Aaron Gwin Dominates At Val Di Sole WC Round 2

After setting the fastest qualifying time yesterday by more than 7 seconds, Trek World Racing's Aaron Gwin displayed incredible poise and composure to once again win by a similar margin today in the finals here at Val di Sole, Italy. While the rest of the field were separated by tenths of a second, the sizes of Aaron's winning margins really were the talk of the paddock throughout the weekend. The win today puts Aaron in the leader's jersey, but tied on points with main rival Greg Minnaar (RSA).

The course here in Val di Sole, site of the 2008 World Championships, is notoriously steep and rooted an d is considered one of the toughest on both rider and machine. Training accidents claimed many riders but fortunately the sunny weather ensured the racing was largely a safe affair, but the images were dramatic nevertheless. It's hard to appreciate the incline of this course unless you've walked it or stood trackside.

Unfortunately Neko Mulally was unable to race as his ankle wasn't 100% ready for the demanding track. A single practice run on Friday made that abundantly clear, but he took a radio to the course and relayed a lot of valuable information back to the team's start crew. Starting last and not knowing what time Greg Minnaar had recorded, Aaron took to the track with a chance to win his 6th World Cup. While Minnaar sat in the hotseat it was clear that barring an accident, the win was Aaron's for the taking. No rider had beaten his qualifying time of 3mins 16.693secs so he still had the fastest time on the hill for the weekend no matter what, but Aaron went on to beat his qualifying time by 6 seconds.

Aaron said: "I’ve been looking for a run like that for some time now, I couldn't be happier. I was pretty sure my quali time would hold, and even though the course here is super rough and dusty, I managed an almost clean run. Greg rode amazingly well on this track and is going to be tough competition for the remainder of the season."

Teammate Justin Leov moved up in the overall rankings from 16 to 13 after his run today, but despite the improvement was disappointed with how his final run went.

Justin said: "I overrode the first sector of the course and made an error that cost me a second. I tried to make it up in the second sector but just starting making more mistakes and had to rein it in to get down. Fort William's up next week and I'm keen to get back there."

Next week sees Round 3 at the classic Fort William course. Greg Minnaar has won there a number of times including last year, but Aaron has a score t o settle with the track after having a lead of more than 5 seconds in 2011 and crashing with 2 corners to go. With the two of them tied on points it will be an exciting showdown at the Fort.

Full results: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYzODg&LangId=1

2012 Val Di Sole World Cup Final Results

2012 Val Di Sole WC Round 2 Men's Final Results

95750556-42220-DHI-ME-Results

2012 Val Di Sole WC Round 2 Women's Final Results

2012 Val Di Sole World Cup Qualifying Results

Aaron Gwin blitzed qualifying ahead of the second round of the UCI MTB DH World Cup in Italy. On a very rough Val di Sole course on Saturday, Aaron Gwin and Emmeline Ragot put in some incredibly fast times to put their mark on the competition.

With over 220 men vying for just 80 spots in Sunday’s race - the second UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup event of the season – the competition was fierce. Gwin finished nearly eight seconds faster than second-placed Greg Minnaar, with Marc Beaumont third and Gee Atherton fourth.

American junior Richie Rude rode brilliantly to finish qualifying in 11th, while Brit Berny Kerr was 12th after another great ride. Steve Smith had to sit out qualifying after dislocating a finger in Saturday morning's practice but is hoping to compete in Sunday’s race.

In the battle for places in the women’s race, Emmeline Ragot stormed the Val di Sole qualifying session, finishing six seconds faster than second-placed Rachel Atherton.

Manon Carpenter hurt her shoulder so left the start hut then pulled over to rest up ahead of Sunday, while Tahnee Seagrave suffered a crash and did not finish.

Given how much the course has deteriorated over the past few days, Val di Sole promises to be one of the most punishing and technical rounds of the year.

2012 Val Di Sole WC Round 2 Men's Qualifying Results

2012 Val Di Sole WC Round 2 Women's Qualifying Results