<p>Brendan Fairclough finished in 12th place at the La Bresse Downhill World Cup in France on Sunday while his Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz teammate Troy Brosnan ended up 30th.</p><p>
</p><p>
Great Britain's Fairclough stopped the clock at 2:08.996, which was 7.503 seconds behind winner Greg Minnaar. </p><p>
</p><p>
"My run went smooth, not many mistakes," said Fairclough. "I was just focusing on keeping my feet on the pedals and staying alive. I was making some stupid mistakes over the weekend, and I wanted to make sure my race run had no mistakes. I just got down the hill."</p><p>
</p><p>
"Normally I'd be not too happy with 12th, but in light of my current situation, I'm pretty stoked to be back near the top. I just want to get the season over and get my operation done and be back where I should be."</p><p>
</p><p>
Brosnan's time was 2:17.590, and it earned the young Australian bragging rights as the second fastest junior of the day.</p><p>
</p><p>
"My run started off good. Pedalling hard at the top, I got into the first technical section real smooth and couldn't find a rhythm after that," said Brosnan. "I was pushing too hard and not relaxing and felt a sense of urgency after my qualifying run. I made a few mistakes near the bottom and it showed in my time."</p><p>
</p><p>
Rain drenched the course during the night before and the morning of the finals, which caused riders to re-evaluate equipment choices and re-think their lines after otherwise dry conditions in qualifying. For example, after running Specialized Butcher tires during practice all week, the riders chose to run cut Specialized Storm tires for the finals. </p><p>
</p><p>
The team scored a 13th place finish on the day.</p><p>
</p><p>
La Bresse was round six of the UCI Downhill World Cup, and just one round remains. After Sunday's race, Brosnan heads up the Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz team in the World Cup standings. He currently sits in 14th place with 475 points, and he is the top-ranked junior.</p><p>
</p><p>
Sam Hill, who is still out of competition recovering from an injury earlier this season, is in 21st place overall with 315 points, despite only being able to compete in the first three rounds while Fairclough, who scored no points in the first two rounds, has steadily worked his way up the standings and is now in 33rd with 247 points.</p><p>
</p><p>
Qualifying</p><p>
</p><p>
During qualifying, Brosnan rode to a 2:08.603 for 32nd place while Fairclough clocked a 2:08.996 for 35th.</p><p>
</p><p>
The Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz will race the final downhill World Cup round in Val di Sole, Italy, on August 20-21 before heading two weeks later to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Champery, Switzerland.</p>
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</p><p>
Great Britain's Fairclough stopped the clock at 2:08.996, which was 7.503 seconds behind winner Greg Minnaar. </p><p>
</p><p>
"My run went smooth, not many mistakes," said Fairclough. "I was just focusing on keeping my feet on the pedals and staying alive. I was making some stupid mistakes over the weekend, and I wanted to make sure my race run had no mistakes. I just got down the hill."</p><p>
</p><p>
"Normally I'd be not too happy with 12th, but in light of my current situation, I'm pretty stoked to be back near the top. I just want to get the season over and get my operation done and be back where I should be."</p><p>
</p><p>
Brosnan's time was 2:17.590, and it earned the young Australian bragging rights as the second fastest junior of the day.</p><p>
</p><p>
"My run started off good. Pedalling hard at the top, I got into the first technical section real smooth and couldn't find a rhythm after that," said Brosnan. "I was pushing too hard and not relaxing and felt a sense of urgency after my qualifying run. I made a few mistakes near the bottom and it showed in my time."</p><p>
</p><p>
Rain drenched the course during the night before and the morning of the finals, which caused riders to re-evaluate equipment choices and re-think their lines after otherwise dry conditions in qualifying. For example, after running Specialized Butcher tires during practice all week, the riders chose to run cut Specialized Storm tires for the finals. </p><p>
</p><p>
The team scored a 13th place finish on the day.</p><p>
</p><p>
La Bresse was round six of the UCI Downhill World Cup, and just one round remains. After Sunday's race, Brosnan heads up the Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz team in the World Cup standings. He currently sits in 14th place with 475 points, and he is the top-ranked junior.</p><p>
</p><p>
Sam Hill, who is still out of competition recovering from an injury earlier this season, is in 21st place overall with 315 points, despite only being able to compete in the first three rounds while Fairclough, who scored no points in the first two rounds, has steadily worked his way up the standings and is now in 33rd with 247 points.</p><p>
</p><p>
Qualifying</p><p>
</p><p>
During qualifying, Brosnan rode to a 2:08.603 for 32nd place while Fairclough clocked a 2:08.996 for 35th.</p><p>
</p><p>
The Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz will race the final downhill World Cup round in Val di Sole, Italy, on August 20-21 before heading two weeks later to the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Champery, Switzerland.</p>
More...