Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Giro finale Photo ©: Bettini |
MTB index page for all MTB content
MTB World Cup DH & 4X #3 - CDM
Vallnord, Andorra, May 15-17, 2009
2008 results Schedule Preview Start List
Schedule
- Race 1 - May 15: Four cross qualifying
- Race 2 - May 16: Downhill qualifying
- Race 3 - May 16: Elite women four cross
- Race 4 - May 16: Elite men four cross
- Race 5 - May 17: Elite women downhill
- Race 6 - May 17: Elite men downhill
Gravity World Cup action returns to Vallnord
By Rob Jones
 |
From La Bresse in the north of France, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup moves to the Principality of Andorra, on the French-Spanish border, for round three of the four cross and downhill series. High in the Pyrenees, in the bike park of Vallnord, riders will compete amid spectacular mountain scenery for the second consecutive year.
The weather leading up to the event has not been optimal, with heavy rain passing through the region. However, organizers have done an excellent job of clearing snow that covered the downhill track less than two weeks ago. There may be snow all around the courses, but the track is clear ... and muddy. The weather is promising to clear for the start of competition on the weekend.
Four cross
 |
The four cross, at 500 metres in length, will require strength and fitness. Out of a newly constructed start ramp the riders head into three doubles and one big jump before the first left hand corner. From there, it is a couple of different line options into the next right-left-right combination, before the longest series of jumps that traverses the hill. Out of the next right hander there is a new series of stepdowns into a left hand turn, then over a final double and into the last right hand turn before the dash to the finish line.
Practice was cancelled for Thursday, as the organizers try to avoid having the track destroyed in the muddy conditions, so no one has had a chance to actually ride the course. Theoretically, it will open on Friday, with qualifying to take place in the evening.
Downhill
The 1.2 kilometre downhill is almost identical to last year, starting out very fast on an open rocky section for the first third of the run, before dropping into the woods. Last year, the race was won or lost in the woods, with mud, slippery roots and rocks making it difficult to avoid mistakes. This year will be no different.
The Vallnord organizers have improved on the wooded sections without taking away any of the difficulty, by widening parts of the track to create multiple lines, as well as allowing for spectators to get near the action. In addition, the bottom of the track has been opened up, so that the riders have a long, fast run into the finish.
Who's here?
 |
The start lists for both the four cross and downhill are impressive, with all the top men and women in the world attending. Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Shox) will attempt to make it three straight wins in the men's four cross, while world champion Rafael Alvarez de Lara Lucas (Specialized Factory Team) will be hoping to overcome the bad luck and crashes that have kept him off the top step in both previous rounds and defending Vallnord champion Dan Atherton (Animal-Commencal) will be looking to repeat. The women's series has had two winners in two races, with World Cup leader Anneke Beerten (Suspension Center) winning the first, and former champion Jill Kintner of the United States, the second. Who will take this tiebreaker?
In the downhill last week, Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) tied Nicolas Vouilloz's record of 16 World Cup victories. Could this be the race where he breaks the record? Peat leads the men's standings, and is a strong performer in wet and muddy conditions. But he is up against some tough competition, in the form of his teammate Greg Minnaar (winner of round one), Michael "Mick"' Hannah (GT Bicycles), Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized) and last year's winner in Vallnord, world champion Gee Atherton (Animal-Commencal).
On the women's side, Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing) continues to hold the leader's jersey after two rounds, but Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) proved that Moseley can be beaten with a decisive victory last weekend in La Bresse. We could see the jersey change hands in Vallnord.
Start list
Downhill Four cross Elite men downhill 1 Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 2 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles 3 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 4 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz 5 Gee Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal 6 Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz 7 Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing 8 Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing 9 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bicycles 10 Mickael Pascal (Fra) MSC Bikes 11 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 12 Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 13 Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) 14 Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 15 Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 16 Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing 17 Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) Massi 18 Dan Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal 19 Aaron Holmes Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 21 Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 22 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) Massi 23 Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing 24 Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 25 Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kenda Morewood 26 Fabien Cousinie (Fra) 27 Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 28 Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) 29 Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 30 Robin Wallner (Swe) 31 Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 32 Tom Deacon (GBr) 2Stagefactory 33 Nathan Rennie (Aus) Kenda Morewood 34 Dan Stanbridge (GBr) 35 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn 36 Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) 37 Kyle Strait (USA) Specialized Team America 39 Sam Dale (GBr) 40 Florent Payet (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 41 Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 42 Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing 43 Cédric Gracia (Fra) 45 Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 46 Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH 47 Bradley Benedict (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 48 Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 49 Wyn Masters (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 51 Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Team Sunn 52 Cody Warren (USA) Specialized Team America 53 Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 54 Joris Bigoni (Fra) 55 Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona 56 Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 57 Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 58 Ben Cathro (GBr) 59 Nathan Rankin (NZl) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 60 Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 61 Aari Barrett° (NZl) Scott 11 64 Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team 65 Will Rischbieth (Aus) 66 Brook Macdonald° (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 67 Dennis Dertell (Swe) 68 Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 69 Nicolas Ortiz (Fra) 70 Georg Sieder (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 71 Herman Olund (Swe) 72 Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 73 Matthew Scoles (NZl) 75 Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 77 Dominik Gspan (Swi) 78 Marco Bugnone (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 79 Joshua Button (Aus) 80 Benny Strasser (Ger) 81 Claudio Loureiro (Por) 82 Bryn Atkinson (Aus) 83 Kieran Bennett (NZl) X-Fusion-Intense 84 Marco Milivinti (Ita) Dytech DH 85 Toni Berg (Fin) 86 Mathias Haas (Aut) 87 Emanuel Pombo (Por) 88 Martin Frei (Swi) 89 Curtis Keene (USA) 90 Arnau Sugranes Mateu (Spa) 91 Espen Johnsen (Nor) Norwegian National Team 92 Aki Färm (Fin) 93 Jan Cestnik (Slo) 94 Joe Barnes (GBr) 95 Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 96 Rhys Willemse° (Aus) 97 Luis Paulo Vicente Ferreira (Por) 98 Matej Charvat (Cze) 99 Maxime Remy (Fra) Suspension Center 100 Jorge Aguin Castro (Spa) 101 Matej Vitko (Svk) 102 Ryan Condrashoff (USA) X-Fusion-Intense 103 Mathieu Troquier (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 104 Simon Charvat (Cze) 105 Adam Brayton (GBr) Just Reid Race Team 106 Carlo Gambirasio (Ita) Surfing Shop 107 Erik Kallstrom (Swe) 108 Cesar Rojo (Spa) 109 Marco Fidalgo (Por) 110 Shaun O'connor° (Aus) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 111 Ralph Jones (GBr) 112 Renato Ventura (Por) 113 Daniel Critchlow (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 114 Mario Sieder (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 115 Romain Paulhan (Fra) 116 Robert Smith (GBr) 117 Antoine Badouard (Fra) 118 David Smith (GBr) 119 Jan Javornik (Svk) 120 Tamryn Murrell° (Aus) 121 David Eme (Fra) 122 Laurie Dinham° (Aus) Suspension Center 123 Loïc Delteil (Fra) 124 Emyr Davies (GBr) 125 Yannick Colomb (Fra) 126 Davide Michelis (Ita) Surfing Shop 127 Daniel Alvarez Salgueiro (Spa) 128 Esteban Deronzier (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 129 Zan Jurca (Slo) Slovenian National Team 130 Alex Bond (GBr) 131 Rémy Charrier (Fra) Team Sunn 132 Scott Mears (GBr) 133 Camille Blanchard° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 134 Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Team Sunn 135 Scott Beaumont (GBr) Rocky Mountain UK 136 Arnaud Delente (Fra) 137 Jordi Bago (Spa) 138 James Stock (GBr) 139 Liam Mason (GBr) 140 Ivan Oziol° (Fra) 141 Martin Hanak° (Cze) 142 Luis Ribeiro (Por) 143 Olivier Nicole (Fra) 144 Elias Somvi (Ita) 145 Pedro Miguel Brandao Fernandes (Por) 146 Niklas Wallner (Swe) Swedish National Team 147 Nicolas Gspan (Swi) Swedish National Team 148 Tim Hammar (Swe) Swedish National Team 149 Francisco Pardal° (Por) Portuguese National Team 150 Gareth Brewin° (GBr) British National Team 151 Marco Fernandez Garcia° (Spa) Motril-Sierra Nevada 152 Clément Benoit° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 153 Harry Heath° (GBr) British National Team 154 Richard Thomas (GBr) British National Team 155 Kevin Aiello° (USA) GT Bicycles 156 Bernard Kerr° (GBr) 157 Félix Groizard° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 158 Martin Mitvalsky° (Cze) Czech National Team 159 Albert Barilaro Caparros (And) Andorran National Team 160 Sergey Maltsev (Rus) Russian National Team 161 Ricard Ferreira Campos (And) Andorran National Team 162 Alex Prochazka° (Can) Canadian National Team 163 Dave Goris (Bel) Belgian National Team 164 Andréa Gamenara° (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 165 Patrick Thome° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 166 Nicholas Shields (Aus) Australian National Team 167 Xavier Simo Cervera (Spa) Spanish National Team 168 Kristof Lenssens (Bel) Belgian National Team 169 Bertrand Gilles° (Bel) Belgian National Team 170 David Schmied (Ger) German National Team 171 Markus Olkkonen (Fin) Finnish National Team 172 Oskar Harnstrom (Swe) Swedish National Team 173 Kristjan Vrecek (Slo) Slovenian National Team 174 Erik Kimmel° (Cze) Czech National Team 175 Leandro Salgueiro° (Por) Portuguese National Team 176 Xavier Raventos Marti° (Spa) Spanish National Team 177 Arran Gannicott° (GBr) British National Team 178 Javier Guijarro Villacieros° (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 179 Bastien Andreu° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 180 Fabien Bois° (Fra) Team Scott Valloire Galibier 181 Vadim Savelyev (Rus) Russian National Team 182 Ondrej Novak (Cze) Czech National Team 183 Max Eugen Dickerhoff (Ger) German National Team 184 Harry Molloy° (GBr) British National Team 185 Iago Garay Tamayo° (Spa) Spanish National Team 186 Hayden Lee (NZl) New Zealand National Team 187 Quentin Geynet° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 188 Kevin Locquet (Fra) French National Team 189 Francesco Petrucci° (Ita) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 190 Fredrik Hansson (Swe) Swedish National Team 191 Michal Jankiv° (Svk) Slovakian National Team 192 Adrien Loron° (Fra) French National Team 193 Tomas Liska° (Svk) Slovakian National Team 194 Quentin Jacquet° (Fra) French National Team 195 Jerome Crocombette (Fra) French National Team 196 Arthur Racaud° (Fra) Team Sport Bike 197 Alex Powell° (GBr) 2Stagefactory 198 Kim Petersson° (Swe) Swedish National Team 199 Florian Arthus° (Fra) French National Team 200 Anton Rumyantsev (Rus) Russian National Team Elite women downhill 1 Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek World Racing 2 Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 3 Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 4 Myriam Nicole (Fra) 5 Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team 6 Floriane Pugin (Fra) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 7 Melissa Buhl (USA) 9 Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 10 Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott 11 11 Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 12 Joanna Petterson (RSA) 13 Helen Gaskell (GBr) 14 Petra Bernhard (Aut) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 15 Miriam Ruchti (Swi) Team Vario Racing 18 Diana Marggraff (Ecu) 19 Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) 20 Elisa Canepa (Ita) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 21 Anita Molcik (Aut) 22 Micayla Gatto (Can) 23 Katy Curd (GBr) 24 Victoria Hernandez Molinas (Spa) 25 Danice Uyesugi (Can) 26 Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) 27 Anais Pajot° (Fra) Team Sunn 28 Katarina Tothova (Cze) 29 Sandra Rubesam (Ger) 30 Caroline Sax (Fra) 31 Jessica Stone (GBr) 2Stagefactory 32 Miranda Miller (Can) 33 Mireia Bosca Ballester (Spa) 34 Ariadna De Barros Sanchez (Spa) Motril-Sierra Nevada 35 Sophie Borderes (Fra) 36 Federica Perardi (Ita) Dytech DH 37 Mélanie Pugin (Fra) Team Vario Racing 38 Aimee Dix (GBr) 39 Leoni-Caro. Dickerhoff° (Ger) 40 Carole Armanet (Fra) 41 Neven Steinmetz (USA) US National Team 42 Monet Adams° (GBr) British National Team 43 Fanny Lombard° (Fra) French National team Elite men four cross 65 Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 66 Rafael Alvarez De Lara Lucas (Spa) Specialized Factory Racing 67 Dan Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal 68 Guido Tschugg (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 69 Romain Saladini (Fra) Team Sunn 70 Joost Wichman (Ned) 71 Cédric Gracia (Fra) 72 Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 73 Kamil Tatarkovic (Cze) 74 Roger Rinderknecht (Swi) GT Bicycles 75 Scott Beaumont (GBr) Rocky Mountain UK 76 Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing 77 Jurg Meijer (Ned) 78 Sascha Meyenborg (Ger) 79 Mickael Deldycke (Fra) 80 Michal Prokop (Cze) 81 Lewis Lacey (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 82 Tomas Slavik (Cze) 83 Luke Madill (Aus) GT Bicycles 84 Joey Van Veghel (Ned) 85 Quentin Derbier (Fra) 86 Dominik Gspan (Swi) 87 Matej Vitko (Svk) 88 Rastislav Pirman (Svk) 89 Lukas Mechura (Cze) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 90 Peter Prajczer (Hun) 91 Thomas Schäfer (Ger) Solid Aclass Factory Team 92 Fabien Cousinie (Fra) 93 Premek Tejchman (Cze) 94 William Evans (GBr) 95 Florian Gottschlich (Ger) 96 David Graf (Swi) 97 Randal Huntington (Aus) 98 Bernard Kerr (GBr) 99 Adrian Kiener (Swi) 100 Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) 101 Pascal Seydoux (Swi) 102 Martin Frei (Swi) 103 Ludovic Gadois (Fra) Team Vario Racing 104 Patrick Campbell-Jenner (GBr) 105 Marek Pesko (Svk) 106 Duncan Ferris (GBr) 107 Matthieu Faury (Fra) 108 Scott Roberts (GBr) 109 Tilen Frank (Slo) Slovenian National Team 110 Nicolas Gspan (Swi) Swiss National Team 111 Adam Stasek (Cze) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 112 Tom Dowie (GBr) 113 Felix Beckeman (Swe) 114 Jakub Riha (Cze) 115 Nico Seidel (Ger) Ghost A.T.G. Pro Team 116 Sergey Maltsev (Rus) Russian National Team 117 Jan Ersek (Svk) 118 Borja Carrasco Morera (Spa) 119 Vincent Rasera (Fra) 120 Ziga Knez (Slo) Slovenian National Team 121 Petrik Brückner (Ger) 122 Sylvain Andre (Fra) Team Vario Racing 123 Ghislain Ricci (Fra) 124 Adrien Loron (Fra) 125 Juan Manuel Garcia Rodriguez (Spa) 126 Alex Dick (GBr) 127 David Axelsson (Swe) 128 Thomas Hamon (Fra) 129 Michal Marosi (Cze) 130 Javier Guijarro Villacieros (Spa) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 131 Oskar Harnstrom (Swe) 132 Francisco Javier Gutierrez Trigo (Spa) 133 Anton Rumyantsev (Rus) Russian National Team Elite women four cross 65 Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center 66 Melissa Buhl (USA) 67 Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team 68 Anita Molcik (Aut) 69 Jana Horakova (Cze) 70 Caroline Buchanan (Aus) 71 Romana Labounkova (Cze) 72 Diana Marggraff (Ecu) 73 Angelika Hohenwarter (Aut) 74 Sarsha Huntington (Aus) 75 Rachel Seydoux (Swi) 76 Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Aut) 77 Eva Castro Fernandez (Spa) 78 Neven Steinmetz (USA) US National Team 79 Lucia Oetjen (Swi) 80 Jill Kintner (USA) 81 Steffi Marth (Ger) 82 Joanna Petterson (RSA) 83 Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 84 Katarina Tothova (Cze) 85 Charlie Phillips (GBr) 86 Tereza Votavova (Cze) 87 Federica Perardi (Ita) Dytech DH 88 Maria Sanchez Veliz (Spa) 89 Esther Leroy (Fra)
