<p>Faircloughs 3rd at UCI World Cup Downhill Series opener at Maribor, Slovenia; teammate and defending series champ Sam Hills 5th</p><p>
</p><p>
WILDMAR, Calif., (May 19, 2010) After a long off-season, the Monster Energy/Specialized riders were podium hungry landing three spots on the box at the first round of the UCI World Cup Downhill Series held this past weekend in Maribor, Slovenia.</p><p>
</p><p>
The course in Maribor is usually fast and rough, but after two days of solid rain it was slippery, filled with massive ruts and roots that were catching riders and throwing them all over the track. More than one rider got thrown over the bars due to the conditions, where even tire mud spikes were packed solid by the time they reached the bottom.</p><p>
</p><p>
Saturday saw both Monster Energy/Specializeds Sam Hill and Brendan Fairclough qualify 1st and 2nd, respectively, while teammate Troy Brosnan qualified for the Sunday finals in his first ever World Cup try.</p><p>
</p><p>
During Sundays final the top team rider on the weekend was Fairclough, who slid his way into 3rd place, and only 1.82 seconds off the leaders time. Fairclough had a couple of moments in the woods, as well as an unexpected second sighting of his lunch mid-run, while also managing to avoid catastrophe narrowly missing a tree exiting the rock garden.</p><p>
</p><p>
Said Fairclough: I cant complain, you know? It was just so hard, rough, and tough. It was gnarly and pretty adventurous to say the least! I had a few moments, but I think everyone did. I went off the track pretty badly in one spot and lost a bit of time, and then I was sick in my helmet. It was pretty bad. But hit head-on by a car. The UnitedHealthcare subscriber sustained major damage to his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae, and was given just a 1% chance of recovery. </p><p>
</p><p>
And yet, this Friday, August 27, hell celebrate the one-year anniversary of the accident and his amazing recovery with a ride from La Jolla to Encinitas. </p><p>
</p><p>
Former San Diego resident Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will accompany Miksa on the 15-mile ride, along with doctors from Scripps Health and UnitedHealthcare emp loyees.</p><p>
</p><p>
As professional cyclists, we work hard to overcome challenges to get to the level were at and to win races, Sutherland said. But all the work we do is nothing compared to the courage John has shown to get to this point. Im honored to help celebrate this achievement.</p><p>
</p><p>
The ride will begin around 9:30 PT at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, and conclude about an hour later at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, where theyll enjoy a post-ride celebration.</p>
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</p><p>
WILDMAR, Calif., (May 19, 2010) After a long off-season, the Monster Energy/Specialized riders were podium hungry landing three spots on the box at the first round of the UCI World Cup Downhill Series held this past weekend in Maribor, Slovenia.</p><p>
</p><p>
The course in Maribor is usually fast and rough, but after two days of solid rain it was slippery, filled with massive ruts and roots that were catching riders and throwing them all over the track. More than one rider got thrown over the bars due to the conditions, where even tire mud spikes were packed solid by the time they reached the bottom.</p><p>
</p><p>
Saturday saw both Monster Energy/Specializeds Sam Hill and Brendan Fairclough qualify 1st and 2nd, respectively, while teammate Troy Brosnan qualified for the Sunday finals in his first ever World Cup try.</p><p>
</p><p>
During Sundays final the top team rider on the weekend was Fairclough, who slid his way into 3rd place, and only 1.82 seconds off the leaders time. Fairclough had a couple of moments in the woods, as well as an unexpected second sighting of his lunch mid-run, while also managing to avoid catastrophe narrowly missing a tree exiting the rock garden.</p><p>
</p><p>
Said Fairclough: I cant complain, you know? It was just so hard, rough, and tough. It was gnarly and pretty adventurous to say the least! I had a few moments, but I think everyone did. I went off the track pretty badly in one spot and lost a bit of time, and then I was sick in my helmet. It was pretty bad. But hit head-on by a car. The UnitedHealthcare subscriber sustained major damage to his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae, and was given just a 1% chance of recovery. </p><p>
</p><p>
And yet, this Friday, August 27, hell celebrate the one-year anniversary of the accident and his amazing recovery with a ride from La Jolla to Encinitas. </p><p>
</p><p>
Former San Diego resident Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will accompany Miksa on the 15-mile ride, along with doctors from Scripps Health and UnitedHealthcare emp loyees.</p><p>
</p><p>
As professional cyclists, we work hard to overcome challenges to get to the level were at and to win races, Sutherland said. But all the work we do is nothing compared to the courage John has shown to get to this point. Im honored to help celebrate this achievement.</p><p>
</p><p>
The ride will begin around 9:30 PT at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, and conclude about an hour later at the Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas, where theyll enjoy a post-ride celebration.</p>
More...