Wet weather and slippery conditions made for a treacherous urban downhill race at the Lisboa Downtown. The biggest surprise of the day was a win by Portugal's own Paulo Domingues (Biciplus Sportcity C.M. Sesimbra), the first from his country to win the event.
During the event, racers descended from Castle Hill to Largo Terreiro Wheat in downtown Lisbon. While the spotlight was focused brightly on eight-time winner and current World Champion Steve Peat as the favorite, the use of streets, stairs and jumps - in wet conditions - created room for surprises.
The 30-year-old Domingues proved to be the fastest on the day, beating the international stars.
"I can not believe I beat the best in the world. I'm still incredulous!" he said after his victory. "I came here to fight for the title of best Portuguese. It seems like a dream to finish above the others because I am an amateur."
Domingues finished the one-kilometer track in 1:46.122. Slovakian Filip Polc (MS Evil Racing) and South African Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) rounded out the top three.
Fernando Figueiredo, the organizer of the race, took stock of the 11th edition. "The bad weather complicated everything and we had to change the program, but (it was) most important that we go ahead. Despite the falls, there were no reports of serious injury among the athletes." He had noticed many spectators cheering and clapping beneath umbrellas, despite the appalling conditions.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paulo Domingues (Por) Biciplus Sportcity C.M. Sesimbra | 0:01:46.122 | |
| 2 | Filip Polc (Svk) MS Evil Racing | 0:00:00.050 | |
| 3 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:00.658 | |
| 4 | Michael Hannah (Aus) GT Bicycles | 0:00:02.957 | |
| 5 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) Liberty Specialized | 0:00:04.271 | |
| 6 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) CG Brigade | 0:00:04.403 | |
| 7 | Claudio Loureiro (Por) Bikezone intense MCF | 0:00:04.885 | |
| 8 | Daniel Wolfe (Irl) Wolfe Racing | 0:00:05.688 | |
| 9 | Daniel Pombo (Por) Liberty Specialized | 0:00:05.955 | |
| 10 | Carlos Castro (Por) Commencal Sram | 0:00:06.313 | |
| 11 | Emyr Davies (GBr) Team Skene | 0:00:07.109 | |
| 12 | Luis Paulo Vicente Ferreira (Por) Team Garcia Sport | 0:00:07.461 | |
| 13 | Seanan O'Riordan (Irl) Wolfe Racing | 0:00:07.720 | |
| 14 | Marcio Ferreira (Por) Moto Clube de Faro | 0:00:07.801 | |
| 15 | Marcelo Costa (Por) Adar of Imoto | 0:00:09.794 | |
| 16 | Jyunya Nagata (Jpn) Team A&F | 0:00:11.173 | |
| 17 | José Manuel Soares Borges (Por) Team Garcia Sport | 0:00:11.379 | |
| 18 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal Superiders | 0:00:14.383 | |
| 19 | Jorge Aguin Castro (Spa) Chapelo racing | 0:00:16.143 | |
| 20 | Joel Diogo Marques Ferreira (Por) Restauradores da Granja Centro | 0:00:22.358 | |
| 21 | Bruno Brito (Por) Moto Clube de Faro | 0:00:37.404 | |
| 22 | Ruben Martins (Por) Clube Ana Faro | 0:00:43.436 | |
| 23 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:59.229 | |
| 24 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:01:06.666 | |
| 25 | Afonso Ferreira (Por) Bikezone intense MCF | 0:01:08.286 | |
| DNF | Gaetan Ruffin (Fra) Commencal Superiders |