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Nissan UCI World Cup DH #5 Elite Men, Women Report, Full Results, Photos - Atherton and Hill Win

Canada's Buchar 6th

by Fraser Britton

August 2, 2008 (Bromont, QC) - Save for a small downpour during the women's finals, the rain held off and competitors all raced under the same conditions this week. Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy proved once again that he is the master in the mud. Up by 0.29 at the split, Hill somehow managed to find almost 2.5 additional seconds in the lower, more flowy section of the course to take home the win, as well as move back into the overall lead with two races to go.

"My run was pretty good; I carried really good speed at the top and I didn't use too much energy and was happy I got through the top bits OK. I tried to keep it pretty safe through all the sloppy technical stuff, because I just wanted to stay upright all the way to the bottom. I have no idea how I put on more than two seconds at the bottom. If anywhere I thought I'd be faster up top, that was pretty surprising." Hill was followed by Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate and Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate, with Gee Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal close behind. With a track this short, it was surprising to see almost two seconds between each of the first three riders.

For the men, Steve Smith (Cove) was once again the fastest Canadian, although this week he was a distant 36th place, 19 seconds back after a big crash in the lower section. Smith was obviously upset, and left the venue as soon as his run was complete. Actions are sometimes more telling than words.

Women's DH

For the women it was Rachel Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal, once again putting school into session. It must pay to grow up riding with two big brothers, because Atherton is untouchable it seems, under any course conditions. She beat Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis, Tracy Moseley (Gbr) Kona and first place qualifier, Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center.

"I love to be last off," said a nervous Atherton from the hot seat waiting for 1st place qualifier Ragot to come down. "She deserves to win eventually, she is a pinner in the wet." After no one could touch her time she added, "That was gnarly, I haven't been first down in awhile (before the other girls), It's hard waiting. I struggled to get into the right mind set for so long, I'm stoked. I qualified like shit, but then Sabrina did as well. I can't believe it"

Claire Buchar (Intense) was fastest Canadian, matching her 6th place of last week. Micayla Gatto (Can) Commencal Marzocchi also cracked the top 10 with a 10th place finish. Buchar spoke about her run, "I'm pretty stoked. I have been trying to crack the top 10 this season. I was a bit frustrated with 11ths. To get two 6ths in a row and be consistent makes me feel pretty good. At the beginning of the season my Intense M6 was brand new, it took a bit getting used to. I got a new bike from Intense before the Quebec World Cups and it's a bit customized so I can relax more now. It feels awesome."

Women's overall DH standings pdf.
Men's overall DH standings pdf.

Results

Elite Women

1. Rachel Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal 03:14.3
2. Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis 0:02.3
3. Tracy Moseley (Gbr) Kona 0:03.3
4. Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 0:03.8
5. Floriane Pugin (Fra) Playbiker - Iron Horse 0:10.9
6. Claire Buchar (Can) Intense 0:20.2
7. Mio Suemasa (Jpn) MS-Intense Factory-Racing 0:20.4
8. Anita Molcik (Aut) 4 Elements Yeti 0:20.9
9. Scarlett Hagen (Nzl) 0:24.6
10. Micayla Gatto (Can) Commencal Marzocchi 0:25.2
11. Danice Uyesugi (Can) pinkbike.com 0:26.3
12. Fionn Griffiths (Gbr) Norco World Team 0:37.0
13. Elisa Canepa (Ita) Playbiker - Iron Horse 0:50.6
14. Myriam Nicole (Fra) 0:52.7
15. Amy Laird (Nzl) 0:54.1
16. Miranda Miller (Can) Marin/Mad March Racing/Team Squamish 0:56.6
17. Harriet Harper (Nzl) 0:57.0
18. Amber Zirnhelt (Can) 01:49.4
19. Sheila Morris (ON) Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny's Racing 02:14.7
DNS Caroline Buchanan (Aus)

Elite Men

1. Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy 2:42.14
2. Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:02.70
3. Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:03.86
4. Gee Atherton (Gbr) Animal Commencal 0:05.95
5. Marc Beaumont (Gbr) Team Bike Radar 0:07.46
6. Brendan Fairclough (Gbr) Monster Energy 0:09.51
7. Samuel Blenkinsop (Nzl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory 0:10:72
8. Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS-Intense Factory-Racing 0:10:89
9. Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kenda Tomac 0:12.01
10. Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis 0:12.42
11. Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycle 0:12.50
12. Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro 0:12.54
13. Justin Leov (Nzl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory 0:13.32
14. Andrew Neethling (RSA) GT Bicycles 0:13.48
15. Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 0:13.58
16. Remi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn 0:13.68
17. Amiel Cavalier (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 0:13.90
18. Cameron Cole (Nzl) Team Maxxis 0:14.03
19. Nathan Rennie (Aus) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:14.26
20. Josh Bryceland (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:14.77
21. Pasqual Canals Flix (Spa) Massi
22. Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) 0:15.69
23. Nico Vink (Bel) Dolphin-Trek Mountainbike 0:15.86
24. Julien Camellini (Fra) Chain Reaction Cycle 0:16.75
25. Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) 0:17.03
26. Ben Reid (Irl) 0:17.26
27. Oscar Saiz Castane (Spa) Giant Mountain Bike Team 0:17.52
28. Florent Payet (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro 0:17.79
29. Sam Dale (Gbr) Cannondale Factory Racing 0:18.21
30. Alan Beggin (Ita) 0:18.48
31. Joseph Smith (Gbr) Tomac Factory Racing 0:18.58
32. Maxime Remy (Fra) Team Sunn 0:18.83
33. Kieran Bennett (Nzl) 0:19.24
34. Filip Polc (Svk) Kenda Tomac 0:19.49
35. Aaron Holmes Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Racing
36. Steve Smith (Can) Cove Bikes 0:19.56
37. Adam Brayton (Gbr) Playbiker-Iron Horse 0:20:03
38. Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 0:20:19
39. Ruaridh Cunningham (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycle 0:20:42
40. Hans Lambert (Can) Norco World Team 0:20:77
41. Valentin Juillard (Fra) Team Sunn 0:20:89
42. Kyle Strait (USA) Specialized Factory Racing 0:21.07
43. Dean Tennant (Can) Primary Devinci 0:21.40
44. Charles-Alexandre Dube (Can) DH Racer 0:21.81
45. Danny Hart (Gbr) Lapierre DH 0:22.36
46. Thomas Braithwaite (Gbr) 0:22.59
47. Will Rischbieth (Aus) 0:22.81
48. Toni Berg (Fin) 0:22.98
49. Ralph Jones (Gbr) 0:23.01
50. Markolf Berchtold (Bra) 0:23.04
51. Matej Charvat (Cze) 0:23.27
52. Duncan Riffle (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing 0:23.46
53. Marcelo Gutierrez (Col) 0:23.72
54. Chris Hutchens (Gbr) Mojo Orange 0:23.79
55. Mathieu Troquier (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 0:24.08
56. Alastair Wilson (Gbr) 0:24.37
57. Eli Krahenbuhl (USA) 0:24.46
58. Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Playbiker-Iron Horse 0:24.51
59. Ludovic May (Swi) 0:24.69
60. Daniel Critchlow (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycle 0:25.05
61. Dylan Morley (Can) Playbiker-Iron Horse 0:26.78
62. Jason Memmelaar (USA) 0:26.87
63. Cody Warren (USA) 0:27.58
64. Drew Pautler (Can) Primary Devinci 0:27.71
65. Samuel Zbinden (Swi) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 0:28.77
66. Neil Donoghue (Gbr) Team Bike Radar 0:31.56
67. Erik Irmisch (Ger) 0:32.32
68. Nathan Rankin (Nzl) Playbiker-Iron Horse 0:36.13
69. Georg Sieder (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 0:36.40
70. Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Team Pyrenees Morewood 0:37.00
71. Nick Beer (Swi) Ixs Sports Division Racing 0:37.41
72. Dominik Gspan (Swi) 0:40:91
73. Ryan Condrashoff (USA) 0:42.72
74. Emyr Davies (Gbr) Reverse Components 0:51.19
75. Matthew Simmonds (Gbr) Chain Reaction Cycle 0:57.44
76. Mathieu Laurin (Can) 1:14.20
77. Michael Skinner (Nzl) Playbiker-Iron Horse 1:36.48
78. Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro 1:40:33
79. Jonty Neethling (RSA) 1:59.81
80. Dan Atherton (Gbr) 3:37.42