2012 Val d'Isere UCI World Cup

After a month-long break, the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano resumes this weekend in the new venue of Val d'Isere, France, for the final round of the Cross-country series, and the penultimate round of the Downhill.  Fittingly, it is the site of the alpine ski run for the 1992 Winter Olympics, since this World Cup takes place on the opening weekend of competition for the London Games.

Two weeks before the Olympic cross-country, Val d'Isere will provide a final tune up for the Olympic-bound athletes.  Almost all of the Games riders have registered to compete in Val d'Isere, so this will also offer an interesting opportunity to gauge the form of the riders.  One rider who, sadly, will be missing is Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkwice).  The 2008 Olympic silver medalist broken her foot a week ago at a pre-Olympic training camp in Italy and will miss both this race and the Games.

The Val d'Isere course is less technical than the previous rounds in Mont Ste Anne, Canada, and Windham, New York.  Offering no major climbs, it follows a figure eight, with the first loop up the valley bottom lasting three kilometres. The second loop in 1.9 kilometres and takes the riders into the town centre over some man-made features and then up a short single track climb. It is narrow, so passing may prove tough, but it should be fast with little to separate the riders. With a lot of the course winding through the event centre and town, it should make for good spectating.

Catharine Pendrel (Luna) has already won the women's cross-country, with an insurmountable lead after back-to-back wins in the last two rounds, but look for a resumption of the ongoing battle between Pendrel and the 2011 World Cup champion Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Vallandry Peisey).  Others looking for podium spots will be Pendrel's team mates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash, plus Pendrel's fellow Canadian Olympian, Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek).

On the men's side, the race for the title is still open.  Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower), fresh off winning the Swiss national title, still leads the standings, despite not competing at the last round in Windham.  However, his lead has shrunk to a slim 12 points over Burry Stander (Specialized).  Stander's team mate, Jaroslav Kulhavy, also has a slight chance of over taking Schurter to defend his 2011 World Cup title.  Another rider to watch will be the great Julien Absalon (Orbea), the two time defending Olympic champion.  Absalon skipped the last two rounds of the World Cup to go into Olympic preparation, but won the fourth round, also on French soil, in La Bresse.

The Downhill is quite different from previous rounds.  At under two kilometres in length, it is a completely open, rocky alpine run, with no tree cover.  It will make for excellent TV coverage, and the whole course is visible from the finish.  The route follows the infamous Val D'Isere Olympic downhill ski route. It starts just 200 metres below the Super G start from the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics and passes through a very famous passage called the Ancolie, a narrow, steep gulley between towering cliffs. From there the course is wide and fast, with flat corners and few man-made features. The course enters the finish below the Olympic torch monument and hits a final large wooden drop into the finish bowl. It's going to be love or hate for the riders.

Neither the men's nor women's titles are decided, so there is still a lot on the line.  Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) moved into the lead of the women's series at Windham with her third victory of the season.  Atherton is now 30 points ahead of former leader Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker), who will be looking to regain the lead on home soil.  Others to watch will be Australian champion Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Riding Addiction).

The men's title may be mathematically still open, but the 295 point lead of American Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) means that his competitors have virtually conceded a repeat World Cup title to Gwin.  With four wins already this season in five events, the question will be whether Gwin can match last year's five wins here.  However, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), the only rider to beat Gwin on the World Cup circuit in the past two years, cannot be counted out by any measure.  Gee Atherton (GT Factory) and world champion Danny Hart (Giant Factory) should also be strong podium contenders.

Watch it all LIVE on www.redbull.com/bike

Saturday – 28/07/2012
• Olympic Cross Country – Women Elite: 11:20 CET
• Olympic Cross Country – Men Elite: 13:50 CET

Sunday – 29/07/2012
• Downhill Finals – Women/Men: 14:15 CET

Before the crash that ended her season, Tracey Hannah talked us through the DHI track at Val d'Isère

Tracey unfortunately suffered a bad crash in practice in Val d'Isère on Friday and is currently in hospital.

Early reports suggest that the Australian was on a fast part of the top of the track when she fell, and she was airlifted to hospital.

Tracey has reportedly has suffered a fractured femur and collarbone according to information from France, with more news expected over the weekend.

Everyone at redbull.com/bike wishes Tracey a speedy recovery and hopefully she'll be back on the track very soon.

In the meantime, in this video Tracey gives us her view of the track that plays host to the sixth UCI DHI round of the season.

Rachel Atherton was the fastest qualifier today, while equivalent hot favourite for the World Cup title in the men's, and winner of all but one event this season, Aaron Gwin, also crashed badly in the men's session and finished 57th fastest.

You can see how things work out for the frontrunners in our coverage of both the elite women's and men's downhill finals from 2.15pm on Sunday July 29. Click here to watch

2012 UCI Val d'Isere Men's Timed Training

2012 UCI Val d'Isere Women's Timed Training

2012 Val d'Isere World Cup Men's Qualifying Results

2012 Val d'Isere World Cup Women's Qualifying Results

2012 Val d'Isere UCI Men's Final Results

2012 Val d'Isere UCI Women's Final Results

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Round Six of the DHI UCI World Cup saw big wins for Rachel Atherton and Brook MacDonald

A bouyant Rachel Atherton extended her lead at the top of the Downhill standings today with victory in the penultimate round of the UCI MTB World Cup.

The British rider was 1.4 seconds faster than reigning world champion Emmeline Ragot and 3.1 seconds quicker than Floriane Pugin, who was riding on home soil. Atherton's fellow Briton, Manon Carpenter, also put in a fine performance and came home fifth quickest.

In one post-race interview, Atherton had this to say: “I had a good run, tried to keep up the momentum but not mess things up. The track is very dry and fast and pretty sketchy, with hard turns, so it's easy to make a mistake. I like it, I didn’t think it would be that good here.”

Atherton is now on 1,200 points – 80 ahead of her closest rival Ragot.

In the men's finals, Aaron Gwin missed out on the top three but still managed to claim the overall Downhill World Cup title, which more than made up for crashing badly in qualifying.

Gwin was quickest for much of the afternoon, until Greg Minnaar and Gee Atherton took to the track. The latter notched a lightning quick 2:19.973 to take the lead from South Africa's Minnaar and it looked like the Brit might win his first Downhill World Cup since 2010.

It wasn't to be, though. New Zealand's Brook MacDonald put in a brilliantly controlled yet aggressive performance in one of the afternoon's final rides to take the victory. He came off the final jump 0.4 seconds quicker than Gee Atherton and 0.6 seconds faster than Minnaar's British team-mate Josh Bryceland.

“I can’t even explain it in words," said MacDonald after the race. "I had a solid run, no mistakes. It was just one of those runs were you come down strong, I’m over the moon."

"I’ve had big struggles over the season," he continued, "and I was at the point where I was actually hating riding. But I changed a few things, including the set-up, and it’s paid off. I think I’m going to party for a week now.”

Overall champion Aaron Gwin did well to finish fifth after his crash in qualifying. The Californian put in a still-impressive ride with five stitches in his hand.The Downhill riders return to the UCI World Cup tour on September 14-15 when they reconvene in Hafjell, Norway, for Round Seven.

Women's Val d'Isère DHI results
1. Rachel Atherton, GT FACTORY RACING, 2:38.967
2. Emmeline Ragot, MS MONDRAKER TEAM, +1.487
3. Floriane Pugin, SCOTT11, +3.118
4. Myriam Nicole, COMMENCAL / RIDING ADDICTION, +4.249
5. Manon Carpenter, MADISON SARSUI19860919 SCOTT11, +8.181
7. Petra Bernhard, ALPINE COMMENCAL AUSTRIA, +11.118
8. Sabrina Jonnier, LABYRINTH SHIMANO RACING TEAM, +12.794
9. Mio Suemasa, +13.499
10. Morgane Charre, PASSION VELO.FR, +14.369

Men's Val d’Isere DHI results
1. Brook MacDonald, MS MONDRAKER TEAM, 2:19.478
2. Gee Atherton, GT FACTORY RACING, +0.495
3. Josh Bryceland, SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE, +0.677
4. Greg Minnaar, SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE, +0.867
5. Aaron Gwin, TREK WORLD RACING, +1.366
6. Michael Hannah, HUTCHINSON UNITED RIDE, +1.893
7. Marc Beaumont, GT FACTORY RACING, +2.110
8. Cameron Cole, LAPIERRE INTERNATIONAL, +2.296
9. Rémi Thirion, LABYRINTH SHIMANO RACING TEAM, +2.453
10. Andrew Neethling, GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM, +2.63

Round six of the Downhill at the Rockyroads.net UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano in Val d'Isere, France, turned out to be a much more difficult course than anyone anticipated, with many top riders crashing and performing below expectations.  Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) took her fourth win of the season to extend her lead in the women's standings, while Brook MacDonald (MS Mondraker) took his first ever World Cup win in the men's race.  Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing), despite finishing fifth, locked up the men's overall title with one round remaining.

The rocky, open, alpine run was very different from most that the racers face on the World Cup circuit, and more than a few riders crashed in both training and qualifying.

In the women's race, Petra Bernhard (Alpine Commencal Austria) was the first to record a sub-2:50 run, but Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Riding Addiction) immediately took nearly seven seconds off the leading time, good enough to eventually finish fourth.  Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) then knocked a further second off, but the final two riders were in a class of their own.

World champion Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) was 1.6 seconds faster than Pugin, but Atherton, the fastest qualifier, once again showed that her return this season, after struggling with injury, is complete - finishing a second and a half ahead of Ragot and recording the only sub-2:40 time of the day.

"I am so happy," stated Atherton.  "I think this is the most nervous I have been all year. This track is very, very difficult.  One day it's dry and then it's really, really wet, so tire and suspension changes are so important, and you don't know how it's gonna be on your race run.   Everyone was just playing it like a guessing game.

"I almost crashed today [in training]; I landed on my seat.  My stomach was hurting really bad, but I thought, this is like Fort William:  I need to just switch off and then switch back on for the race.   I have learned that from racing and crashing."

Atherton now holds an 80 point lead over Ragot, with Nicole a distant third at 892 points.

The men's competition for the last two seasons has been completely dominated by World Cup leader Aaron Gwin and his usual rival, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate).  Between the two of them, they have won every single World Cup in last season and this, until Val d'Isere.  Every rider struggled on the fast, rough and rocky terrain, which was completely unforgiving of mistakes.  Gwin crashed in qualifying, injuring his hand and finishing well back.

In the Final, Thibaut Ruffin (Commencal / Riding Addiction) set the early best time, which stood for 16 riders until Matt Simmonds (Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof) bumped him by an infinitesimal six-thousandths of a second.  Simmonds in turn was displaced by Andrew Neethling (Giant Factory), who barely finished before Mick Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) took the lead.  Gwin took the lead next by half a second, but Minnaar surpassed his rival by that same amount.  Gee Atherton (GT Factory) then recorded the first sub-2:20 time, but it wasn't quite enough, as MacDonald knocked a final half second off the lead to record his first victory.

"I can't even explain how I feel," exclaimed MacDonald.  "I had a solid run, no mistakes , it was one of those runs I was just pumped for.  I am over the moon about this one.  My early season has been a big struggle.  I was at a point where I was hating riding. So I changed a few things on my bike, and it has all paid off."

"This track was hard.  With the altitude, and being only two and a half minutes, you are just pushing the whole way.  If you make a mistake you lose time and you can't really lose time on this kind of track.  I put together a good run and I'm happy."

Despite having his consecutive World Cup win streak stopped at four, Gwin wasn't too upset.  "I have no excuses, I had a pretty good run.  For how I felt I am happy.  To win the overall again, it is so amazing, especially after this weekend.  I came in feeling good, and kinda had a bonehead moment in Qualifying.  Hurt myself a little bit.  It [his hand] was better than I thought it was going to be in the Finals; it didn't hurt too bad. I just got a little tired at the bottom. So I had to back it down at the bottom  to make sure I stayed on and I kinda backed it down too much, but it worked out.  Everyone loses some and wins some.  I have lost many more in my career.  I am just stoked to be up here."

Gwin now has 1260 points with one race remaining, an insurmountable 260 point lead over Minnaar.  The fight for second overall is far from over, with Atherton only 19 points out of second.