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Telluride 360 Adventure Festival, USA , July 12, 2002

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Chausson bounces back to win Telluride downhill while Peat takes over

On the day that commemorates the storming of the Bastille, it seemed fitting that France's Anne-Caroline Chausson (Volvo/Cannondale) went from an emergency room to the winner's podium in a matter of hours to win Round Four of the Tissot-UCI World Cup Downhill, held at the Telluride 360 Adventure Festival Presented by Subaru. The men's race saw a comeback too, as Great Britain's Steve Peat (Global) confirmed that his injury problems are in the past, blasting down the mountain to score his second consecutive World Cup win and move into the overall lead with just one round remaining.

Chausson's story began in the Four Cross competition held Saturday, where she crashed heavily in the finals and was taken from the course in an ambulance. After spending the night being examined at the Montrose Memorial Hospital, she was released well after midnight. Her team manager, Eric Wallace, had announced at 9 a.m. that she would not race due to the extent of her injuries. Chausson, however, thought otherwise.

"I went for a ride on my road bike and I felt OK," said Chausson, the 9-times downhill world champion. "Everything else I did hurt."

At 9:45 a.m. she called Wallace to say she would race, despite his protests. Barely able to mount the bike, she finished sixth in the qualifying round with a 2:28. In the finals, April Lawyer (Maxxis) broke the 2:30 barrier with a 2:28. She stayed in the hot seat until Kathy Pruitt (Azonic/Santa Cruz) knocked it down to 2:25. Then came Chausson, who whistled down the mountain to post a 2:21. Into the hot seat went Chausson, where she required several minutes to contain the pain. She watched as Fionn Griffiths failed to beat her time. Then came Sabrina Jonnier (Intense), her countrywoman and biggest threat for the World Cup title. Jonnier had a fabulous run, but could only post a 2:22. Marielle Saner (Global), Missy Giove (Global) and fastest qualifier Tracy Mosely (Kona) all posted slower times.

Chausson's victory puts the World Cup title within easy reach with a lead of 62 points going into the final at Les Gets, France.

In the men's race, Canadian National Champion Dustin Adams (Giant) posted a fast mid-pack time of 2:02. 24 of the best riders remained to arrive, but the rocky course claimed such names as Nathan Rankin (Foes/Azonic), World Cup leader Chris Kovarik (Intense), defending World Cup champion Greg Minnaar (Global) and defending NORBA Champion John Kirkcaldie (Maxxis) with slide-outs and minor mistakes.

Then came Peat. The tall British star gave no regard to rocks and dust, and cheated the altitude by showing up the day before competition began Saturday. While others had several days to practice, Peat bombed down the course and posted a spectacular 2:01.81.

"That was the shortest World Cup I've ever seen," said Peat. "It was a little bit weird how you had to pin it."

Mick Hannah (Haro/Lee Dungarees) could only post a 2:03. Cyril Lagneau (Maxxis) came close with a 2:02.52, a half-second faster than Adams' time. Then came Barel with a visibly fast ride, but in the final turns he scrubbed more dust than Peat and hit the tape with a 2:01.96, just a finger snap slower than the Briton. In the series, Peat with 752 points to second placed Cedric Gracia (Volvo-Cannondale) on 609, seems assured of his first Tissot-UCI World Cup title win. Yet fortune has not been kind to this great Briton over the years. He better than anyone knows that the series crown is not yet his.

Results

Women

1 Anne-Caroline Chausson (Fra) Volvo-Cannondale     2:21.73
2 Sabrina Jonnier (Fra)                                 .50
3 Marielle Saner (Sui) Global Racing                    .51
4 Missy Giove (Usa) Global Racing                      1.07
5 Tracy Moseley (Gbr)                                  1.84
6 Kathy Pruitt (Usa)                                   3.62
7 Marla Streb (Usa) Luna Womens Mtb                    4.70
8 Fionn Griffiths (Gbr)                                4.88
9 April Lawyer (Usa)                                   7.17
10 Melissa Buhl (Usa)                                  7.56
11 Sandra Walker (Sui)                                 8.88
12 Celine Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz                   8.91
13 Amelie Thevoz (Sui)                                 9.07
14 Nolvenn Le Caer (Fra) Fiat Rotwild                 12.19
15 Diana Marggraff (Ecu)                              12.84
16 Maxine Irving (Usa)                                12.97
17 Helen Gaskell (Gbr)                                13.03
18 Cassandra Boon (Can)                               13.62
19 Vanessa Quin (Nzl)                                 13.89
20 Mio Suemasa (Jpn) Trek Volkswagen                  13.98
21 Lisa Sher (Usa)                                    14.82
22 Pascaline Reusser (Sui)                            15.92
23 Gale Dahlager (Usa)                                18.50
24 Anka Martin (Rsa)                                  33.85
   Lisa-Ann Horlor                                      Dnf


Men
 
1 Steve Peat (Gbr) Orange England                   2:01.81
2 Fabien Barel (Fra) Maxxis-Msc                         .15
3 Cyril Lagneau (Fra) Maxxis-Msc                        .71
4 Dustin Adams (Can)                                   1.12
5 Mick Hannah (Aus) Haro Lee Dungaree                  1.29
6 Cedric Gracia (Fra) Volvo-Cannondale                 1.40
7 Mickael Pascal (Fra) Team Be One                     1.45
8 John Waddell (Aus)                                   1.95
9 Julien Poomans (Fra)                                 2.92
10 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Esp)                            2.96
11 Jared Graves (Aus)                                  3.39
12 Greg Minnaar (Rsa) Global Racing                    3.44
13 Bas De Bever (Ned) Team Be One                      3.83
14 Crawford Carrick-Anderson (Gbr)                     3.96
15 Jared Rando (Aus)                                   4.10
16 Bernat Guardia Pascual (Esp) Maxxis-Msc             4.49
17 Samuel Hill (Aus)                                   4.77
18 Michal Marosi (Cze)                                 5.03
19 Markolf Berchtold (Bra) Global Racing               5.48
20 Cesar Rojo (Esp) Global Racing                      5.70
21 Christopher Kovarik (Aus)                           6.45
22 Oscar Saiz (Esp) Maxxis-Msc                         6.57
23 Julien Camellini (Fra) Vouilloz Racing              6.75
24 David Vazquez Lopez (Esp) Giant Global              7.03
25 Eric Carter (Usa) Mongoose Hyundai                  7.52
26 Damien Mermoud (Sui)                                8.41
27 Sean Mccarroll (Aus) Global Racing                  8.54
28 Frank Schneider (Ger)                               8.86
29 David Mclaughlin (Aus)                              8.94
30 Justin Havukainen (Aus)                             9.04
31 David Klaassenvanoorschot (Usa)                     9.36
32 Will Longden (Gbr)                                 10.58
33 Rich Houseman (Usa)                                10.69
34 Chris O'driscoll (Usa)                             10.94
35 Joshua Prater (Usa)                                11.37
36 Daniel Atherton (Gbr)                              11.53
37 Mark Beaumont (Gbr)                                11.66
38 Bryn Atkinson (Aus)                                12.39
39 Geoff Pendrel (Can)                                13.72
40 Naoki Idegawa (Jpn) Global Racing                  13.94
41 Luke Strom (Aus)                                   14.07
42 Myles Rockwell (Usa)                               14.17
43 William Corry (Irl)                                14.65
44 Gary Houseman (Usa)                                14.66
45 Alex Morgan (Usa)                                  14.94
46 Lars Tribus (Usa)                                  15.38
46 Bernie Fredrick (Usa)                              15.38
48 Nathan Adams (Usa)                                 15.72
49 Todd Leduc (Usa)                                   16.69
50 Daniel Auerswald (Ger)                             16.29
51 Robin Baloochi (Usa)                               16.39
52 Claudio Caluori (Sui) Maxxis-Msc                   16.51
53 Glenn Haden (Nzl)                                  16.57
54 Hugo Donais (Can)                                  16.83
55 Todd Bosch (Usa)                                   16.90
56 Ferran Marias Sorribes (Esp) Maxxis-Msc            17.32
57 James Dodds (Nzl)                                  18.32
58 Mark Weir (Usa)                                    18.40
59 Waylon Smith (Gbr)                                 19.48
60 Frederic Belanger (Can)                            20.10
61 Marco Fidalgo (Por)                                20.74
62 Mike Mihai Moga (Rou)                              21.59
63 Dave Wardell (Gbr)                                 26.12
64 Trevor Porter (Can)                                26.39
65 Kyle Ebbett (Usa)                                  26.48
66 Vincent Marcotte (Can)                             34.32
67 Rob Warner (Gbr) Giant Global                      37.70
68 John Kirkcaldie (Nzl)                              56.00
   Mathieu Laurin (Can)                                 Dnf
   Benjamin Cory (Aus)                                  Dnf
   Andre Beato (Por)                                    Dnf
   Nathan Rennie (Aus)                                  Dnf
   Colin Bailey (Usa)                                   Dns
   Ted Tempany (Can)                                    Dns
   Nathan Rankin (Nzl)                                  Dsq

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