Trek World Racing sweeps US Open downhill

South Africa's Andrew Neethling and Brit Tracy Moseley (both Trek World Racing) backed up their wins from the previous week at the US Pro GRT #2, with wins at the US Open against many World Cup stars.

The weather was ideal for the week, but the rocky sections of the course were often tough on tires. A few big names punctured in qualifying (Marc Beaumont, Kyle Strait and Bryn Atkinson), so without a protection system for these world ranked riders, they were out for the finals.

Among the men, Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles) won qualifying with Gee Atherton (Commencal) and Neethling in second and third, respectively.

In qualifying for the women's race, Moseley finished second. This was her first visit to the US Open, and she was sure she could find time in the final against fastest qualifier Melissa Buhl (KHS) and Jill Kintner (Transitions) who crashed on the line in qualifying yet was ok to race the final.

For the finals, riders stepped it up and Trek World Racing repeated the double men's and women's victories of the past weekend. Back to back wins for Neethling and Moseley were a huge boost for confidence, and morale. In winning the men's race, Neethling relegated 2008 World Champion Gee Atherton to second, and pre-race favorite Sam Hill (Monster Energy / Specialized) to fifth.

"After qualifying I knew I had a chance at the win today and my goal was to go for it," said Neethling. "For sure I was a bit nervous at the start, but that's normal against such a world class field. My game plan was to be smooth and keep the flow exiting the woods because after practice in the morning I realized that being too aggressive in the rock section wasn't going to pay off.

"I punched hard to the finish in the open section, and to be honest, I am absolutely over the moon."

"It's pretty cool to be at the US Open for the first time. The crowds in the rock section were huge and having a great party," said Moseley. "I was really happy with my top section, but I slid out exiting the woods and it felt like I had flatted. So I rode a bit cautiously for a little while after that. When I realized it wasn't actually a flat I attacked the last section really hard. I'm very happy to win here. Such a great weekend for the team and now I'm so looking forward to Fort William!"

The downhillers boarded a plan Monday to head to Fort William in the United Kingdom for World Cup round two this weekend.

Race note

The US Open is notable for paying a handsome pro rider purse, making it a popular stop for the top riders every May. For example, the three Trek World Racing riders took home US$13,000 in prize money with their four podium results. The team said it is sure to return in the future.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Andrew Neethling (Trek World Racing)0:02:19.60
2Gee Atherton (Commencal)0:00:00.50
3Justin Leov (Trek World Racing)0:00:00.80
4Steve Smith (Evil Bikes/Red Bull)0:00:01.40
5Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized)0:00:01.90
6Brendan Fairclough (Monster Energy/Specialized)0:00:02.70
7Luke Strobel (Evil Bikes)0:00:04.20
8Jared Rando (Giant factory Team)0:00:06.30
9Richie Rude (Allride Academy)Row 8 - Cell 2
10Curtis Keene (Specialized/ Sram)0:00:06.60
11Troy Brosnan (Monster Energy/Specialized)0:00:06.70
12Duncan Riffle (Giant Factory Team)0:00:06.80
13Jason Memmelaar (Giant/HBG/ Smith)0:00:07.70
14Hans Lambert (Primary Trek)0:00:07.80
15Kevin Aiello (GT Bicycles)0:00:08.30
16Mikey Sylvestri (Specialized AllRide)0:00:08.40
17Logan Binggeli (KHS Bicycles)0:00:08.80
18Matthew Beer (On The Edge/ Nema)0:00:09.40
19Chris Heath (KHS Bicycles)0:00:09.70
20Matt Zdriluk (Lapierre - Raceface)0:00:10.40
21Geritt Beytagh (Morewood Bikes USA)0:00:10.70
21George Ryan (Jamis/Pro Tec/Vans)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Dean Tennant (Dunbar Cycles)0:00:11.00
24Jamie Biluk (BondTraining.ca)0:00:11.40
25Tyler Mccaul (GT Bikes/ X-Fusion)0:00:11.60
26Benoit Rioux (XPREZO-Borsao)0:00:11.70
27Ethan Quehl (Gravity Pros)0:00:11.90
28Phillip Kmetz0:00:12.00
29Benedict Brad (specialized)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Lorenzen Leif0:00:12.10
31Cody Eichhorn (Team Geronimo)0:00:13.20
32Taylor Rowlands0:00:14.70
33Robin Baloochi (DRD Tomac Nema)0:00:15.50
34Kieran Bennett (DRD Tomac Nema)0:00:16.90
35Mikey Haderer (Corsair Bikes)0:00:17.60
36Rob Fraser (Primary - Trek)0:00:18.10
37Luke Stevens (brysonracingclan.com)0:00:18.50
38Gavin Vaughan (Giant/HBG/Diablo)0:00:21.30
39Remi Gauvin (PerformX /Evil)0:00:22.20
40John Keep (DRD Tomac Nema)0:00:23.90
41Alejandro Ortiz (Morpheus Cycles)0:00:24.50
42Naish Ulmer (KHS Bikes Spy Optic)Row 41 - Cell 2
43Kyle Marshall (Evil BIkes/Nema/Stra)0:00:24.80
44Lars Tribus (GT SRAM RockShox)0:00:27.10
45Josh Clark (Metcalf Construction)0:00:29.40
46Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles)0:00:33.30
47Beneke Jurgen (TRT tours & bicycles)0:00:34.80
DNSMitch Ropelato (Ex Drinks)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNFLars Sternberg (Transition Racing)Row 48 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing)0:02:40.20
2Jill Kintner (Transition Racing)0:00:00.40
3Melissa Buhl (KHS Bicycles)0:00:02.40
4Jacqueline Harmony (Vixen Racing)0:00:10.00
5Miranda Miller (Santa Cruz/Pinkbike)0:00:10.90
6Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Team)0:00:11.50
7Joanna Petterson0:00:11.70
8Rebecca Mcqueen (Rocky Mountain Bicycles)0:00:17.90
9Katie Holden (Specialized)0:00:23.60
10Vaea Verbeeck0:00:27.50
11Anne Laplante (XPREZO)0:00:28.20
12Anne Galyean (East Coast Gravity)0:00:32.20
13Amanda Pilling (HIGHGEAR RACING)0:00:47.60
14Karen Eagan (Highland Mountain Bike)0:01:24.60
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Amateur men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Justin Brigandi (sixsixone)0:02:40.30
2Sam Chipkin (Drummer Racing)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Ryan Gardner (Beacon Cycles)0:00:00.30
4Kyle Prato0:00:02.40
5Arthur Babcock (Advance Cyclery)0:00:02.50
6Kimble Kyle (martys reliable hack)0:00:04.00
7Benjamin Elliott0:00:05.20
8Kliesh Alex (knapps cyclery)0:00:07.40
9Vinny Edwards (DaddyDeavers)0:00:07.80
10Timothy Mangini (Chumba/ Fox Shox)0:00:08.10
11Gus Mustakas (Beacon Cycles)0:00:09.10
12Vance Nonno (Vans/Nema Internatio)0:00:09.40
13Alex Mcandrew (Team Chuck's Bikes)0:00:09.50
14Craig Folsom (Cycle Therapy)0:00:09.60
15Nik Patalano (Spooky Bikes)0:00:10.50
16Ben Gidney (morewood usa)0:00:10.70
17Dan Phillips (Radical Racing)0:00:10.80
18Vazquez Juan Pablo (mobilebici)0:00:11.20
19Connor Sullivan (Granby Bicycle)0:00:11.50
20Kyle Wolmer (Ride-this.com/ Deit)0:00:12.20
21Tylor Bowes0:00:13.00
22Post Pj (Marc Trewaines Rides)0:00:13.20
23Charles Morin (Highland Mountain)0:00:14.30
24Tyler Bedick (Wamsley Cycles)0:00:14.70
25Matt Dahlmeyer (Action Sports)0:00:15.10
26Shawnee Mcgovern (Orbit Racing)0:00:16.90
27Jake Baxter (voncooper.com)0:00:19.90
28Nathan Roy0:00:20.20
29Dave Mee (JRA Cycles)0:00:20.60
30Travis Fields0:00:20.70
31Anthony Miele (Uconn)0:00:21.30
32Boyer James (Bike Stop/ NEMA)Row 31 - Cell 2
33David Medina (Reality Bikes)0:00:21.50
34Clay Patterson (Inspired Athletics)0:00:21.80
35John Normand (Low Riders)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Anderson William0:00:22.50
37Puzel Matthew (the bike works)0:00:22.70
38Jacob Roy0:00:23.20
39James Gillespie (Mojo Wheels)0:00:25.40
40Julian Arendarski (Daily Planet)0:00:25.50
41Adam Andrade (Mongoose)0:00:25.60
42Stefan Daney0:00:25.70
43Adam Franklin0:00:26.00
44Sean Tarricone (Crash or Win Racing)0:00:26.50
45Mike Colonna (Edge Outdoors)0:00:27.30
46Jon Hanson (Ridetopia)0:00:27.50
47Shawn Metcalf (Mongoose Tribe)0:00:28.00
48Brewster Kanis (Wachusett Brewery)0:00:28.10
49Ryan Dunn0:00:28.50
50Nic Caputo (Beacon Bombers)0:00:28.70
51Ryan Mulder (HighGear Racing)0:00:32.30
52Chris Kring (High Gear Racing)0:00:34.40
53Colby Barth0:00:35.10
54Greg Karges (Adrenaline)0:00:35.40
55Justin Mchenry0:00:40.10
56Hernane Alves (Team Brazil)0:00:44.50
57Jonathan Jr. Kranzel (Kranzel Bros. Racing)0:00:47.60
58Heath Boedeker (Sierra Nevada Brewin)0:00:48.00
59Neal Demaio (The Gravity Project)0:00:48.10
60Kevin Kindamo0:00:49.60
61Lane Boertmann (Beachwood Bikes)0:00:50.80
62Cody Gray0:00:54.70
63Sky Nicholson (Snowfire Racing)0:01:06.60
64Paul Mumford (Team Krunk Shox.)0:01:24.10
65Russell Macintosh0:01:48.10
DSQDavid Penn (Intense/661/wachuset)Row 65 - Cell 2
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Amateur junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kyle Sangers (J&J Cycle)0:02:33.70
2Lear Miller (Demon Dirt)0:00:04.30
3Kemp Logan (Point One Mainstreet)0:00:05.20
4Brad King (DRD Tomac Nema)0:00:07.00
5Alex Couture (Grant Bicycles)0:00:07.10
6Logan Mulally (TroyLee Designs)0:00:08.40
7Payne Jake (the path bike shop)0:00:08.80
8Michael Oosterveld (Silent Davinci)0:00:09.30
9Harrison Ory (Mojo Wheels)0:00:09.60
10Dan Albert0:00:11.60
11Dylan Conte (Team Iride)0:00:11.80
12Cody Wilkins0:00:11.90
13Dan Bruxer (Adrenalineracer)0:00:12.80
14Patrick Mccarter (None)0:00:12.90
15Eric Bercume0:00:16.70
16Luen Proft (Killington/Raceface)0:00:17.50
17Robert Lewis (7Springs Bike Park)0:00:18.20
18Jimmy Leslie (Pro-Bikes)0:00:18.40
19Westerkamp Travis (HBG/Geax/Diablo)0:00:19.60
20Alex Gross (Dark Horse Cycles)0:00:20.60
21Max Morgan (Team Morewood USA)0:00:24.50
22David Renne (Mojo Wheels)0:00:29.60
23Matt Lareau (Killington/ Marzocch)0:00:35.50
DNSDamon MorinRow 23 - Cell 2
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Amateur women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Lauren Dahey (Grom Racing)0:03:04.40
2Rebecca Gardner (Beacon Cycles/Nema)0:00:29.90
3Rosy Metcalfe (Spooky)0:00:38.20
4Hannah Trimble (Morpheus Cycles)0:00:46.70
5Liz Scoville (horn's hill)0:00:59.20
6Andrea Kolchlin0:01:10.10
7Ellie Porru (Oneal/Go Aro)0:01:16.70
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Amateur junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Cierra Smith (Allride Academy)0:03:14.90

 

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