4X winner Rafael Alvarez De Lara Lu.
The men’s 4-Cross contest did not play out the same for three-time 4-Cross World Champion Brian Lopes (San Clemente, CA). Both Lopes and compatriot Ross Milan (Golden, CO) fell in the semifinals. After several impressive early heat finishes both Lopes and Milan met in the semis only to be knocked out by Jared Graves (Aus; Yeti-Fox Shox) and Roger Rinderknecht (Swi).
“I got a pretty good start out of the gate in the semis, but I was in lane three,” said Lopes. “I got in front of the Swiss guy who was in lane two, but when I tried to come over we bumped and he along with Graves were able to get away.”
Lopes went on to win the small final, blowing away the field to take fifth, while Milan finished eighth. Also for the U.S. Michael Haderer (Concord, CA) was eliminated in the 1/8 final after crossing the line third in his heat. In only his third 4-Cross race ever 17-year-old Blake Carney (Camarillo, CA) was also eliminated in the 1/8 final round. Eric Nelson (Gilbert, AZ) also competed for the United States, exiting in round 16.
Earlier in the day 12 Americans competed in the junior and elite men and women downhill categories. After taking their starts near the middle of the pack, both Pruitt and Buhl significantly improved upon their times from Thursday’s seeding runs, both earning spots inside the top 10. Pruitt rode a 4:19.66, putting her in seventh place, +29.74 back from the overall winner, Rachel Atherton of Great Britain. Rachel convincingly earned the victory after besting her next fastest opponent by more than 12 seconds. Buhl, an 11-year veteran of the Mountain Bike
World Championships, bettered her time from the seeding run by more than one full minute and placed 10th overall, just over 30 seconds behind Atherton’s mark.
“Coming into the event I knew my focus would really on the 4-Cross,” stated Buhl. “I wanted to do well in the downhill, but because of the style of the 4-Cross course, that is what I was really aiming for.”
After a last minute crash by Australia’s Sam Hill in the men’s downhill contest, the Atherton’s of Great Britain kept the family tradition flowing with Gee Atherton taking the narrow victory in 3:12.12. Of the six Americans who took to the start, Cole Bangert turned in the best time with a 3:32.62 for 24th place, which put him amongst the top third in the world.
Melissa Buhl, USA's 4-Cross gold medalist
“I think a couple of seconds would have done a lot here,” said Bangert. “My run was solid. It is so easy to get off your line on this course, so I knew I had to be mentally prepared for that. I was hoping for at least a top 20, but all in all I’m pretty happy.”
Duncan Riffle (Santa Barbara, CA) was the next American finisher completing the 7300 foot course around four seconds behind Bangert and +24.71 behind Atherton. Last year’s Junior Downhill Silver Medalist,
J.D. Swanguen (San Diego, CA), turned in an impressive run at his first elite men’s world championships, placing just behind Riffle in 33rd with a 3:36.98.
“I started off conservative and then told myself I had to open it up. This is World's and you can’t hold back,” said Swanguen. “I’ve worked really hard in anticipation of the step-up to Elites. I did all three World Cup races and that showed me what it takes to succeed at this level.”
Cody Warren (El Cajon, CA) posted the 53rd best time at 3:47.22, while Kain Leonard (Gunnison, CO) was 65th with a time of 3:52.87. Lars Sternberg (Gunnison, CO) came in 69th place and Kyle Strait (Riverside, CA) 72nd out of the nearly 90 elite men’s competitors.
The competition was stiff in the Junior Men’s Downhill category, where many of the Americans were experiencing a course of this caliber for the first time. Joey Schusler (Boulder, CO) was able to finish 27th, turning in the best American performance, +34.77 behind Great Britain’s Josh Bryceland whose mark of 3:23:55 would have put him amongst the top 10 of the elite field. Naish Ulmer (Park City, UT) followed that closely, +37.94 down from the winner in 32nd place, while Graeme Pitts (Nevada City, CA) finished in 61st.
“I feel like if I practiced on this stuff everyday I could ride it a lot faster,” said Ulmer. “It was pretty much everything we don’t have and we’re not used to in the western U.S.”
WORLD'S DOWNHILL RESULTS
1. Gee Atherton (GBr)...Animal Commencal...3:12.12
2. Steve Peat (GBr)...Santa Cruz Synd...+2.62
3. Samuel Hill (Aus)...Monster-IronHorse...3.15
24. Cole Bangert...Specialized...20.50
32. Duncan Riffle...Cannondale...24.71
33. J.D. Swanguen...MS-Intense...24.86
53. Cody Warren...35.10
65. Kain Leonard...Crested Butte Acdmy-TLD-Maxxis...40.75
69. Lars Sternberg...44.28
72. Kyle Strait...Specialized...+46.71
WOMEN
1. Rachel Atherton (GBr)...Animal Commencal...3:49.92
2. Sabrina Jonnier (Fra)...Maxxis...+11.99
3. Emmeline Ragot (Fra)...Suspension Cntr...17.11
7. Kathy Pruitt...29.74
10. Melissa Buhl...KHS...30.46
JUNIOR
1. Josh Bryceland (GBr)...Santa Cruz Synd...3:23:55
2. Sam Dale (GBr)...Cannondale...+7.51
3. Remi Thirion (Fra)...Sunn...8:58
27. Joey Schusler...Yeti-Fox...34.77
32. Naish Ulmer...go-ride...37.94
61. Graeme Pitts...Dark Horse...+2:59.23
WORLD'S 4-CROSS RESULTS
1. Rafael Alvarez (Spn)
2. Roger Rinderknecht (Swi)
3. Mickael Deldycke (Fra)
5. Brian Lopes...Oakley-Ibis
8. Ross Milan...Yeti-Fox Shox
21. Michael Haderer...Fox-Yeti
31. Blake Carney...Fly-Marzocchi-Maxxis-odi
39. Eric Nelson...Thor-Michelin
WOMEN
1. Melissa Buhl...KHS
2. Jana Horakova (Cze)...Suzuki-RB
3. Romana Labounkova (Cze)