We reposted the Mount Ste Anne World Cup Downhill to add Rob Jones' photos of what was a truly awesome 2009 World Cup event.
Sam Hill was the man to beat. Sam must have been happy to end his World Cup dry spell. Rob Jones photo
In a day of changing weather conditions, Sabrina Jonnier (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles) and Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Cat) claimed the Nissan UCI World Cup presented by Shimano Downhill wins at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec. Both riders mastered a difficult course made even more challenging by the variable amounts of moisture on track.
WOMENS DH
Through the first 10 racers of the 20 rider field, there was rapid and frequent turnover in the Hot Seat. The first rider to hang on to the Hot Seat for a while was Emilie Siegenthaler (Scott 11). Siegenthaler was eventually dislodged by Melissa Buhl.
Young Rebecca McQueen is one to watch. Rob Jones photo
Buhl was pleased with her run: "It was pretty good. I struggled a bit in the mud but I kept it together. I was20going back and forth between the mud and the dry tires and I was glad I stuck to the dry. There were a couple of spots of mud where I would have like spikes, but it paid off in the rocks because they were pretty slippery."
Jonnier--on a roll and in control. Rob Jones photo
The next rider to lay down a fast run was Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing), who was almost immediately displaced by Emmeline Ragot (Suspension Center), with a strong time that was good enough to maintain the Hot Seat until only Jonnier remained to descend. Jonnier was the class of the field. Her run of 5:26.50 beat Ragot by 3.79 seconds. “That run was the best of the weekend. Conditions were a lot different than this morning. It dried out a lot. I decided to be a bit cautious and then go fast when I could. I just want to win and be happy on my bike.” Jonnier's win was her fifth consecutive of the season.
Sabrina Jonnier waters the crowd. Rob Jones photo
Moseley finished in third place, 4.77 seconds back. With her win here, Jonnier stretches her lead in the World Cup standings to 1382 points, with Emmeline Ragot a distant second with 1115 points. Four of the top five riders are now French, with only Moseley, in third, breaking the streak.
MEN'S DH
The first fast run of the afternoon was produced by Marcel Beer at 4:59.94. Beer held the Hot Seat for 17 racers, with Cameron Cole (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles) the next to spend an extended time on top. Pierre Charles Georges (Solid Aclass) finally bumped him, but the final 20 riders saw frequent changes and, with ten riders to go, the leader was US National Champion Aaron Gwin (Yeti/Fox).
Aaron Gwinn is consistently up front--the number one plate is only a matter of time. Rob Jones photo
Many were hoping to see a good run from World Cup leader Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) who started in 21st place due to a flat tire during qualifying yesterday. Unfortunately Minnaar had a crash, which cost him time. He could only manage a 22nd place finish. "I washed out my front wheel in some mud under the lift and down I went. I got up pretty quick but my glove was half off so I had to freewheel while I took it off. Definitely not a good weekend."
Legendary Shaun Palmer returns after a long hiatus. Rob Jones photo
Hill makes it look easy. Rob Jones photo
Fabien Barel (Subaru) came close to Gwin, leaving the American to anxiously wait for the final four riders. Samuel Blenkinsop (Yeti/Fox) had a slow run (16th place) and quickly left the finish area, visibly unhappy. World champion Gee Atherton (Animal Commencal) came close. That left only Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate), a perennial favourite here, and Hill to come down.
Steve Peat raced to second place and earned podium finish number 50. Rob Jones photo
To thunderous applause, Peat didn't disappoint, with a time of 4:41.48 to Gwin's 4:42.91. He took the Hot Seat, but didn't really settle in. All eyes were glued to the big screen TV and the scoreboard, which was showing the splits on the course. Hill was the fastest through every split, showing incredible control skills through the rock gardens. To huge applause he finished in 4:38.44, 3.04 seconds better than Peat.
Hill was pleased with his win, the first of the season for him after an uncharacteristically long drought. “This is one of the most high speed, and the longest courses, on the World Cup circuit. It was a lot slicker this morning. It dried out a lot. I was conservative in the first few corners just to check it out. It was good so I went hard from there.”
Specialized tricked Sam Hill's DH machine with green-anodized "Sam Hill #2" hardware.
More personalized Sam Hill bolts and a SRAM Black Box derailleur
Peat, had another stellar day with his second place. This is his 50th World Cup podium appearance, which is unprecedented. He also holds the record for the most World Cup career wins. “I think this course suits me. You've got to be an all a rounder to do well here. I've got another podium which I'm pleased about.”
Gwin hung on to third for his first podium appearance. On the podium the other racers did their best to drown him in champagne. “It was pretty crazy watching Gee and those guys come through. I'm happy. It's about time!”
With his win Hill moves from third to first in the World Cup Points race with 1039, a mere 4 points in front of Peat. Minnaar drops from first to third. Canada's Steve Smith (Evil Bikes) retains his ninth place standing as the top North American, after finishing seventh at Mont Ste Anne.
2009 MONT STE ANNE WORLD CUP DOWNHILL RESULTS
WOMEN--TIME--DIFF
1 Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 05:26.5 0
2 Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center 05:30.3 3.79
3 Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek World Racing 05:31.3 4.77
4 Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 05:36.4 9.91
5 Floriane Pugin (Fra) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 05:36.7 10.21
6 Mio Suemasa (Jpn)
www.funfancy.jp 05:38.6 12.07
7 Melissa Buhl (USA) KHS 05:46.8 20.28
8 Emilie Siegenthaler (Sui) Scott 11 05:47.6 21.14
9 Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 05:51.2 24.73
10 Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team 05:52.6 26.11
11 Micayla Gatto (Can) Commencal Oakley 05:53.3 26.8
12 Kathleen Pruitt (USA) 05:54.4 27.95
13 Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 05:56.5 30.02
14 Petra Bernhard (Aut) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 05:57.4 30.95
15 Danice Uyesugi (Can) Team BC/Trek Obsession Bikes 05:58.2 31.69
16 Anais Pajot (Fra) Team Sunn 05:58.9 32.38
17 Rebecca Mcqueen (Can) RockyMountain/RaceFace/TroyLeeDesigns 06:00.9 34.36
18 Jessica Stone (GBr) 2Stage Factory 06:05.4 38.88
19 Darian Harvey (USA) 06:32.9 01:06.4
20 Gabrielle Molloy (NZl) 06:36.8 01:10.3
MEN--TIME--DIFFERENCE
1 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz 04:38.4
2 Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 04:41.5 3.04
3 Aaron Gwin (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 04:42.9 4.47
4 Gee Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal 04:43.5 5.07
5 Fabien Barel (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 04:44.6 6.19
6 Chris Kovarik (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 04:45.5 7.09
7 Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing 04:46.4 7.95
8 Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz 04:46.6 8.14
9 Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bikes 04:47.6 9.14
10 Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing 04:47.7 9.29
11 Nick Beer (Sui) Scott 11 04:48.5 10.1
12 Andrew Neethling (RSA) Trek World Racing 04:49.1 10.66
13 Mickael Pascal (Fra) MSC Bikes 04:49.5 11.05
14 Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kenda Morewood 04:49.5 11.1
15 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Bikes 04:50.4 11.97
16 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 04:51.4 12.95
17 Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Solid Aclass Factory Team 04:51.7 13.25
18 Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 04:52.3 13.87
19 Ben Cathro (GBr) 04:52.6 14.17
20 Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 04:52.8 14.41
21 Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 04:53.7 15.22
22 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate 04:54.6 16.14
23 Luke Strobel (USA) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 04:54.8 16.4
24 Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team 04:55.0 16.56
25 Cameron Cole (NZl) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles 04:55.6 17.13
26 Duncan Riffle (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 04:55.6 17.16
27 Ben Reid (Irl) Just Reid Race Team 04:55.9 17.47
28 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Esp) Massi 04:56.4 17.94
29 Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing 04:56.4 18.01
30 Joseph Smith (GBr) Kona 04:56.5 18.09
31 Nico Vink (Bel) 04:56.6 18.17
32 Dan Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal 04:56.7 18.29
33 Joshua Button (Aus) 04:57.4 18.98
34 Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) MS Evil Racing 04:57.6 19.18
35 Dan Stanbridge (GBr) 04:58.0 19.6
36 David Vazquez Lopez (Esp) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 04:58.9 20.46
37 Danny Hart (GBr) Lapierre Powered By Saab Salomon 04:59.2 20.74
38 Pasqual Canals Flix (Esp) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 04:59.3 20.84
39 Marcel Beer (Sui) 04:59.9 21.5
40 Jared Rando (Aus) Giant Mountain Bike Team 05:00.1 21.64
41 Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense 05:00.2 21.74
42 Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Dytech DH 05:00.2 21.75
43 Joris Bigoni (Fra) 05:01.0 22.56
44 Bernat Guardia Pascual (Esp) Massi 05:01.2 22.81
45 Antoine Badouard (Fra) 05:01.5 23.09
46 Nathan Rankin (NZl) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 05:01.8 23.39
47 Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) 05:01.9 23.51
48 Wyn Masters (NZl) Ancillotti Doganaccia Racing Team 05:02.0 23.6
49 Will Rischbieth (Aus) 05:02.1 23.61
50 Harry Heath (GBr) 05:02.1 23.65
51 Bernard Kerr (GBr) 05:02.9 24.43
52 Herman Olund (Swe) 05:03.3 24.9
53 Markus Pekoll (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 05:04.1 25.65
54 Harry Molloy (GBr) 05:04.2 25.79
55 Kyle Strait (USA) Specialized Team America 05:04.4 26
56 David Eme (Fra) 05:04.5 26.04
57 Maxime Remy (Fra) Suspension Center 05:04.6 26.16
58 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Team Sunn 05:04.7 26.3
59 Patrick Thome (Fra) Team Sport Bike 05:05.4 26.98
60 Bradley Benedict (USA) Duncan Riffle Racing 05:05.5 27.04
61 Curtis Keene (USA) 05:05.8 27.37
62 Jurgen Beneke (Ger) 05:06.0 27.51
63 Aari Barrett (NZl) Scott 11 05:06.0 27.53
64 Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Team Sunn 05:07.0 28.61
65 Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Esp) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 05:07.3 28.83
66 Dean Tennant (Can) 05:07.5 29.07
67 George Brannigan (NZl) 05:07.7 29.29
68 Esteban Deronzier (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz 74 05:07.7 29.3
69 Marco Bugnone (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team 05:07.8 29.37
70 Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Solid Aclass Factory Team 05:09.1 30.66
71 Gerard Wolfe (Irl) 05:09.8 31.35
72 Rémy Charrier (Fra) Team Sunn 05:10.6 32.13
73 Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Kenda Morewood 05:10.7 32.24
74 Kyle Marshall (Can) XMS-Devinci World Cup Team 05:10.8 32.36
75 Shaun Palmer (USA) 05:11.3 32.89
76 Bryn Atkinson (Aus) 05:12.3 33.83
77 Shaun O'connor (Aus) Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker 05:16.8 38.35
78 Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) 05:32.3 53.82
79 Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team 07:45.0 03:06.6
DNF Simon Garstin
DNF John Swanguen