Results are in, photos are here, the write-up is complete. Check it out inside, you won't be disappointed! This is somewhat of a mega-post, as qualifying and finals are both inside. The more the merrier, we always say!
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Stay tuned to Ridemonkey for daily photos and updates from the Highlands as the Internet allows. It's quite possibly the worst place on the circuit for access, so there may be a few delays!
FINAL RESULTS and PHOTOS are here!
Fourcross action at Fort William is more mountain bike-orientated than some of the other tracks. Jared Graves took the win today, followed by Joost Wichman in second, Prokop in third and Romain Salidini rounded out the final round.
16 year old Troy Brosnan has bagged some great results already this year. The newest edition to the Specialized-Monster team is the future of racing, he came home with 48th in qualifying today.
Brosnan's teammate Brendan Fairclough through the rocks of Fort Bill. Although he has been notoriously, hmm, slower on longer tracks in the past, Fairclough has upped his game by miles this year. Still, 32nd in qualifying is a long way from where he would like to be come finals.
Sick Mick Hannah is a power on the pedals, so the long Fort William track should pay to his strengths as far as fitness goes. He was tops through the speed trap during qualifying, at 60.48 KPH, finishing 13th in qualifying. His top 5 result at Pietermaritzburg last year is a reminder of his fitness and power.
Remi Thirion finished 56th today, qualifying for Sunday's finals.
Sam Hill had a horrendous crash in timed practice, destroying both of his wheels. He wasn't riding for points in qualifying, as he dropped out before the first split of his qualifying run. Hopefully he will be good to go on Sunday.
CG getting low through the rocks. He finished in 28th today in downhill and 11th in four cross. Not bad given the dual-discipline racing.
Women's Final Results
1. Jonnier
2. Atherton
3. Pugin
4. Nicole
5. Moseley
6. Suemasa
7. Buchar
8. Carpenter
9. Gros
10. Nicole
The results are in, and Gee Atherton has taken his first win at Fort Bill. World Cup number 2 of 2010 is one for the history books; it truly was amazing to watch from start to finish. The ladies were going for it, notably Jess Stone, who was going through the speed trap at upwards of 60 KPH; only 10 men were able to best that speed, a remarkable achievement for Stone. At the end of the day though, top speed counts for very little other than bragging rights, and Sabrina Jonnier was the real fastest woman of the day. Rachel Atherton put forth a good effort, but was unable to top Jonnier's prowess at the bottom of the track. Only a few women cleared the showtime jump at the bottom, many were decking hard, but Rachel and Sabrina cleared it perfectly. I think Myriam Nicole did as well, but that might have been someone else. Either way, great show from the ladies and it brings the points race very close, which should be interesting for the coming rounds.
Sabrina enjoying her first win on the world cup circuit this year.
Men's Final Results
1. Gee Atherton
2. Cameron Cole
3. Greg Minaar
4. Aaron Gwin
5. Mick Hannah
6. Sam Blenkinsop
7. Julien Camellini
8. Shaun O' Connor
9. Nick Beer
10. Matti Lehikoinen
Syndicate riders had a mixed weekend, as Steve Peat ended up in 18th, behind where he would like to be. Minaar's 3rd place was solid, and keeps him as the favorite for the overall title.
The race against the clock continued for the men, and there was no shortage of drama. Top qualifier Greg Minaar was looking for his third title at Fort Bill in a row, while Gee Atherton was vying for his first. Site favorite Aaron Gwin was also in the mix, hunting for his first ever world cup win, which is sure to come soon.
The hot seat is always entertaining in Scotland.
Cedric Gracia was on fire, his run was on point until his chain fell off, leaving the Andorran to pump his way down the track. Much to the surprise of many he kept up most of his speed, finishing only a few seconds back. The real highlight of CG's run was the jump though, where he opted to pull a massive suicide no-hander, mid race run, all without any pedaling. It was a magnificent performance from him that spiced up the race and inspired Cam Cole to throw a bit of style of his own off the money-booter. CG's Freecaster announcing was also on point; he provided insightful comments on each rider and hilarious dialogue with Rob Warner. Cheers to those two!
Josh Bryceland getting his manual on during the final sprint.
The racing began to heat up in the top 20, where Stevie Smith started to make things interesting by bailing on a loose corner on the upper section of the track. It was a turn that was looking dangerous all day, and Stevie's run-and-gun style got the best of him on it unfortunately. His first season on the world cup was plagued with crashes, but last year he started to ease off the gas in the right spots, and consequently found himself bagging more top results. This isn't the end of Smith, he'll be back in fine form in Leogang!
As a result of a slower qualifying run, Mick Hannah started back further than one would expect, but he came smoking down the course to take the lead, going 62 KPH through the speed trap! Hannah's power through the bottom of the course was so impressive and his style up top was also a pleasure to watch. After a slew of unsuccessful potential conquerors, Gee Atherton finally came down to unseat Hannah by 2 seconds. The crowd was sent into an absolute frenzy by his performance, and all they could do was grit their teeth and pray that Affys time held up.
Sabrina Jonnier on her way to victory!
America's best hope for a win was Aaron Gwin, who was up by half a second at the last split, but lost 2 seconds on the pedally section at the bottom. It seemed as though Gwin was in a less than ideal gear, possibly because a mechanical issue forced him to hammer in the hard ones, and after four minutes of technical racing spinning tends to be much more efficient. Nevertheless, a podium for Aaron is a commendable result, and we hope to see him up there more often.
Fabian Pedemanaud absorbing the jumps in hopes of a podium finish. Today it wasn't to be, as he ended up in 23rd, one behind Brendan Fairclough.
Next up was New Zealand's pride and Rocky Mountain rider Cam Cole, who had a smoking qualifying time. His race run was much the same; he came absolutely hammering down the track, styling every jump, and flaunting his speed into the final stretch with a massive whip off the showtime booter. This showmanship might have cost him top spot, but it was cool to see a racer having fun on the course.
A replica of Mick Hannah's GT frame..full carbon.
The penultimate rider was Sam Blenkinsop, who came down two seconds off Gee's time, a great result but he was visibly disappointed. After Schladming two years ago he hasn't been able to get back on top of the podium, but the young Kiwi has always been close to or on the podium, and he has a lot of time to reach that point again.
With Gee having never won at Fort William, the tension was palpable as Greg Minaar was the final rider to come down. As Greg flat out pinned the whole run it all came down to the final straightaway, where the time finally showed that Gee wold retain the victory on the home track! An awesome week of racing that came together in the end with a hometown winner in Gee Atherton.
Gee celebrating his win. He deserved this one, and should be highly motivated to keep pushing for the overall; he is close to Greg for the top spot right now!
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