Atherton marks World Cup return with a win
Jonnier, Pugin seal podium spots for France



Rachel Atherton (Commencal) proved that a year away from racing has not affected her downhill skills, as she became the first World Cup Downhill leader in the 2010 series, in Maribor, Slovenia, on Sunday.
The opening round of the downhill saw a slight easing overnight of the rain that had turned the four cross into a mud bath, which wasn't necessarily a positive thing, since it made the course sticky and slower. Atherton, returning to competition after sitting out last season due to a shoulder injury and subsequent surgeries, did not have a good start to the weekend after crashing in qualifying and having to ride with a broken finger from a race a week earlier.
Her early seed meant that she started fourth, but the 2008 World Champion blazed the course, the fastest at every split, beating second placed Sabrina Jonnier (Rocky Mountain-Maxxis) by 10 seconds and Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) by 13 seconds.
Myriam Nicole (Commencal Superiders), who had qualified first, was on a fast run until breaking her rear derailleur and having to coast the second half of the course; still managing an impressive fourth. Canada's lone entry, Claire Buchar (Chain Reaction) finished seventh, the best North American.
"It hasn't sunk in yet; I can't believe it," said Atherton after her run. "I never thought I'd win, this being my first World Cup race back, and my [broken] finger made it hard to hang on. I came here hoping for a top five, so maybe being relaxed and having fun is the way to have a good run."
| 1 | Rachel Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 0:04:03.420 |
| 2 | Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 0:00:09.730 |
| 3 | Floriane Pugin (Fra) Scott 11 | 0:00:12.910 |
| 4 | Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal Superiders | 0:00:15.500 |
| 5 | Petra Bernhard (Aut) RC Alpine Commencal Austria | 0:00:18.970 |
| 6 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) FFC | 0:00:19.420 |
| 7 | Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 0:00:20.590 |
| 8 | Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek World Racing | 0:00:20.690 |
| 9 | Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott 11 | 0:00:21.760 |
| 10 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center | 0:00:23.570 |
| 11 | Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 0:00:28.390 |
| 12 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team | 0:00:35.080 |
| 13 | Katy Curd (GBr) | 0:00:35.440 |
| 14 | Manon Carpenter (GBr) | 0:00:38.430 |
| 15 | Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) | 0:00:39.250 |
| 16 | Jessica Stone (GBr) | 0:00:46.670 |
| 17 | Fanny Lombard (Fra) | 0:00:57.350 |
| 18 | Miriam Ruchti (Swi) DR-Gravity Union | 0:01:01.830 |
| 19 | Birgit Braumann (Aut) | 0:01:02.260 |
| 20 | Morgane Charre (Fra) | 0:01:49.510 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott 11 | 88 | pts |
| 2 | Commencal | 75 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 64 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 60 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 57 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 55 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Trek World Racing | 45 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | MS Evil Racing | 35 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Commencal Superiders | 34 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | RC Alpine Commencal Austria | 28 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 24 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Kona | 23 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Mondraker Factory Team | 22 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Suspension Center | 21 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Lapierre International | 19 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Norco World Team | 19 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Dr-Gravity Union | 13 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | GT Bicycles | 13 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Giant Factory Team | 11 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Massi Team | 8 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Blackmountain Morewood United | 7 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 6 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Dirt Norco Race Team | 5 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
| 1 | Rachel Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 200 | pts |
| 2 | Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 185 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Floriane Pugin (Fra) Scott 11 | 180 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal Superiders | 175 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Petra Bernhard (Aut) RC Alpine Commencal Austria | 130 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) FFC | 111 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 92 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek World Racing | 84 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Céline Gros (Fra) Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 80 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott 11 | 65 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center | 55 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco World Team | 45 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Katy Curd (GBr) | 40 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Manon Carpenter (GBr) | 35 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Jessica Stone (GBr) Trek Gravity Girls | 35 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) | 30 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Fanny Lombard (Fra) | 20 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Miriam Ruchti (Swi) DR-Gravity Union | 15 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Birgit Braumann (Aut) | 10 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Morgane Charre (Fra) | 5 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott 11 | 88 | pts |
| 2 | Commencal | 75 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense | 64 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 60 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain | 57 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 55 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Trek World Racing | 45 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | MS Evil Racing | 35 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Commencal Superiders | 34 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | RC Alpine Commencal Austria | 28 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 24 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Kona | 23 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Mondraker Factory Team | 22 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Suspension Center | 21 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Lapierre International | 19 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Norco World Team | 19 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Dr-Gravity Union | 13 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | GT Bicycles | 13 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Giant Factory Team | 11 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Massi Team | 8 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Blackmountain Morewood United | 7 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Team Sunn Montgenevre | 6 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Dirt Norco Race Team | 5 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
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