Business as Usual For Hill and Jonnier

 

World Cup Downhill  & 4X Round 1

Check out Video coverage: www.mtbcut.tv

 

The first Downhill and 4-Cross World Cup event of the season saw mixed fortunes for the Brits, with Steve Peat's third in the men's Downhill, Rachel Atherton's second in the Women's Downhill and Fionn Griffiths' 4th in the Downhill and 3rd in the 4-Cross being the highlights.

 

23 Degrees Sports' Report - If there was even an ounce of doubt prior to the opening round of the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup that Sam Hill (pictured) could follow his stellar season of 2007 in the same dominant style, it evaporated in sunny Maribor in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.

Last year Sam capped his race season and secured the World Cup title with a solid win at the finals on the same course, but this is the first time in his career that Sam has won the opening round, doing so a good 3 seconds clear of 2nd place.

Also impressive was his younger team mate Brendan Fairclough who's had mixed results this year so far, but a strong showing in 9th means he too is on target for a good year.

The semi finals saw Sam finish 3rd, half a second behind Frenchman Julien Camellini who enjoys this track, and Brendan in 11th. Both moved up 2 spots in the final.

Comments:

Sam: "I was pretty upset with how I rode in qualifying....I felt tight and rode on the brakes too much. In the final I just wanted to have fun and ride like I know I can. My run went pretty well," said a humble Hill, "but I definitely want to improve on putting together a better run in Andorra (Round 2). I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully I can get a few more wins."

Brendan: "I felt good at the top prior to the start, relaxed and confident. I think with Sam being so relaxed it helped me stay more calm. I had a good run and didn't make too many mistakes....I just need to open it up a bit more, but I feel my speed will progress throughout the season. I'm happy with my result and ready for the next one!"

Team Manager Sean Heimdal: "I'm super stoked with the results today...I just wanted both riders to come out of here with a safe solid run...It's a long season this year, and I think it was important to come away within the top 15. We're all looking forward to the next round."

The trechorous rock garden in Maribor claimed quite a few riders, and has a history of taking out some top contenders. The World Cup riders now have a couple of weeks to recovery from any injuries before round 2, which takes place at Vallnord, Andorra on June 1st on a track never before raced for a World Cup.

Team Monster Energy Iron Horse - More info: http://www.madcatzracing.com/

Results

 

Downhill Men

1 HILL Samuel MER 02:47.5
2 CAMELLINI Julien CRC 02:50.6
3 PEAT Steve SCB 02:51.9
4 BAREL Fabien SUB 02:52.1
5 MINNAAR Greg SCB 02:52.2
6 ATHERTON Gee ANC 02:52.3
7 KOVARIK Chris CRC 02:52.5
8 LEOV Justin YET 02:52.6
9 FAIRCLOUGH Brendan MER 02:54.2
10 NEETHLING Andrew GTM 02:55.5

other GB riders
11 ATHERTON Dan ANC 02:56.0
17 CATHRO Ben MOJ 02:57.5
23 SIMMONDS Matthew CRC 02:58.2
33 CUNNINGHAM Ruaridh CRC 02:59.5
36 BRAYTON Adam PIH 02:59.6
42 STANBRIDGE Dan MOJ 03:00.3
50 DALE Sam CAN 03:01.5
62 HART Danny LSS 03:03.0
65 GEOGHEGAN Jack --- 03:04.5
68 WARDELL Dave --- 03:04.6
72 DONOGHUE Neil TBR 03:05.6
79 BEAUMONT Marc TBR 05:52.3

Downhill Women

1 JONNIER Sabrina TMX 03:14.3
2 ATHERTON Rachel ANC 03:14.5
3 RAGOT Emmeline SCT 03:21.8
4 GRIFFITHS Fionn NWT 03:23.6
5 PUGIN Floriane PIH 03:24.0
6 GROS Celine SAF 03:26.0
7 MOSELEY Tracy KBC 03:26.9
8 SUEMASA Mio MSR 03:29.5
9 BERNHARD Petra --- 03:33.5
10 NICOLE Myriam -- 03:34.8

other GB   
13 CURD Katy --- 03:38.3

4-Cross Men

1 ALVAREZ DE LARA LUCAS Rafael
2 TSCHUGG Guido

3 FISCHBACH Johannes

4 SLAVIK Tomas
5 GRACIA Cedric

6 SALADINI Romain
7 DELDYCKE Mickael

8 MEIJER Jurg
other GB

11 WARDELL Dave

14 EVANS William

4-Cross Women

1 BEERTEN Anneke 
2 MOLCIK Anita 
3 GRIFFITHS Fionn

4 BUHL Melissa
5 OETJEN Lucia
6 FRUHWIRTH Helene

7 CASTRO FERNANDEZ Eva
8 MARGGRAFF Diana