Jonnier wins on slippery Mont Sainte Anne course

Sabrina Jonnier (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles) is proving to be unstoppable in the women's World Cup downhill, taking her fifth consecutive win of the season at Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, in Canada on Saturday, despite changing weather that made the track slick and slippery.

Through the first 10 racers of the 20 rider field, there was rapid and frequent turnover in the Hot Seat. The first rider to hang on to the Hot Seat for a while was Emilie Siegenthaler (Scott 11). Siegenthaler was eventually dislodged by Melissa Buhl (KHS).

Buhl was pleased with her run. "It was pretty good. I struggled a bit in the mud but I kept it together. I was going back and forth between the mud and the dry tires, and I was glad I stuck to the dry. There were a couple of spots of mud where I would have like spikes, but it paid off in the rocks because they were pretty slippery."

The next rider to lay down a fast run was Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing), who was almost immediately displaced by Emmeline Ragot (Suspension Center), with a strong time that was good enough to maintain the Hot Seat until only Jonnier remained to descend.

Jonnier was the class of the field. Her run of 5:26.50 beat Ragot by 3.79 seconds. "That run was the best of the weekend. Conditions were a lot different than this morning. It dried out a lot," Jonnier said. "I decided to be a bit cautious and then go fast when I could. I just want to win and be happy on my bike." Jonnier's win was her fifth consecutive victory of the season.

Moseley finished in third place, 4.77 seconds back. With her win here, Jonnier stretches her lead in the World Cup standings to 1,382 points, with Ragot a distant second with 1,115 points. Four of the top five riders are now French, with only Moseley, in third, breaking the streak.

Results