop (Lapierre Gravity Republic) and reigning world champion Rachel Atherton (GBR / GT Factory Racing) mastered the muddy Smithfield track to post the fastest times in downhill qualifying on a wild day at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Cairns.
Following two days of solid rain in the region, the downhill track at the Smithfield Regional Park tested the world’s best, with a mixture of mud, sludge, rain and roots, creating some of the most challenging conditions ever seen at a World Cup.
Thousands of mountain biking fans braved the rain and mud to show their support of the event, cheering on Cairns natives Mick and Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson UR) who progressed through to Saturday’s finals. Mick finished 34th after suffering an early crash, while Tracey finished seventh.
Men’s Recap – New Zealand’s Sam Blenkinsop upstaged his more fancied rivals to qualify fastest in the elite men’s downhill on another wet and muddy day at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Cairns.
Blenkinsop covered the 1.9 kilometre course in a time of four minutes 22.233 seconds, a mere 0.7 seconds in front of round one winner Aaron Gwin (4:22.961 / Specialized Racing DH). Reigning world champion Greg Minnaar (4:24.411 / Santa Cruz Syndicate) was a further 2.178 seconds back.
“It kind of suits me these conditions,” said the reigning Oceania champion Blenkinsop. “My qualifying was pretty good, I am surprised that I am in the lead at the moment but we will see how that holds up.”
“I just tried to ride smooth and consistent and not slide out anywhere. I knew that the bottom section would make up the time so I’m happy.
“Tomorrow will be the battle,” added Blenkinsop.
Australia’s Mick Hannah (Hutchinson UR) qualified well down the order in 34th position after an early crash hampered his run.
“It’s disappointing for me to see the track in these conditions, its such a cool track and now it’s just a battle to get to the bottom,” said Hannah of the wet weather. “I crashed and then lost quite a bit of time, but hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.”
Women’s Recap – Reigning world and world cup champion Rachel Atherton (GBR / GT Factory Racing) blitzed the field to post a time of five minutes 20.568 seconds.
Atherton showed her class to finish a whopping 18 seconds ahead of compatriot Manon Carpenter (5:39.370 / Madison Saracen Factory Team) and a further 21.581 seconds in front of France’s Emmeline Ragot (5:42.149 / Lapierre Gravity Republic).
“[That was the] hardest thing ever, hands down. I could have got down there better on my running shoes,” said Atherton of the thick and sticky mud which lines the course.
“The crowd was amazing, I was all ready to give up, like ‘guys this is too slow’, and they were like, ‘c’mon you’re faster, you’re going faster’. They really helped me and pushed me on.
“I just can’t believe how hard that was.”
Australia’s Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson UR) qualified in seventh place, 35 seconds behind Atherton.
Junior Men’s Recap – In junior men’s qualifying, Loris Vergier (FRA / Lapierre Gravity Republic) qualified fastest with a time of 4 mins 33.924secs, nine seconds ahead of USA’s Luca Shaw (4:43.248 / SRAM/TLD RACING). Taylor Vernon (GBR / GT Factory Racing) rounded out the podium, 12 seconds off the pace (4:46.240)
Australia’s Aiden Varley qualified fifth fastest, 31 seconds from the top.
The Downhill finals will begin from 12.30pm on Saturday April 26, with the Elite Men’s scheduled for 2pm AEST.
SBS will be broadcasting the UCI MTB World Cup LIVE throughout the weekend on SBS2.
Qualifications
Women
1. Rachel Atherton (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 5:20.568
2. Manon Carpenter (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team 18.802
3. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic 21.581
4. Morgane Charre (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour 22.803
5. Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction 25.272
6. Casey Brown (Can) Bergamont Hayes World Team 30.693
7. Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR 35.290
8. Jill Kintner (USA) Norco 58.989
9. Emilie Siegenthaler (Sui) Gstaad-Scott 59.630
10. Micayla Gatto (Can) Pivot Factory DH Team 1:09.196
11. Claire Buchar (Can) Kovarik Racing 1:09.684
Elite Men
1. Samuel Blenkinsop (Nzl) Lapierre Gravity Republic 4:22.233
2. Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH 0.728
3. Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 2.178
4. Edward Masters (NZl) Bergamont Hayes World Team 6.034
5. Sam Dale (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team 7.074
6. Gee Atherton (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 8.466
7. Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing 9.035
8. Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic 9.218
9. Connor Fearon (Aus) Kona Factory Team 9.585
10. Matthew Simmonds (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team 10.306
46. Forrest Riesco (Can) Banshee/RaceFace 32.826
90. Matt Hardwick (Can) 6:13.145
Junior Men
1. Loris Vergier (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic 4:33.924
2. Luca Shaw (USA) SRAM/TLD Racing 9.324
3. Taylor Vernon (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 12.316
4. Connor Hamilton (Nzl) New Zealand 31.109
5. Aiden Varley (Aus) Australia 31.696
6. Jackson Davis (Aus) Australia 32.230
7. Max Warshawsky (Aus) Australia 34.193
8. Andrew Dorrit (Gbr) MS Mondraker Team 36.164
9. Laurie Greenland (Gbr) Trek World Racing 37.648
10. Neil Stewart (Gbr) FMD Racing 37.751