Pietermaritzburg World Cup Qualifying Results

March 18th, 2012 1:01pm

UCI World Cup Pietermaritzburg

Now that the official UCI World Cup Downhill season is under way, here are the top ten qualifiers in both mens and womes field.

After listening to racer feedback from last years race, the race organizers made significant changes to improve the track. And feedback from the riders has been super positive. Probably the least technical track on the circuit, the new track boasts high speeds and some monster table top sections that have resulted in speed reaching 43.5 mph (70 kph).

Americans that have qualified for Sundays final include:

2. Aaron Gwin

24. Niko Mulally

29. Luke Strobel

30. Mitch Ropelato

37.Duncan Riffle

45.Ritchie Rude

52. Curtis Keene

56. Logan Binggeli

68. Elliot Jackson

73. Kevin Aiello

Several of the top four cross riders have made their way back to the Downhill scene for this year including former world champion Jared Graves who qualified 9th. and Johannes Fischbach in 16th

As for Women, Tracy Hannah made a huge splash with her comeback to the world scene by leading the other women in the field by 3.5 seconds with positions 2-4 separated by a mere .5 seconds.

If you want to watch the race live on your computer you can go to Redbull TV. Rumor has it that the coverage is cut way back from previous coverage and only the top 10 women will be seen. So we'll be watching with you to see how it comes out..

Men’s Top 10

1. Greg Minnaar 3:59.620
2. Aaron Gwin +0.008
3. Steve Smith +0.871
4. Gee Atherton +1.767
5. Troy Brosnan +2.270
6. Michael Hannah +4.385
7. Cédric Gracia +5.055
8. Aurélien Giordaengo +5.901
9. Jared Graves +5.908
10. Andrew Neethling +6.347

Women’s Top 10

1. Tracey Hannah 4:36.853
2. Emmeline Ragot +3.556
3. Floriane Pugin +3.660
4. Sabrina Jonnier +3.984
5. Jill Kintner +6.436
6. Myriam Nicole +11.381
7. Luana Mariade De Sousa Olivieria +13.465
8. Miriam Ruchti +14.760
9. Emilie Siegenthaler +15.371
10. Manon Carpenter +15.914

Here is some practice footage to help you learn who is who this season with the new kits with all the rider and team changes this year.

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