The track here in Cairns is a newly cut version of the same track that was run here at the 1996 DH Worlds, and with torrential rains on the first day, it was reduced to one long mud pit. The sun came out for race day and baked the upper steep twisty sections, but the jungle remained steamy and the track turned into a slog.
Miraculously, the dark clouds that rolled in just in time for the racing blew back out and the competition took place under sunny skies. There were two lengthy course holds, one for an injured rider, and one for an injured fan who decided to ride a bike down the track in a drunken state, and proceeded to crash about 10 feet later, knocking himself out.
Atherton sprinted as hard as he could in the finals, and had chosen to change to flat pedals due to the mud which made things extremely slick in the technical sections.
“I was really nervous before my ride, it’s a really tough track to put a clean run together on. I’m stoked I did. I made a lot of changes before my race, luckily for me they worked out and I felt good.” Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate was second and Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing) of the USA scored his first ever World Cup podium taking 3rd.
The lone Canadian in the mix was Forrest Riesco in 38th. Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH in 4th remains the overall series leader with 415 points followed by Atherton with 305 points.
In the Junior men’s race Loris Vergier (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic took the win over local favourite Aiden Varley (Aus) Australia with Neil Stewart (Gbr) FMD Racing in third. No Canadians competed.
In the women’s DH Atherton took home an easy win with an 11.655-second margin over Manon Carpenter (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team. Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction stood on the third step of the podium.
Reigning national DH women’s champ, Micayla Gatto (Pivot Factory Dh Team), lead the Canadian charge in 9th with former national champ, Claire Buchar (Kovarik Racing) in 10th. Fellow Canuck Casey Brown (Bergamont Hayes World Team) ended up 16th.
“This is a really hard track. you have to be pedalling all the time with your feet unclipped running through the roots. Physically and technically it’s really hard. The crowd was really wild, you’d have a massive moment and they just kept cheering and you’d be like I can’t crash now!” Atherton and Carpenter are tied for first overall each with 450 points.
Results
Junior Men
1. Loris Vergier (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic 4:27.890
2. Aiden Varley (Aus) Australia 5.705
3. Neil Stewart (Gbr) FMD Racing 11.025
4. Taylor Vernon (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 16.778
5. Connor Hamilton (Nzl) New Zealand 19.423
6. Connor Sandri (Nzl) New Zealand 23.105
7. Ben Hill (Aus) Australia 23.150
8. Keegan Wright (Nzl) New Zealand 25.664
9. Joshua McCombie (Nzl) New Zealand 27.269
10. Luca Shaw (USA) SRAM/TLD Racing 31.762
Women
1. Rachel Atherton (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 4:50.576
2. Manon Carpenter (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team 11.655
3. Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction 25.846
4. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic 28.264
5. Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR 29.581
6. Morgane Charre (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour 32.181
7. Fionn Griffiths (Gbr) 36.165
8. Tahnee Seagrave (Gbr) FMD Racing 39.261
9. Micayla Gatto (Can) Pivot Factory Dh Team 47.199
10. Claire Buchar (Can) Kovarik Racing 58.294
16. Casey Brown (Can) Bergamont Hayes World Team 1:31.706
Men
1. Gee Atherton (Gbr) GT Factory Racing 4:00.707
2. Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 4.229
3. Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing 6.930
4. Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH 7.093
5. Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof 7.182
6. Samuel Blenkinsop (Nzl) Lapierre Gravity Republic 8.576
7. Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 10.073
8. Sam Dale (Gbr) Madison Saracen Factory Team 10.284
9. Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH 10.535
10. Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Esp) 10.925
38. Forrest Riesco (Can) 27.595