Please somebody tell me they also got confused by the whole time difference thing and missed out on an hours racing!
After a month of waiting we've been spoilt with two back to back weekends of top notch World Cup racing. Trek's Aaron Gwin has now won two of the three races this season after beating second place Gee Atherton by just over two seconds.
Brook Mcdonold was looking for a repeat of last week's success at Fort William and once again found himself on the hot seat watching the rest of the field coming down trying to better his time. Sadly Brook's hadn't done enough this week but he still finished in an impressive tenth place.
It was Sam Hill who knocked him off the top spot and went on to finish fifth, giving the Monster Energy Specialized rider his World Cup podium since 2009. Team mate and fellow Australian Troy Brosnan finished 15th after a small crash on a corner that caught out many. Brendan Fairclough came in a disappointing 31st on a track that many thought would suit his riding style.
Danny Hart really excels on these steep tracks and was surely hoping for another spot on the podium. He was the fastest rider down in Friday's timed practice so knew he was capable of something special. Hart looked much more in control of his bike this week and almost seemed to float over the roots strewn across the course. Hart came so close to Hill's time and ended up finishing in sixth place.
Blenkinsop is another rider who laps up the steeper technical courses. Blinky finished fourth here last year after qualifying first but just couldn't find it this year and ended up in ninth place.
Last year's winner and next man down Greg Minnaar was up on Hill's time at the first split and took the lead by three and a half seconds. Justin Leov couldn't catch Minnaar's time, then Andrew Neethling and Fabien Barel crashed in their race runs, guaranteeing Minnaar a spot on the podium.
Steve Smith's first split time placed him in 21st but he went on to put down a solid run and earnt himself a place on the podium finishing in fourth. Gee Atherton was absolutely flying down and looked faster than anyone. Atherton proved exactly why he's the defending World Cup champion and finished three and a half seconds up on Minnaar's time.
All eyes were now on Aaron Gwin who had once again finished first. Even with a crash at Fort William Gwin finished fifth. How would he cope today, would the pressure of being last rider down get to him again? Well, the short answer is no! Gwin looked to be in a league of his own and was up at the first split by five seconds. A slip on the pedals cost him time but he still won with a two second lead!
1st Aaron Gwin - 3:44.181
2nd Gee Atherton - 3:46.294
3rd Greg Minnaar - 3:49.902
4th Steve Smith - 3:52.123
5th - Sam Hill - 3:53.406
Gwin's win means that he is once again heading up the overall standings, with a lead over Minnaar of 46 points. There's now a three week break before racing continues at Mont Saine Anne, Canada; home to last year's World Champs race won by Sam Hill.
It was Sam Hill who knocked him off the top spot and went on to finish fifth, giving the Monster Energy Specialized rider his World Cup podium since 2009. Team mate and fellow Australian Troy Brosnan finished 15th after a small crash on a corner that caught out many. Brendan Fairclough came in a disappointing 31st on a track that many thought would suit his riding style.
Danny Hart really excels on these steep tracks and was surely hoping for another spot on the podium. He was the fastest rider down in Friday's timed practice so knew he was capable of something special. Hart looked much more in control of his bike this week and almost seemed to float over the roots strewn across the course. Hart came so close to Hill's time and ended up finishing in sixth place.
Blenkinsop is another rider who laps up the steeper technical courses. Blinky finished fourth here last year after qualifying first but just couldn't find it this year and ended up in ninth place.
Last year's winner and next man down Greg Minnaar was up on Hill's time at the first split and took the lead by three and a half seconds. Justin Leov couldn't catch Minnaar's time, then Andrew Neethling and Fabien Barel crashed in their race runs, guaranteeing Minnaar a spot on the podium.
Steve Smith's first split time placed him in 21st but he went on to put down a solid run and earnt himself a place on the podium finishing in fourth. Gee Atherton was absolutely flying down and looked faster than anyone. Atherton proved exactly why he's the defending World Cup champion and finished three and a half seconds up on Minnaar's time.
All eyes were now on Aaron Gwin who had once again finished first. Even with a crash at Fort William Gwin finished fifth. How would he cope today, would the pressure of being last rider down get to him again? Well, the short answer is no! Gwin looked to be in a league of his own and was up at the first split by five seconds. A slip on the pedals cost him time but he still won with a two second lead!
1st Aaron Gwin - 3:44.181
2nd Gee Atherton - 3:46.294
3rd Greg Minnaar - 3:49.902
4th Steve Smith - 3:52.123
5th - Sam Hill - 3:53.406
Gwin's win means that he is once again heading up the overall standings, with a lead over Minnaar of 46 points. There's now a three week break before racing continues at Mont Saine Anne, Canada; home to last year's World Champs race won by Sam Hill.
Full results as well as press releases from all the teams can be found here.
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