Gee Atherton claims downhill World Cup in Cairns
By Cycling News
Bryceland and Mulally on the podium
British brother and sister combination of Gee and Rachel Atherton dominated the Australian leg of the UCI World Cup Series, claiming downhill victories at the Smithfield Regional Park in Cairns on Saturday.
The win was the fourth time that reigning world champion Rachel and elder brother Gee (both GT Factory Racing) have reached the top step of the podium at the same World Cup event.
After a wet qualifying session held on Friday, roots and rocks began to protrude from the peanut butter like course, undoing many top players including reigning world champion Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate).
However the ever flawless Atherton siblings soared through their final run, with Gee stopping the clock in four minutes flat, four seconds ahead of Great Britain's Josh Bryceland (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and close to seven seconds in front of America's Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing).
"It's been a tough weekend with really testing conditions. Yesterday's qualifier was quite a big learning round for me, I was surprised how hard it was when I got here," said Gee of his sixth place in qualifying.
"It was absolutely nuts in that rock garden, I knew the crowd were going to be loud, and it was a real struggle to concentrate but it definitely pushed me on, I was pretty amped when I got to the finish."
World Cup series leader Aaron Gwin (Specialized Racing DH) finished fourth while Australia's Sam Hill (Chain Reaction Cycles.com) ignited the crowd by taking the hot seat before being usurped by Bryceland.
Gwin remains in the UCI World Cup series lead (415 points), ahead of Gee Atherton (305 points) and Samuel Blenkinsop (Lapierre Gravity Republic / 262).
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Gee Atherton (GBr) Gt Factory Racing | 0:04:00.700 |
2 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:04.229 |
3 | Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing | 0:00:06.930 |
4 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing Dh | 0:00:07.093 |
5 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:07.182 |
6 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre Gravity Republic | 0:00:08.576 |
7 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:10.073 |
8 | Sam Dale (GBr) Madison Saracen Factory Team | 0:00:10.284 |
9 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing Dh | 0:00:10.535 |
10 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:10.925 |
11 | Jack Moir (Aus) Bergamont Hayes World Team | 0:00:11.787 |
12 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Rrp Ghost | 0:00:12.238 |
13 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:12.348 |
14 | Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson Ur | 0:00:12.558 |
15 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team | 0:00:13.329 |
16 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) Gt Factory Racing | 0:00:13.340 |
17 | Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic | 0:00:13.954 |
18 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Gstaad-Scott | 0:00:14.130 |
19 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Madison Saracen Factory Team | 0:00:15.019 |
20 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) | 0:00:15.187 |
21 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:15.593 |
22 | Matthew Walker (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 0:00:15.729 |
23 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Gstaad-Scott | 0:00:17.347 |
24 | Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:17.771 |
25 | Eliot Jackson (USA) Pivot Factory Dh Team | 0:00:18.398 |
26 | Edward Masters (NZl) Bergamont Hayes World Team | 0:00:19.033 |
27 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing | 0:00:19.294 |
28 | Florent Payet (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour | 0:00:21.310 |
29 | Graeme Mudd (Aus) | 0:00:21.591 |
30 | Michael Jones (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:21.671 |
31 | Chris Kovarik (Aus) | 0:00:21.772 |
32 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team | 0:00:24.309 |
33 | Isak Leivsson (Nor) | 0:00:24.486 |
34 | Reece Potter (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 0:00:25.420 |
35 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Team Bulls - Dh | 0:00:26.993 |
36 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Lac Blanc/Scott | 0:00:27.348 |
37 | Forrest Riesco (Can) | 0:00:27.595 |
38 | Connor Fearon (Aus) Kona Factory Team | 0:00:27.762 |
39 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) Evil Vengeance Tour | 0:00:27.865 |
40 | Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing Dh | 0:00:27.979 |
41 | Lindsay Klein (Aus) | 0:00:29.148 |
42 | Rupert Chapman (NZl) | 0:00:29.298 |
43 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:29.754 |
44 | George Brannigan (NZl) Trek World Racing | 0:00:30.122 |
45 | Guillaume Cauvin (Fra) Hutchinson Ur | 0:00:30.166 |
46 | Fraser Mcglone (GBr) Perth City Cycles | 0:00:30.225 |
47 | Faustin Figaret (Fra) Commencal | 0:00:31.317 |
48 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:31.976 |
49 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 0:00:35.901 |
50 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 0:00:36.497 |
51 | Dean Lucas (Aus) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:36.603 |
52 | David Mcmillan (Aus) | 0:00:36.726 |
53 | Ben Power (Aus) | 0:00:38.268 |
54 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:40.460 |
55 | Quentin Chanudet (Fra) | 0:00:42.077 |
56 | Tom Matthews (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 0:00:42.364 |
57 | Dominik Gspan (Swi) | 0:00:43.557 |
58 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 0:00:45.585 |
59 | Louis Hamilton (NZl) | 0:00:46.005 |
60 | Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour | 0:00:47.089 |
61 | Harry Molloy (GBr) Rrp Ghost | 0:00:51.911 |
62 | Felix Heine (Ger) | 0:00:54.448 |
63 | Junya Nagata (Jpn) | 0:00:57.290 |
64 | Lachlan Blair (GBr) | 0:00:57.565 |
65 | Brendan Moon (Aus) | 0:00:57.805 |
66 | Hajime Imoto (Jpn) | 0:00:58.609 |
67 | Luke Ball (GBr) | 0:01:01.057 |
68 | Thomas Crimmins (Aus) | 0:01:02.712 |
69 | Greg Williamson (GBr) Trek World Racing | 0:01:06.131 |
70 | Yuki Kushima (Jpn) | 0:01:06.872 |
71 | Jono Jones (GBr) | 0:01:06.958 |
72 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) | 0:01:16.005 |
73 | Jesse Beare (Aus) | 0:01:19.212 |
74 | Peter Knott (Aus) | 0:01:42.658 |
75 | Joshua Button (Aus) | 0:01:53.478 |
76 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 0:05:34.319 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH | 415 | pts |
2 | Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 305 | |
3 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre Gravity Republic | 262 | |
4 | Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing | 261 | |
5 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 249 | |
6 | Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic | 231 | |
7 | Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR | 227 | |
8 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH | 224 | |
9 | Sam Dale (GBr) Madison Saracen Factory Team | 212 | |
10 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 206 | |
11 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 200 | |
12 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 163 | |
13 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Madison Saracen Factory Team | 159 | |
14 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 154 | |
15 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team | 145 | |
16 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 141 | |
17 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 127 | |
18 | Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing | 126 | |
19 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 124 | |
20 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Gstaad-Scott | 117 | |
21 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) | 116 | |
22 | Connor Fearon (Aus) Kona Factory Team | 115 | |
23 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Gstaad-Scott | 114 | |
24 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 107 | |
25 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team | 107 | |
26 | Jack Moir (Aus) Bergamont Hayes World Team | 105 | |
27 | Matthew Walker (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 101 | |
28 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing | 100 | |
29 | Guillaume Cauvin (Fra) Hutchinson UR | 99 | |
30 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 98 | |
31 | Isak Leivsson (Nor) | 98 | |
32 | George Brannigan (NZl) Trek World Racing | 96 | |
33 | Florent Payet (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour | 95 | |
34 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 93 | |
35 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Lac Blanc/Scott | 93 | |
36 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 89 | |
37 | Eliot Jackson (USA) Pivot Factory DH Team | 85 | |
38 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Rrp Ghost | 84 | |
39 | Edward Masters (NZl) Bergamont Hayes World Team | 80 | |
40 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) Evil Vengeance Tour | 79 | |
41 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Team Bulls - DH | 77 | |
42 | Faustin Figaret (Fra) Commencal | 77 | |
43 | Aurã©Lien Giordanengo (Fra) Hutchinson UR | 71 | |
44 | Greg Williamson (GBr) Trek World Racing | 70 | |
45 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) | 67 | |
46 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 66 | |
47 | Dean Lucas (Aus) Devinci Global Racing | 62 | |
48 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 59 | |
49 | Graeme Mudd (Aus) | 52 | |
50 | Michael Jones (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 51 | |
51 | Chris Kovarik (Aus) | 50 | |
52 | Reece Potter (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 47 | |
53 | Harry Heath (GBr) Orange Dirt World Team, O'neal | 47 | |
54 | Tomas Slavik (Cze) | 45 | |
55 | Forrest Riesco (Can) | 44 | |
56 | Jack Reading (GBr) Sc Intense | 41 | |
57 | Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing DH | 41 | |
58 | Bernard Kerr (GBr) Pivot Factory DH Team | 40 | |
59 | Lindsay Klein (Aus) | 40 | |
60 | Adam Brayton (GBr) | 39 | |
61 | Rupert Chapman (NZl) | 39 | |
62 | Fraser Mcglone (GBr) Perth City Cycles | 35 | |
63 | Timothy Bentley (RSA) | 33 | |
64 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 31 | |
65 | David Mcmillan (Aus) | 29 | |
66 | Stefan Garlicki (RSA) | 28 | |
67 | Ben Power (Aus) | 28 | |
68 | Francisco Pardal (Por) | 27 | |
69 | Tiaan Odendaal (RSA) | 26 | |
70 | Quentin Chanudet (Fra) | 26 | |
71 | Joseph Connell (GBr) Sc Intense | 25 | |
72 | Tom Matthews (NZl) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 25 | |
73 | Samuel Bull (RSA) | 24 | |
74 | Dominik Gspan (Swi) | 24 | |
75 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Hutchinson UR | 23 | |
76 | Harry Molloy (GBr) Rrp Ghost | 23 | |
77 | Jasper Jauch (Ger) | 22 | |
78 | Louis Hamilton (NZl) | 22 | |
79 | Matej Charvat (Cze) Banshee Bikes Factory Team | 21 | |
80 | Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Evil Vengeance Tour | 21 | |
81 | Jono Jones (GBr) | 21 | |
82 | Charly Di Pasquale (Fra) | 20 | |
83 | Mario Josã© Jarrin Molina (Ecu) | 19 | |
84 | Felix Heine (Ger) | 19 | |
85 | Alexandre Fayolle (Fra) | 18 | |
86 | Junya Nagata (Jpn) | 18 | |
87 | Jonty Neethling (RSA) | 17 | |
88 | Lachlan Blair (GBr) | 17 | |
89 | Brent Smith (Aus) | 16 | |
90 | Brendan Moon (Aus) | 16 | |
91 | Zakarias Blom Johansen (Nor) | 15 | |
92 | Hajime Imoto (Jpn) | 15 | |
93 | Gaetan Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 14 | |
94 | Luke Ball (GBr) | 14 | |
95 | Chris Barlin (Aus) Green To Gold Race Development | 13 | |
96 | Thomas Crimmins (Aus) | 13 | |
97 | Mathew Stuttard (GBr) | 12 | |
98 | Yuki Kushima (Jpn) | 11 | |
99 | Josh Lowe (GBr) | 10 | |
100 | Francesco Colombo (Ita) Gravitalia Squadra Corse | 9 | |
101 | Jesse Beare (Aus) | 8 | |
102 | Alasdair Fey (RSA) | 8 | |
103 | Peter Knott (Aus) | 7 | |
104 | Kazuki Shimizu (Jpn) Madison Saracen Factory Team | 7 | |
105 | Joshua Button (Aus) | 6 | |
106 | Travis Browning (RSA) | 6 | |
107 | Peter Williams (GBr) | 5 |
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