June 17th, 2011 9:52am
Gwin wins, Americans have 4x hope and it's game time.
Three weeks into the world cup season and it is officially on! What's different this year versus every other year on the UCI Gravity scene? Well if you have been living under a rock you may not have noticed that Americans are back on the racing scene and making an impact. Aaron Gwin is leading the way and establishing himself as the force to be reconed with. Greg Minnaar, Gee Atherton and the other dominant riders of the past three or four years have not only Gwin to watch out for, but now also have the young guns coming of age. Most noticeably is 2009 Jr. World Champ Brook McDonald. McDonald took his first podium last week at Fort William and backed it up with a solid 10th place this week at Leogang. Barring any bad luck, Brook will be getting plenty of time in the Hot Seat this year. Of course there are other riders starting to show their ability also. Danny Hart, Troy Brosnan, Cameron Cole and Luke Strobel to name several.
Another difference this year has been the weather. While the rain was on again- off again in Leogang, Race conditions were run under sunny skies just on a wet track. All three races so far have had good weather compared with the rain soaked season of last year.
It is also good to see so many Americans being competitive in the events. It can only help raise awareness of the sport here in the states.
Thank god for freecaster tv coverage that allows us here at bicycle world tv to watch these exciting races from across the pond.
The action on the women's side was also exciting. Several more quality women riders have joined the field making it deeper and more legitimate. The Leogang title came down to the last five girls down the hill. We are super stoked to see Jill Kitner and Jackie Harmony representing the good ol US during select races. Jill crashed during her race run and left it to the big names to battle for the title. Jill will no doubt claim many more podiums this year, but this weekend wasn't meant to be. Harmony did not race but did practice. Not knowing for sure, we can only summise that she had a mishap in practice that forced her out of the competition. Knowing how hard her and husband Dante worked to get there, Jackie would not pass up a chance to race Leogang unless she was hurt.
Florian Pugin of France was the surprise winner this weekend. Even while claiming the top qualiying spot, i think everyone expected it to be a dual between Rachel Atherton and points leader Tracey Moseley for the win. But Florian backed up her qualifying run to destroy the two favorites by 2.5 seconds and a decisive win. It should be noted the Florian won it on a Scott Downhill bike. When was the last time Scott won a gravity event?!
PRO MEN
| Rank | Name | UCI Code | Team | Result |
| 1 | GWIN Aaron | USA19871224 | TREK WORLD RACING | 3:44.181 |
| 2 | ATHERTON Gee | GBR19850226 | COMMENCAL | +02.113 |
| 3 | MINNAAR Greg | RSA19811113 | SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | +05.721 |
| 4 | SMITH Steve | CAN19891125 | DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING | +07.942 |
| 5 | HILL Samuel | AUS19850721 | MONSTER ENERGY / SPECIALIZED / MAD CATZ | +09.225 |
| 6 | HART Danny | GBR19910920 | GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM | +09.253 |
| 7 | GRACIA Cédric | FRA19780323 | CG RACING BRIGADE | +09.357 |
| 8 | LEOV Justin | NZL19841020 | TREK WORLD RACING | +09.984 |
| 9 | BLENKINSOP Samuel | NZL19881028 | LAPIERRE INTERNATIONAL | +10.163 |
| 10 | MACDONALD Brook | NZL19911125 | MS EVIL RACING | +10.615 |
| 11 | BRYCELAND Josh | GBR19900323 | SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | +12.173 |
| 12 | PEAT Steve | GBR19740617 | SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | +13.445 |
| 13 | BEAUMONT Marc | GBR19840925 | +13.580 | |
| 14 | STROBEL Luke | USA19860624 | MS EVIL RACING | +13.720 |
| 15 | BROSNAN Troy ° | AUS19930713 | MONSTER ENERGY / SPECIALIZED / MAD CATZ | +13.832 |
PRO WOMEN
| Rank | Name | UCI Code | Team | Result |
| 1 | PUGIN Floriane | FRA19890417 | SCOTT 11 | 4:29.427 |
| 2 | ATHERTON Rachel | GBR19871206 | COMMENCAL | +02.583 |
| 3 | MOSELEY Tracy | GBR19790412 | TREK WORLD RACING | +02.692 |
| 4 | NICOLE Myriam | FRA19900208 | RIDING ADDICTION COMMENCAL | +09.806 |
| 5 | JONNIER Sabrina | FRA19810819 | TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN | +10.735 |
| 6 | BERNHARD Petra | AUT19801118 | ALPINE COMMENCAL AUSTRIA | +13.957 |
| 7 | SIEGENTHALER Emilie | SUI19860919 | SCOTT 11 | +19.477 |
| 8 | GATTO Micayla | CAN19880821 | +21.280 | |
| 9 | GROS Céline | FRA19830128 | TEAM MORZINE - AVORIAZ / HAUTE - SAVOIE | +23.254 |
| 10 | CHARRE Morgane | FRA19900609 | PASSION VELO THIERS STEMTEE | +26.108 |
| 11 | SUEMASA Mio | JPN19830401 | +26.968 | |
| 12 | RUCKNAGEL Harriet | GER19881011 | +27.225 | |
| 13 | GRIFFITHS Fionn | GBR19820827 | TEAM GR | +29.198 |
| 14 | AGER-WICK Anita | NOR19780831 | +30.461 | |
| 15 | RUCHTI Miriam | SUI19870101 | +30.656 | |
| 16 | MILLER Miranda | CAN19900302 | +33.589 | |
| 17 | MICHALOGIANNAKI Maria | GRE19820513 | UNIOR TOOLS TEAM | +59.363 |
| 18 | KINTNER Jill | USA19811024 | +1:07.357 |
Since the era of Brian Lopes and Jill Kitner on the 4x Scene, the US has been sorely under represented in the 4x discipline. Until this year. The new year brought back KHS's Blake Carney, a little more mature, a little bit more focused and definitely more determined. Carney is joined by team mate and former World Champion Melissa Buhl who is focusing on 4x cross this year leaving behind DH. Joining them was first time world cupper Lear Miller from Team Geronimo riding for Banshee bikes. Lear has tons of talent and is as smooth as any rider on circuit. Having seen these boys race before and watching them this year, it is apparent that having fellow yanks on the team helps them stay focused, pushing each other and ride faster. This week both Miller and Carney got through the first round while Miller went on to the quarter finals before getting knocked out. Scoring 15th place in your second world cup event in Europe is outstanding.
Melissa Buhl continued her comeback scoring second place points this week. The competitive field features points leader Anneke Beerten, and saw the return of Romana Loubankova, a pro snowboarder who is not scared of big air. Romana looked tough through each heat including the final for the win while Buhl's saavy riding kept her ahead of Beerten for the silver step on the podium.
It's good to see the US back in the thick of things with the tough European contingent.
Jared Graves got back to his winning ways after his worst finish in a 4x race in years. One of my favorite people on a bike, it was apparent that
Graves was not happy about his Fort William results and let his riding do the talking at Leogang. Clearly determined and the fastest rider in the field.
4X - PRO MEN
4X - PRO WOMEN
Location: News >> Leogang UCI DH and 4X results
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