July 23, 2010 (Champery, Switzerland) – The steepest course on the World Cup is set to take on 100 racers on Saturday as the fourth DH World Cup of the 2010 season kicks off in Champery, Switzerland. Run for the first time three years ago, the track is infamous for it’s extreme pitch, massive berms and completely ridiculous weather.

So far we’ve experienced scorching heat, zero visibility, and torrential rains – all of which happened to make an appearance during one 3-hour qualifying session multiple times.

The DH final takes place tomorrow (Saturday), with the XC competition on Sunday. Canada has five DH racers in Champery including Steve Smith (MS Evil), Simon Garstin (Evil) and Yann Gauvin holding it down for the men, while Claire Buchar (Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense) and Micayla Gatto (Commencal Oakley) will try to get Canada on the women’s podium.

Both women had so-so qualifying runs on Friday in horrendous conditions – Buchar was 8th and Gatto was 16th – the top 20 women make the final. For the men Smith placed 51st, while Gauvin was 84th and Garstin had an unexpected DNS – the top 80 men advance to the final. Almost all riders had at least one crash this afternoon in mud that was almost 6 inches deep in areas with over a 45 degree grade.

But the weather prediction for Sunday is clear, with sunny skies…

Qualifications here.