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MTB World Cup DH & 4X #4 - CDM

Fort William, Scotland, Great Britain, June 5-7, 2009

Main Page    Results    Previous Race     World Cup Standings

Race 6 - June 7: Elite men downhill

Minnaar repeats Fort William win

By Rob Jones in Fort William

Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) wins
Photo ©: Gary Perkin
(Click for larger image)

The men's field at the fourth round of the Downhill World Cup in Fort William, Scotland had multiple candidates for the win - Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) was coming off two consecutive wins, his teammate Greg Minnaar was defending champion here and second fastest in qualifying, World Champion Gee Atherton (Animal-Commencal) was fastest in qualifying, and Sam Hill (Specialized Factory Racing) won the world title on this course in 2007.

Australia's Brook MacDonald (Ancillotti Doganaccia) set the early fast time of 4:52.54, which stood up surprisingly well. It took 29 riders, over one-third of the field, before three-time World Champion Fabien Barel (Subaru MTB Team), in his first race back after a knee injury, finally took the best time, setting the bar below 4:50.

"I'm super pleased to be back after seven weeks off," said Barel "I had quite a good run at the top, but then lost time at the bottom in the pedaling section."

Barel's time in the Hot Seat lasted through 15 riders before Chris Kovarik (Chain Reaction/Intense) knocked another second off the lead, followed a few minutes later by Canada's Steve Smith (MS Evil Racing). Justin Leov (Trek World Racing) soon after shaved another few tenths off before Aaron Gwin Holmes (Yeti Fox Shox) made the next major cut in the lead, down to 4:46.72.

The race was coming down to the final ten, and it was becoming apparent that only those riders with the fitness to pedal through the lower section into the finish had a chance to do well. Seconds were made or lost in the final 600 metres.

Gee Atherton (Animal Commencal)
Photo ©: Gary Perkin
(Click for larger image)

Junior World Champion Josh Bryceland (Santa Cruz Syndicate) briefly took the lead, and Matti Lehikoinen (MS Evil Racing) came close at eight to go, before Hill put in a tremendous ride to drop the lead to 4:40.43, with five riders remaining.

After this, is was Peat, who could only slot in four seconds behind Hill, then Sam Blenkinsop (Yeti Fox Shox), who came within a second and a half of Hill. The consistent Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles) assured himself of a fourth consecutive podium by finishing just behind Blenkinsop, and then it was the turn of Minnaar.

Looking smooth and graceful, hugging the ground over jumps for extra speed, the South African winner of round one was clearly on a superb run; fastest at the first intermediate timer, four tenths slower than Hill at the second, but hitting 69.498 kilometres per hour through the speed trap near the bottom, well above anyone else, to finish 1.45 seconds ahead of Hill.

Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate), World Cup leader,
Photo ©: Gary Perkin
(Click for larger image)

"I gave it my all," said Minnaar. "Sam put up an amazing time, and I really had to put it all out there at the bottom of the course."

However, there was still Atherton to come down, the fastest qualifier and with the support of a home crowd. Atherton started well, only one hundredth of a second behind Minnaar at the first time split, but couldn't maintain the pace, slipping to fourth by the finish line.

Peat's lead in the overall standings has slipped to a slim four points over teammate Minnaar at 762, with Atherton in third at 657 and Hannah at 652. The race for the overall title among the men is still very tight.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Gary Perkin

Results

1 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate                              4.38.98
2 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz            0.01.45
3 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team              0.02.87
4 Gee Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal                                  0.02.99
5 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles                                     0.04.15
6 Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate                                0.05.63
7 Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate                            0.07.17
8 Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing                                0.07.46
9 Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team                     0.07.74
10 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bicycles                                     0.08.36
11 Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing                                 0.09.35
12 Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing                                    0.09.39
13 Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi                                  0.09.41
14 Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense                   0.09.98
15 Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team                    0.10.91
16 Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11                                    0.11.43
17 Robin Wallner (Swe)                                                 0.11.54
18 Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11                                            0.12.07
19 Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing                            0.12.18
20 Danny Hart° (GBr) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon                  0.12.45
21 David Vazquez Lopez (Spa) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon          0.12.51
22 Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz    0.13.05
23 Dan Stanbridge (GBr)                                                0.13.19
24 Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles              0.13.51
25 Brook Macdonald° (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team            0.13.56
26 Joshua Button (Aus)                                                 0.13.89
27 Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH                                      0.13.91
28 Sam Dale (GBr)                                                      0.14.26
29 Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona                                             0.15.02
30 Thomas Braithwaite (GBr)                                            0.15.06
31 Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra)                                          0.15.21
32 Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team                          0.15.49
33 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi                                      0.15.86
34 Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing                                     0.15.96
35 Joris Bigoni (Fra)                                                  0.16.18
36 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn                                        0.16.53
37 Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing                            0.16.63
38 Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team                                  0.17.22
39 Rhys Willemse° (Aus)                                                0.17.47
40 Nathan Rennie (Aus) Kenda Morewood                                  0.17.68
41 Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team                        0.17.89
42 Matthew Simmonds (GBr)                                              0.18.93
43 Jared Graves (Aus)                                                  0.19.05
44 Cesar Rojo (Spa)                                                    0.19.18
45 Marco Milivinti (Ita)                                               0.19.24
46 Aari Barrett° (NZl)                                                 0.20.12
47 Will Rischbieth (Aus)                                               0.20.21
48 Antoine Badouard (Fra)                                              0.20.32
49 Mitchell Delfs (Aus)                                                0.20.59
50 Mathieu Troquier (Fra)                                              0.20.76
50 Nico Vink (Bel)                                                            
52 Kyle Strait (USA)                                                   0.20.81
53 Bernard Kerr° (GBr)                                                 0.21.27
54 Harry Heath° (GBr)                                                  0.21.30
55 Boris Tetzlaff (Aut)                                                0.21.65
56 Benny Strasser (Ger)                                                0.22.29
57 Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa)                                      0.22.40
58 Neil Donoghue (GBr)                                                 0.22.75
59 Wyn Masters (NZl)                                                   0.22.83
60 Robert Smith (GBr)                                                  0.23.14
61 Mathieu Gallean (Fra)                                               0.23.99
62 Scott Laughland (Irl)                                               0.24.05
63 Cody Warren (USA)                                                   0.24.62
63 Herman Olund (Swe)                                                         
65 Marcel Beer (Swi)                                                   0.24.85
66 Dominik Gspan (Swi)                                                 0.26.02
67 Cameron Cole (NZl)                                                  0.26.58
68 Ralph Jones (GBr)                                                   0.27.98
69 Arran Gannicott° (GBr)                                              0.28.39
70 Elias Somvi (Ita)                                                   0.28.77
71 Andréa Gamenara° (Ita)                                              0.31.50
72 Shaun O'connor° (Aus)                                               0.36.23
73 Bryn Atkinson (Aus)                                                 0.41.17
74 Joe Barnes (GBr)                                                    0.47.64
75 Fabien Cousinie (Fra)                                               2.54.73
76 Mickael Pascal (Fra)                                                3.20.58
DNF Damien Spagnolo (Fra)                                                     
DNF Tom Deacon (GBr)                                                          
DNF Markus Pekoll (Aut)                                                       
DNF Nicolas Ortiz (Fra)                                                       
DNF Matthew Scoles (NZl)                                                      
DNF Ben Cathro (GBr)                                                          

Teams

1 Santa Cruz Syndicate                        90 pts
2 Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team             54
3 GT Bicycles                                 49
4 Scott 11                                    49
5 Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles         47
6 Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz     44
7 Trek World Racing                           44
8 MS Evil Racing                              42
9 Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense               40
10 Suspension Center                          35
11 Morzine-Avoriaz 74                         32
12 Animal Commencal                           30
13 Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker                 30
14 Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon           21
15 Norco World Team                           19
16 Massi                                      18
17 Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team              16
18 Team Vario Racing                          16
19 Duncan Riffle Racing                       12
20 2Stagefactory                              11
21 Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team           6
22 Dytech DH                                   4
23 Kona                                        2

World Cup standings after four rounds

1 Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate                               762 pts
2 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate                             758
3 Gee Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal                                 657
4 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles                                    652
5 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz           607
6 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team             406
7 Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing                                 386
8 Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz    354
9 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bicycles                                     329
10 Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing                                   301
11 Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing                           298
12 Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11                                           293
13 Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate                          288
14 Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team                   285
15 Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi                                 279
16 David Vazquez Lopez (Spa) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon         273
17 Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing                           261
18 Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra)                                         259
19 Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing                              241
20 Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing                                    238
21 Robin Wallner (Swe)                                                228
22 Mickael Pascal (Fra) MSC Bikes                                     209
23 Dan Stanbridge (GBr)                                               206
24 Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kenda Morewood                                201
25 Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense                  184
26 Danny Hart° (GBr) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon                 184
27 Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team                 179
28 Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense               171
29 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn                                       169
30 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi                                     166
31 Thomas Braithwaite (GBr)                                           164
32 Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona                                            159
33 Fabien Cousinie (Fra)                                              153
34 Thibaut Ruffin (Fra)                                               153
35 Joris Bigoni (Fra)                                                 151
36 Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11                                   145
37 Nathan Rennie (Aus) Kenda Morewood                                 143
38 Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles             142
39 Joshua Button (Aus)                                                139
40 Kyle Strait (USA) Specialized Team America                         138
41 Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles             138
42 Dan Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal                                134
43 Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team                133
44 Cody Warren (USA) Specialized Team America                         131
45 Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team                         130
46 Bryn Atkinson (Aus)                                                124
47 Sam Dale (GBr)                                                     121
48 Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH                                     118
49 Tom Deacon (GBr) 2Stagefactory                                     110
50 Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team                                 106
51 Antoine Badouard (Fra)                                             101
52 Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team               101
53 Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense               101
54 Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense             100
55 Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team                        99
56 Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team              95
57 Brook Macdonald° (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team            90
58 Nathan Rankin (NZl) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker                      89
59 Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Team Sunn                                       81
60 Cesar Rojo (Spa)                                                    80
61 Benny Strasser (Ger)                                                80
62 Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team                      79
63 Aari Barrett° (NZl) Scott 11                                        75
64 Wyn Masters (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team                 74
65 Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team           71
66 Bradley Benedict (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing                         70
67 Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team                       69
68 Will Rischbieth (Aus)                                               69
69 Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team                    66
70 Florent Payet (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team                   66
71 Cédric Gracia (Fra)                                                 62
72 Adam Vagner (Cze)                                                   61
73 Ben Cathro (GBr)                                                    61
74 Nicolas Ortiz (Fra)                                                 57
75 Ryan Condrashoff (USA) X-Fusion-Intense                             54
76 Marco Milivinti (Ita) Dytech DH                                     53
77 Romain Paulhan (Fra)                                                52
78 Neil Donoghue (GBr)                                                 52
79 Jonty Neethling (RSA)                                               51
80 Joe Barnes (GBr)                                                    51
81 Matthew Scoles (NZl)                                                49
82 Herman Olund (Swe)                                                  48
83 Rhys Willemse° (Aus)                                                46
84 Harry Heath° (GBr)                                                  45
85 Kieran Bennett (NZl) X-Fusion-Intense                               44
86 Bernard Kerr° (GBr)                                                 43
87 Dominik Gspan (Swi)                                                 42
88 Georg Sieder (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team                        40
89 Johann Potgieter (RSA)                                              38
90 Esteban Deronzier (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74                          38
91 Adam Brayton (GBr) Just Reid Race Team                              38
92 Vlastimil Hyncica (Cze)                                             37
93 Matej Charvat (Cze)                                                 36
94 Dennis Dertell (Swe)                                                33
95 Nico Vink (Bel)                                                     31
96 Mathieu Troquier (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team                    31
97 Rowan Sorrell (GBr)                                                 28
98 Arnau Sugranes Mateu (Spa)                                          27
99 Marco Bugnone (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team                     26
100 Claudio Cozzi (Ita) Dytech DH                                      25
101 Emanuel Pombo (Por)                                                24
102 Kevin Aiello° (USA) GT Bicycles                                    24
103 Curtis Keene (USA)                                                 23
104 Maximilian Bender (Ger)                                            21
105 Robert Smith (GBr)                                                 21
106 Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Team Sunn                                    20
107 Rémy Charrier (Fra) Team Sunn                                      19
108 Scott Laughland (Irl)                                              19
109 Scott Mears (GBr)                                                  19
110 Arran Gannicott° (GBr)                                             19
111 Maxime Remy (Fra) Suspension Center                                16
112 Marcel Beer (Swi)                                                  16
113 Carlo Gambirasio (Ita) Surfing Shop                                15
114 Pierre Van Der Merwe° (RSA)                                        15
115 Timothy Bentley° (RSA)                                             14
116 Kim Petersson° (Swe)                                               13
117 Ralph Jones (GBr)                                                  13
118 Iago Garay Tamayo° (Spa)                                           12
119 Louis-Bresler Knipe (RSA)                                          12
120 David Eme (Fra)                                                    11
121 Laurie Dinham° (Aus) Suspension Center                             11
122 Jorge Aguin Castro (Spa)                                           11
123 Elias Somvi (Ita)                                                  11
124 Gary Barnard (RSA)                                                 10
125 Markus Olkkonen (Fin)                                              10
126 Andréa Gamenara° (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team                 10
127 Darryn Stow (RSA)                                                   9
128 Shaun O'connor° (Aus) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker                    9
129 Hayden Brown (RSA)                                                  8
130 James Hughes (GBr)                                                  7
131 Emyr Davies (GBr)                                                   5
132 Martin Frei (Swi)                                                   4
133 Simon Dinkelman° (RSA)                                              4
134 Daniel Critchlow (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense                3

Teams

1 Santa Cruz Syndicate                       329 pts
2 Trek World Racing                          269
3 GT Bicycles                                191
4 Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles        185
5 Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team            164
6 Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz    163
7 Scott 11                                   152
8 Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense              145
9 Animal Commencal                           139
10 MS Evil Racing                            133
11 Suspension Center                         133
12 Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker                118
13 Norco World Team                           95
14 Morzine-Avoriaz 74                         88
15 Massi                                      67
16 Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon           62
17 2Stagefactory                              47
18 Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team          45
19 Kenda Morewood                             43
20 Duncan Riffle Racing                       36
21 Team Vario Racing                          35
22 Specialized Team America                   34
23 MSC Bikes                                  32
24 Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team              30
25 Team Sunn                                  22
26 Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team                       9
27 XMS-Devinci World Cup Team                  6
28 Dytech DH                                   4
29 Kona                                        2