After raining all morning, the precipitation backed off for the Downhill
and 4-Cross qualifying on Friday afternoon. The courses were still wet,
but solid construction by the organizers meant that the quality of
racing was not compromised.
Young Aaron Gwin continues to impress. Rob Jones photo
Tracy Moseley took the top spot. Rob Jones photo
The women's downhill saw a bit of an upset when World Cup leader Sabrina
Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), the winner of the last five events,
only managed to finish fifth after a tentative run. Tracy Moseley (Trek
World racing), the winner of the first world Cup of the year, took the
top spot, 14-hundredths of a second in front of Emmeline Ragot
(Suspension Centre), who is racing on a broken ankle. Floriane Pugin
(Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker) was third at 5.64 seconds.
Claire Buchar qualified 6th. Rob Jones photo
On the men's side, it was two-time world champion Fabien Barel (Subaru)
finishing first, half a second in front of last week's winner Sam Hill
(Monster Energy-Specialized), with the Santa Cruz duo of Greg Minnaar
and Steve Peat less than one and a half seconds back.
Steve Peat 4th in qualifying. Rob Jones photo
Canada's Steve Smith was 7th. Rob Jones photo
For the 4-Cross, Jill Kintner (Red Bull/Intense/Crankbrothers) took 0.63
of a second out of Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Team), with World Cup
leader Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) third at 0.74 seconds. The
battle between Kintner and Beerten is far from over.
On the men's side, Jared Graves (Yeti Fox) had a rare off day, finishing
fourth behind Romain Saladini (Sunn), Quentin Derbier (France) and Roger
Rinderknecht (GT Bicycles). Graves has already mathematically won the
World Cup title, with five wins.
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