Unstoppable Rachel Atherton takes fourth consecutive World Cup win

Race Report: UCI MTB World Cup, Round 5, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada

The unstoppable Rachel Atherton took her fourth consecutive World Cup win at Mont-Sainte-Anne this weekend, continuing to demonstrate "the form of her life" and extending her lead in the Series overall.

Rachel currently holds 1160 points, 375 points clear of second-ranked Emmeline Ragot (whose season looks likely to be curtailed by elbow and ankle injuries sustained in practice) and 446 points clear of third-placed Manon Carpenter.

At today's dramatic Finals race, Myriam Nicole was in the hot seat with 5.07.29, when third-placed qualifier Manon Carpenter came on course and the rain began to fall. The light drizzle was enough to make the rock garden even more treacherous; a mistake cost Manon time, she was down at the first split, but by split two she was faster by 0.7 seconds. Tension mounted as Manon decided not to take the jump in the bottom section (saying later it was just too rutted) but she nevertheless managed to go into the lead by 0.2 seconds. 

Emmeline Ragot had looked super-fast in practice, qualifying second to Rachel but her practice crash forced her to withdraw from the Finals and most likely the rest of the season. 

So Rachel was next on course. By now the rain had started to fall in earnest but Rachel said: "I just put the tear-offs on my goggles and tried to ride it like it was dry!” She put in another brilliant run, straight-lining the berm after the big rock drop in a daring move that paid dividends for her - up by over two seconds at the first split. She dabbed a foot in the ultra-slippery woods but was still up 1.8 seconds at the second split, powering down the course to cross the line 3.417 ahead of Carpenter for her 24th World Cup win at the 25th Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup race!

Rachel said: "I'd done the inside line in practice just the once, and i'd seen the boys do it so I just went for it. Mont-Sainte-Anne is a course that has kicked my arse before so I'm extra stoked to take the win here today. That was slippery!"

In the Men's, torrential rain had disrupted the Qualification race so plenty of big names were well down the order.

The weather continued to cause chaos for Finals with on-off cloud-bursts sweeping the mountain. Taylor had qualified 29th and was unlucky to come on track at the height of the downpour. Taylor said: "It was an ice rink." He ended up off-track losing a lot of time and finished in a disappointing 54th. Aaron Gwin had a DNF in qualis but his protected status meant that he got to race today. He smashed Eddie Masters' time by 4.9 seconds to take the hot seat with about 20 riders still on course.

Gee had qualified 18th after a crash. He lost some time in the top-section when he put his foot out in a turn, 2.7 seconds back at split one and generally looking more messy than we would expect from him. He pulled things back, looking a lot smoother in the mid and bottom sections, crossing the line 2.7  seconds behind Gwin to go into second place. There were still 17 riders left on the mountain and Gee's time would only be fast enough for an eventual 12th place.

Gee said: "Not the result I was after today, but at least I stayed on the bike - not something I can always say at this track!"

16th qualifier Loic Bruni did his bit for the "ride it without a chain" brigade when he smashed into a rock on a big right-hander and lost his chain. He kept it smooth and tucked, crossing into the hot seat and holding it until fourth-place qualifier's Josh Bryceland's run - enough for an eventual second with Josh taking the win by just 0.2.

Results

Women’s Elite

1 Rachel Atherton 5.03.674

2 Manon Carpenter 5.07.091 + 3.417

3 Myriam Nicole 5.07.291 +3.617

4 Tahnee Seagrave 5.08.294 +4.620

5 Miranda Miller 5.15.437 +11.763

Men’s Elite 

1 Josh Bryceland 4.22.156

2 Loic Bruni 4.22.356 +0.20

3 Troy Brosnan 4.22.381 +0.225

4 Greg Minaar 4.24.711 + 2.555

5 Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas +2.845

12 Gee Atherton 4.29.82 +7.664

54 Taylor Vernon 4.44.113 +21.957

Photos: Sven Martin

Rachel takes the GB National Champs for the fourth year running

Race Report: British National Championships 2015, Llangollen

Sunday dawned very wet at Llangollen this year. Practice was slippery but by the time qualification came around the sun had reappeared and looked set to stay for the day. The parched track dried out quickly and Rachel declared it: "Improved actually, pretty damn good."

With Gee and Kade both out of action this weekend, Rachel was first up for the team. She had a clean and fast run qualifying 2.1 seconds ahead of Tahnee Seagrave with Manon Carpenter in 3rd, over 8 seconds back.

By the time the Men's Elite came on track it was blown out and altered from the morning's practice runs. Taylor was fast (5th through the speed trap) but had a messy run with his feet out more than once, he crossed the line in 2nd, eventually qualifying 16th in 2.10.664 (4.87 behind fastest qualifier, Sam Dale). 

As Rachel headed up the hill for the Women's Finals she was a little anxious that she wouldn't better her qualification run. Her nerves weren't improved by a small delay when a pony wandered onto the track. None of the other women riders matched Rachel's qualification run, but Rachel did, she put in a trademark clean run and was up by 3.57 seconds at split one. She crossed the line in 2.17.141 to take her fourth consecutive National Championships by a very healthy 5.432 seconds. 

Rachel said: "I'm stoked! What an amazing weekend, the track was really good fun and i'm chuffed to win for the fourth time on the run. It's great that there are so many family and friends here today and I'm so proud to be representing Great Britain and getting to wear the GB sleeve for the rest of the season at World Cups."

Times in the Men's Elite race were very tight on this short, steep course. Second place qualifier Danny Hart took the win in 2.04.836 with Taylor in 14th place, just four seconds back. 

Taylor said: "I'm happy enough I guess because I had a clean run, but to be honest it's at the lower end of where I'd be happy! I did have a good clean run but it just wasn't fast enough, it's hard work this Elite!" 

Results Women's Elite Finals
1. Rachel Atherton 2.17.141
2. Manon Carpenter 2.22.573 + 5.432
3. Katy Curd 2.24.627 + 7.486
4. Tahnee Seagrave 2.25.117 + 7.976
5. Jessica Greaves 2.42.500 + 25.359

Results Men's Elite Finals
1. Danny Hart 2.04.836
2. Sam Dale 2.05.449 + 0.613
3. Ruaridh Cunningham 2.05.583 + 0.747
4. Jack Reading 2.05.731 + 0.895
5. Mike Jones 2.06.139 + 1.303
14. Taylor Vernon 2.08.864 + 4.028 

Photos: Dan Hearn 

Highlights from Red Bull Soapbox 2015

Rachel Atherton makes it a hat-trick!

Race Report: UCI World Cup Round 4, Lenzerheide, Switzerland, 4-5th July 2015

Rachel Atherton took her third consecutive World Cup win at the weekend, extending her World Cup Series lead while Gee podiumed with fifth place. GT Factory Racing took the accolade "Team of the Day."

It was a hot and brutal weekend on a track that was super-fast, dusty and blown-out with braking bumps, big holes and debris the cause of multiple crashes and destruction. Both races were super-tense and action-packed.

The action started to heat up in the women's race when eight-place qualifier Katy Curd took the hot seat. In the very next run, Casey Brown toppled her by an awesome seven seconds, then Brown was deposed by next rider Morgane Charre. Emilie Siegenthaler was gutted when a flat and subsequent buckled wheel left her to walk her bike to the finish in front of a sympathetic home crowd. Then Tracey Hannah took to the track, bettering Charre by 2.5 seconds.

There were just three women left on track. Next down was World Champion Manon Carpenter who seemed to put an end to her run of bad luck today as she stormed across the line, 2.2 seconds up on Tracey.

Then Rachel was on course. She was up by 1.487 at split 1 and the team held their breath as she disappeared into the steep and technical middle section but she increased her lead over Manon to almost three seconds by split 2, crossing the line a full five seconds clear in 3.28.126.

But the tension wasn't over yet. Rachel's time was still over a second slower than Emmeline Ragot's qualifying time: the French rider was on track looking very dangerous, two seconds up at split 1, she almost went OTB after one of the huge jumps on track but she managed to get back in control, only to clip a tree in the bottom section. She was nine seconds back at split 2 and crossed the line +9.8, enough for fifth. 

Rachel said: "I'm stoked with the win today, I hadn't been enjoying the track and was feeling pretty nervous so I had to dig really deep for that Finals run. Huge respect to Ragot who has been pushing the limits and pushing me so hard, it's really bad luck that she crashed."

In the men's race, 19th qualifier Dean Lucas seemed to have taken up permanent residence in the hot seat with his time of 3.02.342. Gee had qualified in 10th place in 3.06.35, he was 1.2 seconds off Lucas at split 1, still in second place at split 2, 1.3 seconds off the pace but his legendary power regained him some ground in the sprint to the finish. It wasn't enough though, and he crossed the line in 3.02.889, into second place.

Samuel Blenkinsop and Bernard Kerr couldn't trouble the leaders today, then seventh-place qualifier Troy Brosnan was on course. Troy was seventh at split 1, he gained in the mid-section to go second at split 2, crossing the line ahead of Gee by a miniscule 0.027.

Sixth-place qualifier Greg Minaar put in a fantastic run to take the hot seat in 3.00.53 - would it be enough for his 18th World Cup victory?

Remi Thirion slotted in behind Gee, Josh Bryceland (riding with an injured hand) put in a fairly chilled run for an (eventual) 12^th place, Connor Fearon went OTB and suddenly there were only Aaron Gwin and Loic Bruni left on the hill. Gwin couldn’t seem to pull it together for Finals, he finished eighth today but Bruni looked fast! Fourth at split 1 he’d moved into second by split 2 (+0.86) but seemed to slow at the last, crossing the line 0.96 down on Minaar, enough for second place.

 Gee said: “Pretty annoyed to lose time with a mistake in the woods but happy to be back on the podium with such tight racing. The course was wild but the crowds were awesome!”

 

Team director Dan Brown said: “Set-up was crucial this weekend. With times as tight as they were the riders needed to feel super-confident in their bikes. The team did a great job getting the bikes and riders in the very best condition for the race. Winning the Team of the Day Award is awesome, I’m guessing there’ll be a few beers tonight!”

Results

Women’s Elite

1  Rachel Atherton 3:28.126

2. Manon Carpenter 3:33.132 +5.00

3. Tracey Hannah 3:35.408 +7.28

4. Morgane Charre 3:37.950 +9.82

5. Emmeline Ragot 3:37.999 +9.87

Men’s Elite

1: Greg Minnaar 3.00.535

2: Loic Bruni 3.01.495 +0.96

3: Lucas Dean 3.02.342 + 1.8

4: Troy Brosnan 3.02.862 +2.327

5: Gee Atherton 3.02.889  + 2.354

Photos: Sven Martin

Rachel takes the win and Gee second!

Race Report: British Downhill Series 2015, Round 4, Rhyd y Felin, Wales 27th-28th June 2015 

In one of the most enjoyable weekends racing of recent years, Rachel took the win by almost 14 seconds while Gee came in second, even overtaking a rider on the way! Taylor took a gamble on dry tyres which didn't come off for him - coming in sixth - and Dan made a mistake on his Finals run which cost him a chance of the podium but he definitely enjoyed his foray into downhill! 

First rider up for the team was Atherton Academy's Kade Edwards in the Youth category. Heavy rain during morning practice had made the track a very different proposition from yesterday's practice. Kade was fast through the speed trap but crashed out in the woods section, qualifying 13th in 5:27.631. 

Kade said:"Saturday was one of the most awesome day's riding ever but Sunday practice was pouring rain, awful mud clogging the bike up- it all started to go wrong. In qualis, I crashed four times: the first two were in the woods, Kaos (Seagrave) had to help untangle me. I got going again, got down to the field then fell in the second corner. I got back on, over the drop and in a left-sweeping corner I did the same again. It was horrible."

In the junior women category sponsored by Rachel, Rona Strivens took the qualifying win despite a big crash, crossing the line in 7.38.06.

All of the Elite Women crashed in the slippery conditions for their qualification race. Rachel had a stall in the woods and crashed in the field but still managed to qualify first in 4:50.835, almost seven seconds ahead of Manon Carpenter and 22 seconds ahead of third-placed qualifier Tahnee Seagrave. 

By the Men's qualifying, the sun was out and light winds were helping the track to dry out. It didn't stop the crashes though. Taylor reported that while the open was drying nicely, the woods were still wet and lethal. Taylor washed out in the woods, qualifying 10th in 3.58.978, then both Gee and Dan went down. Dan had a small spill in the woods finishing in seventh (3.55.834) and Gee took a bigger tumble in the top section landing hard on his head. He qualified 36th in 4.34.433. Matt Simmonds took the qualifying win. 

By the time Finals came around the sun and the wind were well established and the track was drying well. In the Men's Youth, Kade had another difficult run with two crashes; he finished sixth in 4.22.230. His first odd was in the fast section of the woods, running into a stump his feet flew off and he landed heavily with his face smashing into his bars. He rode a pretty good woods section after that but got caught up in the first of two rutted corners in the open and got tangled up again. 


Kade said: "Not a good day for me, especially after yesterday was so rad - disappointing."

In the Women's Finals, Rachel made her win look very easy - crossing the line 14 seconds faster than second-placed Manon Carpenter. Rachel said: "That was mint! I just seemed to get all my lines dialled. I totally agree with Kade, Saturday was awesome, loads of runs on an amazing track, no queues, sunshine, hanging out with the big brothers, then qualis was wet, slippery and just generally horrible, and then for Finals the sun came out and it was rad again!"

In the Men's Elite, Gee started well down the ranks after his quali crash. He overtook Scott Mears to cross the line 24 seconds up on the field in 3.26.09, enough for an eventual second place.

10th qualifier Taylor crossed the line in second place, 3.33.343, which was 6.5 seconds back from Gee but Dan clipped his foot on a tree in the greasy top section, crashing out and losing valuable time. He crossed the line in 11th, 3.41.06 enough for an eventual 17th. 

Taylor said: "I had a decent run but I made a few mistakes in the middle section and I'd taken a gamble with dry tyres that didn't pay off!"

Dan said:"I think I really had forgotten how much fun racing Downhill can be. In Enduro, it's so easy to get sucked into your own world, riding with Martin for those long stretches, riding with Gee and Rach and getting to hang out between runs with the whole team is awesome. It's great to see the level of British Downhill Series is higher than ever with loads of great young riders coming through."

Results

Youth Men 

1 Joe Breedoen 3.55.264

2 Matt Walker 3.56.006 +0.742

3 Conor Bate 4.05.409 +10.145

6 Kade Edwards 4.15.4436 + 20.172

Junior Women

1 Hope Jensen 5.56.61

2 Gemma Taylor 5.59.208 +2.547

3 Rona Strivens 6.00.024 +3.363

Elite Women

1 Rachel Atherton 4.05.067

2 Manon Carpenter 4.18.552 + 13.485

3 Tahnee Seagrave 4.20.673 + 15.606

Elite Men

1 Joe Smith 3.24.42

2 Gee Atherton 3.26.994 + 2.574

3 Mike Jones 3.29.391 + 4.971

6 Taylor Vernon 3.33.343 +8.923

17 Dan Atherton 3.41.323 + 17.214

Race Report: UCI World Cup 2015, Round 2 Fort William

Rachel and Martin take the wins and Gee podiums with a solid 4th!

It was a fantastic day for the GT Factory Racing team today with Rachel Atherton taking her second World Cup at Fort William by almost eight seconds, Martin Maes taking his second Junior World Cup at Fort William, and a 4th for Gee Atherton in the Men’s.

After a washout Saturday, Sunday dawned dry, cool and cloudy. With Qualifying postponed from Saturday because of the wild weather, the race day schedule was jam-packed with Practice, Qualifying and Finals runs.  By 6am Rachel and Martin (racing here in Juniors) were in the pits and warming up on the turbos.

Practice

By 6.45am and the start of practice it was pouring with rain again. Martin was first down and reported that the winds at the top were making riding really difficult , while the woods was a “battlefield” with a lot of mud and a lot of crashes.

Rachel was next; she had a good run down, made all the jumps and looked relaxed and confident, boding well for Qualifying.  Gee and Taylor also managed clean runs. The race was on!

Qualifying

Martin was first up in qualifying, and he had another good run. Importantly he was clean through the woods, which scored him a qualifying time of 5.05.67 seconds. He took the hotseat from Jacob Dickson by 1.03 seconds and maintained that lead right through the ranks. Laurie Greenland was in 3rd (+ 2.35 back from Martin). There were a lot of crashes in evidence and a lot of punctures in the wet and loose conditions.

In the Women’s qualifying race, Emmeline Ragot was first to leave the start. She was safely down in 5.51.68 seconds.  Rachel was next on course but an off in the woods meant she was 25 seconds down at split 2, crossing the line 24.17 behind Ragot. Tracey Hannah was 4.5 seconds slower than Ragot  (an eventual 4th) then Manon Carpenter blasted through to take the hotseat in 5.38.37. Katy Curd completed the podium in 3rd, leaving Rachel in 5th overall with more in the tank for Finals.

Into Finals!

The Junior Men’s race was a nail-biting affair from start to finish.  Bradley Swinbank was in the hot-seat when Frazer McCubbing smashed through into the lead by 8.083 (his time 5.11.83) Chris Hatton was in 3rd, then Neil Stewart came down into 2nd the leader board showing 1,2,3,4 for Great Britain. But not for long. Loris Revelli from Italy was the next man down - his time of 5.10 .028 took him into the lead by 1.8 seconds. Notably he’d made up 2 seconds in the bottom section.

Revelli’s stay in the hot-seat was also destined to be a short one as Alex Marin Trillo roared down the hill in 5.05.48. Next run Laurie Greenland took the lead from him with 5.03.49 (1.925 ahead of the field).

Only Jacob Dickson and Martin were left on course, but Dickson crossed the line 17 seconds behind Greenland and so it was all down to Martin.

Unlike last year (Fort William 2014 was Martins first ever international downhill race, ridden just for fun) Martin was noticeably nervous and crashed within the first 30 seconds of his run, but in an amazing show of character Martin got back on his bike and battled on down the course with more than 5 seconds to make up for the win. He was 1.08.723, almost 3 seconds back (equivalent to 20th place,) at split 1 but his technical skills came to the fore through the mid section and he pulled back to +0.89 back (equivalent to 2nd place) by split 2. In the bottom section it’s all about power and Martin’s physical strength and Enduro training came together to make him an awesome 3 seconds on the motorway - he went in to the lead by 2.038, taking his second consecutive Fort William World Cup victory.

Martin said: “I am so stoked. It was much harder to win this year. I felt a bit more pressure but I did a good run, except that I had a small off at the top. Once I was down I knew that it was all or nothing so I got back on my bike and I absolutely threw myself into it – I’m so happy that it turned out good!”

In the Women’s race Rachel’s fellow Brit, 23rd place qualifier Tahnee Seagrave, was in the hot-seat with a time of 5.39.64. Canadian Casey Brown went into 2nd 14.9 seconds back from Tahnee and then Rachel was on course. With the determination that has made her an overall World Cup series winner twice before, Rachel threw off the morning’s doubts to absolutely blast down the course! She was up at the first split by 2.15 seconds, extended that to 2.72 seconds by split 2 and then powered down the motorway section, sending all of the jumps to snatch the hotseat by a mighty 7.989 seconds.  The podium continued to change as Tracy Hannah made a few small mistakes and came down in 4^th; Katy Curd came down in 3^rd; Ragot went OTB but with her trademark toughness got back on and crossed the line in 3rd. Only Manon Carpenter was left on course. Manon was 3.3 seconds down at split 1, 3.7 seconds down at split 2, then she gave the motorway section all she had in an attempt to make up the time but  she took a massive tumble on the jumps. She scrambled back on and still managed to podium with 4^th in 5.54.047.

Rachel said: “That was probably the hardest race of my life. The weather this weekend, track conditions and a crash in qualifying meant that I had to mentally dig really deep to earn the win today but as usual here I was inspired and lifted by the awesome crowd – I never want to disappoint them! 

In the Men’s race Taylor was disappointed with 60th place, but there was a small consolation in his winning the Buff Whip-off competition!

When Gee came on course as the 8th qualifier Aaron Gwin was in the hot-seat with a time of 4.48.812. Marcelo Gutierrez was in second with 4.51.74.

Gee rode smoothly through the top section - just 0.15 down on Gwin by split 1 - but a couple of small mistakes in the woods cost him time and he was 2.5 seconds down by split 2.  He crossed the line in 3rd, 3.12 seconds behind Gwin.  7th qualifier Remi Thirion stalled in the woods, Sam Blenkinsop looked dangerous but finished 1.3 seconds short of Gee, then Greg Minaar was on course, up 0.5 at split 1 he strengthened his advantage by split 2 and crossed the line 1.119 seconds ahead of Gwin to take the hotseat.

Troy Brosnan, Mike Jones and Danny Hart couldn’t get into contention, then fastest qualifier Loic Bruni was on course. He was a tiny 0.01 seconds down at the first split but lost time in the woods, crossing the line in 7th to confirm Greg Minaar’s victory and make him the most awarded downhill mountain-biker ever.

Gee said: “I’m pretty happy with 4th today. I was still feeling a bit delicate from knocking myself out on Friday and I made a couple of mistakes in the woods. Congrats to Greg on another win!!”

Taylor said: “I’m disappointed with today’s result – Fort William is one of my favourite tracks but sometimes it just kicks my ass!”

Results 

Junior Men’s

1 Martin Maes 5.01.455

2 Laurie Greenland 5.03.493 +2.038

3 Alex Marin Trillo 5.05.418 +3.963

4 Loris Revelli 5.10.028 +8.573

5 Frazer McCubbing 5.11.83 +10.375

Women’s Elite

1 Rachel Atherton 5.31.654

2 Tahnee Seagrave 5.39.643 + 7.989

3 Emmeline Ragot 5.47.576 +15.922 

4 Manon Carpenter 5.54.047 +22.393

5 Katy Curd 5.54.406 +22.752

Men’s Elite

1 Greg Minaar 4.47.693

2 Aaron Gwin 4.48.812 + 1.119

3 Marcelo Villegas Gutierrez 4.48.812

4 Gee Atherton 4.51.941 + 4.248

5 Sam Blenkinsop 4.53.043 +5.35

Photos: Sven Martin

Rachel Atherton wins 2nd World Cup in 7 days

Rachel takes her 2nd World Cup win in 7 days - her first ever win at Leogang!

Gee narrowly misses podium in 6th place while Taylor finishes 33rd. 

In both the men's and women's race in Leogang, the wind was definitely a factor, especially on top of the course. Riders enjoyed the track during qualifying - in particular the more natural sections that have been cut in for this year - but as the track was ridden during the race it seemed to change under them!

The women raced first. Emmeline Siegenthaler was in the hotseat when 7th qualifier Manon Carpenter crossed the line about 0.5 seconds ahead of her, but in a dramatic turn of events Manon was disqualified when she went off course on landing and broke the tapes close to the finish (she would have otherwise been placed 4th).

Tracey Hannah, 4th qualifier, crossed the line in 3rd (not enough to podium) then 3rd qualifier Tahnee Seagrave was on course. She rode a smart race carrying good speed down the course to take the hotseat by a massive 7 seconds, despite a mistake in the bottom section. 2nd qualifier Emmeline Ragot was just 0.15 seconds behind Tahnee, so all eyes were on Rachel.

Rachel was very fast through the top section; she lost some time through some holes but strong pedalling put her 2 seconds up by the first split. There were tense faces in the GT Factory Racing team as Rachel made a mistake in the woods, but she held it and carried good speed through the remains of the technical section, gaining at least a second with a straight line through the rock garden. She crossed the line 3 clear seconds ahead of Tahnee to take her first ever Leogang win.

Rachel said: "It started to rain about 10 minutes before my run but it wasn't too bad; i nearly crashed before split 1 but I held it and then tried to relax and push on the pedals once it was safe. It's a fairly wild track now it's so dry! Pretty cool that i finally won in Leogang!"

In the Men's race Loic Bruni had crashed in qualifying, ending up in 66th place. He took the hotseat early and held it through more than 50 riders - though he said himself he hadn't done enough to take the victory (he finished 8th). 

Taylor Vernon had qualified in 50th but today was not his best run and he made a few mistakes on the drying track, enough for a final 33rd. 

8th place qualifier Troy Brosnan was in the hotseat when Gee came on course with Greg Minaar in second by 0.3. Gee was less that 0.3 down at split 1 and looked to be carrying good speed through the technical sections but he crossed the line in 3rd, which was only enough for 6th on the day.

There was much excitement still to come. 3rd qualifier Remi Thirion went into the hotseat by 0.2, then next man down Connor Fearon took the hotseat from him by 1.2 seconds - a huge margin for this course. Fearon had crossed the tape (but not the poles) so his time was safe.

Last man down Aaron Gwin snapped his chain as he left the start gate but in a demonstration run he maintained his momentum to take the win by 0.045 seconds.

Gee said: "Sixth place today is pretty frustrating after some good speed this weekend, but to be fair my run was scruffy, I made a mistake up top and huge respect to Aaron Gwin for that run with no chain!"

Taylor said: "I was too cautious and a bit messy up top today. I got into it by the bottom but i wanted more."

Results

Elite Men

1. Aaron Gwin 3.34.35
2. Connor Fearon 3.34.39 +0.045
3. Remi Thirion 3.35.68 +1.33
4. Troy Brosnan 3.35.92 +1.56
5. Greg Minaar 3.36.30  +1.94
33. Taylor Vernon 3.45.02 + 10.66

Elite Women

1 Rachel Atherton 4.04.10

2 Tahnee Seagrave 4.07.12 +3.01

3 Emmeline Ragot 4.07.279 +3.17

4 Emilie Siegenthaler 4.14.13 +10.02

5 Jill Kintner 4.14.5 +10.39 

6. Gee Atherton 2.37.89 +2.79

World Cup Overall Standings

Rachel Atherton 1st

Gee Atherton 6th

Taylor Vernon 33rd

All Photos: Sven Martin