Sabrina Jonnier's Iron Horse Sunday Factory DH

Choice of champions

By Mikkeli Godfree

They have long been the First Couple of world downhill racing and this past weekend Australian Sam Hill and Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier carved a rare feat out of a New Zealand hillside, to take the men's and women's elite world championships.

When they're not landing gold medals for their countries, Jonnier and Hill ride for the Iron Horse/Mad Catz team, which puts them both aboard this bike: Iron Horse's Sunday Factory DH. This particular one is Jonnier's.

It's a hot ride, as Hill and Jonnier have proved over and over again this season. Jonnier's tally for 2006 includes world cup wins at Mont St Anne and several world cup podium spots, while Hill has also been a frequent visitor to the podium this season. But at the world's they both put it all together to take the top step, and had special edition bikes to get them there.

Someone at Iron Horse either had a crystal ball or a heck of a lot of confidence, because the duo's world championship bikes were specially decked out in gold - a tiny hint of what Iron Horse was expecting from the world's.

The special edition rigs arrived the week before world's but Jonnier has been on the Sunday model since joining the team in January of this year. Previously Jonnier was on an Intense M-3 but says she prefers her current Iron Horse Sunday because it is lighter and as a result "turns really well and jumps better."

Her favourite component is the Rockshox Boxxers forks. "They are my favourite because I've wanted to be on them for so long. Now I've got them and I love them!"

As you might expect much of the rest of Jonnier's running gear comes from the SRAM empire of which RockShox is a core component. The shifter and rear derailleur are SRAM's top flight XO parts, which might seem a little odd on a downhill bike (weight's not usually a priority) will you remember that Jonnier likes her bikes light and chuck-aboutable. An e.thirteen chain retainer keeps the chain on FSA Afterburner cranks.

Braking is as vital to downhillers as pedaling and Avid - another SRAM brand - provides the stopping poser as well as more bling in the form of Ultimate Black Box levers and Code calipers.

Jonnier's Sunday rolls on DT Swiss wheels: Freeride 440 hubs with ET 5.10 rims, shod with Maxxis Super Tacky Wet Scream tyres for grip in the damp New Zealand conditions.

Up front we find Funn Full On bars and stem and Jonnier perches on a Selle Italia Flight SLR atop an FSA K force seat post.

Among the remaining components are Crank Bros Mallet pedals (a Cyclingnews favourite) and some very pretty valve caps.

Jonnier told us, "My friend got them for me on Ebay. He stayed with us in Perth and he got them for me as a thank you. It was so nice because I was looking for some for so long."

But valve caps don't win world championships. "What makes this bike go is J-C, my mechanic," said Jonnier. "He is the best mechanic in the world. He is awesome. He should get the gold medals!"

Photos

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Mikkeli Godfree/Cyclingnews.com

• Sabrina Jonnier's special World Champion edition Iron Horse Sunday - the French gravity ace piloted her gold rig to a gold medal in Saturday's World Championship downhill.
• A special addition - pretty little flowers for valve caps.
• Jonnier's driveline. combines lightweight SRAM XO derailleur with beefy FSA Afterburner cranks and e.thirteen chain retainer.
• The very tidy top rocker of the Sunday's DW link suspension.
• You can’t buy this at home... yet - the Blackbox program Avid Brakes.
• Yep, they’re Blackbox too
• Avid Code brakes again - Blackbox editions with a new finish and probably lots of other tricky things within.
• Jonnier’s cockpit comprises Funn bar and stem.

Images by Rob Jones/www.canadiancyclist.com

• Jonnier in action - on the way to her first world championship aboard her Iron Horse Sunday
• Sabrina Jonnier and Sam Hill - same bike, same jersey!