UCI DH mountain bike World Cup
On Saturday 26th April, the rainstorms cleared and the sun came out to shine in Smithfield, for the 2nd round of the World Cup.
On Saturday 26th April, the rainstorms cleared and the sun came out to shine in Smithfield, for the 2nd round of the World Cup. British brother and sister combination of Gee and Rachel Atherton have dominated the Australian leg of the UCI World Cup Series, claiming downhill victories on the second afternoon of competition.
The win was the fourth time that reigning world champion Rachel (GBR / GT Factory Racing) and elder brother Gee (GBR / GT Factory Racing) have reached the top step of the podium at the same World Cup event.
“She is a dominant force at the moment and keeping up with her is a hard thing to do,” said Gee, the 2008 world champion who finished second overall in the 2013 series
In qualifying on Friday, the course was soaked. With drying conditions, roots and rocks began to protrude from the ‘peanut butter’ like course, undoing many top players including reigning world champion Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate). Many riders struggled to keep it together, and a crash by Adam Brayton meant the course was clsoed briefly. Unfortunately, a drunken spectator took it upon himself to collect Brayton’s bike, and was soon with the paramedics himself.
However the ever flawless Atherton siblings soared through their final run, with Gee stopping the clock in four minutes flat, four seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Josh Bryceland (Santa Cruz Syndicate /4:04.936) and close to seven seconds in front of America’s Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing / 4:07.637).
“It’s been a tough weekend with really testing conditions. Yesterday’s qualifier was quite a big learning round for me, I was surprised how hard it was when I got here,” said Gee of his sixth place in qualifying.
“It was absolutely nuts in that rock garden, I knew the crowd were going to be loud, and it was a real struggle to concentrate but it definitely pushed me on, I was pretty amped when I got to the finish.”
World Cup series leader Aaron Gwin (Specialized Racing DH / 4:07.800) finished fourth while Australia’s Sam Hill (Chain Reaction Cycles.com / 4:07.889) ignited the crowd by taking the hot seat before being usurped by Bryceland.
Gwin remains in the UCI World Cup series lead (415 points), ahead of Gee Atherton (305 points) and Samuel Blenkinsop (Lapierre Gravity Republic / 262).
In the women’s race, the crowd roared when Tracey Hannah came in with the fastest time after her run. It wasn’t to last for the home town hero. Rachel Atherton conquered the course and the field to collect a mammoth victory in four minutes 50.576 seconds, more than eleven seconds to her closest rival, Great Britain’s Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Factory Team / 5:02.231).
“That was probably the hardest race I’ve ever done,” gasped Rachel. “It’s a hard track to race because you have to go slow even though you know you can’t push it like you do normally but you have to hold back and just be really careful which feels weird.
“The people and the crowd up there are amazing, on the tricky bits they really get behind you to make you stay on.”
Myriam Nicole (FRA / Commencal / Riding Addiction) rounded out the podium with a time of five minutes, 16.422 seconds, 25 seconds off the pace.
A great ride by France’s Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic / 5:18.840) saw her reach the podium despite a spectacular crash after wedging her wheel between two rocks.
Cairns native Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson UR) set the crowd alight early, stopping the clock in five minutes 20.157 seconds, to round out the podium
Atherton and Carpenter are locked on 450 points a piece in the individual UCI World Cup standings, ahead of Nicole (297 points).
In the junior men’s downhill, Frenchman Loris Vergier (Lapierre Gravity Republic) took the win in a blistering 4mins 27.890secs, five seconds ahead of Australia’s Aiden Varley (4:33.595). Great Britain’s Neil Stewart (FMD Racing / 4:38.915) was third.
“I tried to not crash and I did so it’s pretty awesome to win, I am so happy. This is the best day of my life,” exclaimed Vergier.
Vergier (100 points) leads the UCI World Cup individual rankings, ahead of Luca Shaw (70 points / SRAM/TLD Racing) and Aiden Varley (65 points).
The UCI World Cup in Cairns concludes on Sunday with the elite and under 23 Olympic Cross Country from 9.00am 
