Barel takes on French Cup downhill this weekend

Fabien Barel goes off a jump on his way to second place. (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)

Fabian Barel (Subaru) will lead some of France's best downhillers at the Coupe de France round in Val d'Isere, France, this weekend, August 21-23. The gravity racers will tackle the mythical descent, la Face de Bellevarde, on a course which overlooks the village far below. Barel won the Maribor round of the World Cup downhill earlier this season.

To date, 380 riders have registered for the downhill, with finals on Sunday. However, another 790 riders have registered for the round's cross country races on Saturday and Sunday, and 130 will compete in trials. Double Olympic champion Julien Absalon (Orbea) and 2008 trials world champion Gilles Coustellier are among those competing. For both, it will be an excellent chance to fine-tune their racing legs prior to the World Championships in two weeks.

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.