Minnaar triumphs in Fort William
By Tour of Japan published
Hart pips MacDonald for second
While Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) took the win in round two for the downhill World Cup in Fort William, Scotland, it was the young riders who finished second and third - Danny Hart (Giant) and Brook MacDonald (MS Evil Racing) - who were the real story of the day, signalling the arrival of the next generation of downhillers. Minnaar's win, coupled with round one winner Aaron Gwin's (Trek World Racing) fifth place, put the South African into the leader's jersey for the overall standings.
American Mitch Ropelato, another under 21-year-old, was the first leader to go under five minutes, but he was quickly supplanted by Australian Mitchell Delfs (Kona), who was in turn replaced in the lead by another Australian, Mick Hannah, who took the leading time down to 4:53.433 .
Hannah held onto the lead for a long time before a third Aussie, Josh Button (SC-Intense) just barely edged him. However, the faster riders were just starting to come down the track, and Fabien Pedemanaud (Scott 11) took the leading time down to 4:52.5 shortly afterward.
This set the stage for MacDonald's incredible ride. Starting 48th (out of 81), MacDonald absolutely nailed the pedalling bottom half of the course, to finish a staggering 5.643 seconds ahead of Pedemanaud. The young New Zealand rider, who won't turn 20 until November, was the junior World Champion in 2009, but this ride put him in a whole new league.
As rider after rider came down, none could surpass his time, with another young Kiwi - Cameron Cole (Lapierre) - slotting into second, but still 1.8 seconds back. Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate), world champion Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized/Mad Catz), Fabien Barel (Mondraker) who DNF'd, and Canada's Steve Smith (Devinci) all came close but none came close enough.
It wasn't until Minnaar, a two-time winner at Fort William, and fourth from last to start, came down that MacDonald was finally dislodged from the lead. The South African, a prodigy himself when he won his world title in 2003, was eighth fastest at the top split, and continued to improve as the course went on, to knock nearly two seconds off of MacDonald's incredible run. Hart, starting just after Minnaar and only a month older than MacDonald, pushed the Kiwi down to third by 0.65 seconds. The final two starters - Gee Atherton (Commencal) and World Cup leader Gwin - slotted in to fourth and fifth respectively after their runs.
"It was tough today," said Minnaar. "I was really nervous, I didn't think I had it today. Yesterday's qualifying, I was behind, and I wasn't sure I could find the time. [Brook] MacDonald had a great ride, but I'm stoked to be on top ... it's just an awesome day. I'm just speechless."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:04:43.854 |
2 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:01.299 |
3 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Ms Evil Racing | 0:00:01.934 |
4 | Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 0:00:03.004 |
5 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing | 0:00:03.193 |
6 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre International | 0:00:03.748 |
7 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 0:00:04.269 |
8 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 0:00:04.331 |
9 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 0:00:04.579 |
10 | Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:05.823 |
11 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:06.481 |
12 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) | 0:00:06.866 |
13 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 0:00:07.246 |
14 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:07.606 |
15 | Luke Strobel (USA) Ms Evil Racing | 0:00:07.694 |
16 | Florent Payet (Fra) Sc - Intense | 0:00:07.953 |
17 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 0:00:08.050 |
18 | Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 | 0:00:08.646 |
19 | Ben Cathro (GBr) | 0:00:09.219 |
20 | Matthew Scoles (NZl) Team Cingolani Trek | 0:00:09.343 |
21 | Joshua Button (Aus) Sc - Intense | 0:00:09.499 |
22 | Michael Hannah (Aus) | 0:00:09.579 |
23 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 0:00:09.865 |
24 | Duncan Riffle (USA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:10.212 |
25 | Mickael Pascal (Fra) Morewood Unitedride | 0:00:10.364 |
26 | Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) | 0:00:10.462 |
27 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 0:00:10.646 |
28 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) Cg Racing Brigade | 0:00:10.760 |
29 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Morewood Unitedride | 0:00:11.066 |
30 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 0:00:11.151 |
31 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Cg Racing Brigade | 0:00:11.245 |
32 | Shaun O'Connor (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 0:00:12.066 |
33 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kona | 0:00:12.080 |
34 | Filip Polc (Svk) Ms Evil Racing | 0:00:12.933 |
35 | Nico Vink (Bel) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Massif Des Vosges | 0:00:12.985 |
36 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Are Bikepark Powered By W - Racing | 0:00:13.149 |
37 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Massif Des Vosges | 0:00:13.435 |
38 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 0:00:13.804 |
39 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Riding Addiction Commencal | 0:00:13.866 |
40 | Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) | 0:00:13.984 |
41 | Greg Williamson (GBr) | 0:00:14.493 |
42 | Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team | 0:00:14.626 |
43 | Romain Paulhan (Fra) | 0:00:14.861 |
44 | Harry Heath (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:14.940 |
45 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 0:00:15.096 |
46 | Will Rischbieth (Aus) | 0:00:15.329 |
47 | Mitch Ropelato (USA) | 0:00:15.416 |
48 | Adam Brayton (GBr) | 0:00:15.419 |
49 | Jack Reading (GBr) | 0:00:15.643 |
50 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 0:00:16.144 |
51 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Evil Racing | 0:00:16.260 |
52 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 0:00:16.731 |
53 | Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 0:00:16.843 |
54 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Ms Evil Racing | 0:00:17.638 |
55 | Timothy Bentley (RSA) Morewood Unitedride | 0:00:17.792 |
56 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) | 0:00:17.852 |
57 | Fergus Lamb (GBr) | 0:00:17.919 |
58 | Dan Stanbridge (GBr) Dirt Norco Race Team | 0:00:18.246 |
59 | Scott Mears (GBr) | 0:00:18.427 |
60 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 0:00:18.440 |
61 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) | 0:00:19.458 |
62 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 0:00:20.522 |
63 | Curtis Keene (USA) | 0:00:20.575 |
64 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 0:00:22.309 |
65 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 0:00:22.418 |
66 | Florian Arthus (Fra) | 0:00:22.735 |
67 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:23.882 |
68 | Sam Dale (GBr) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 0:00:24.523 |
69 | Dan Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 0:00:25.018 |
70 | Seanan O'Riordan (Irl) | 0:00:25.369 |
71 | Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing | 0:00:27.485 |
72 | Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) | 0:00:33.290 |
73 | Christopher Mcglinchey (Irl) | 0:00:35.491 |
74 | Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre International | 0:00:42.017 |
75 | Joris Bigoni (Fra) | 0:00:47.924 |
76 | Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Ryde - Racing | 0:04:53.950 |
77 | Julien Camellini (Fra) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 0:05:45.571 |
78 | George Brannigan (NZl) Devinci Global Racing | 0:16:04.336 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Trek World Racing | 91 | pts |
2 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 77 | |
3 | Commencal | 65 | |
4 | Scott 11 | 55 | |
5 | Lapierre International | 50 | |
6 | MS Evil Racing | 48 | |
7 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 42 | |
8 | Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 36 | |
9 | Team GR | 32 | |
10 | Riding Addiction Commencal | 26 | |
11 | SC - Intense | 25 | |
12 | Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 23 | |
13 | Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 22 | |
14 | Devinci Global Racing | 21 | |
15 | Madison Saracen | 16 | |
16 | Team Cingolani Trek | 11 | |
17 | Alpine Commencal Austria | 9 | |
18 | Mondraker Factory Team | 8 | |
19 | Morewood Unitedride | 8 | |
20 | Passion Velo Thiers Stemtee | 6 | |
21 | CK Racing Santacruz | 3 | |
22 | CG Racing Brigade | 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 425 | pts |
2 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing | 378 | |
3 | Gee Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 327 | |
4 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 249 | |
5 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Ms Evil Racing | 199 | |
6 | Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing | 197 | |
7 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 195 | |
8 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 190 | |
9 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 172 | |
10 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 164 | |
11 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre International | 164 | |
12 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) | 159 | |
13 | Fabien Barel (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 156 | |
14 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 153 | |
15 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 148 | |
16 | Duncan Riffle (USA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 147 | |
17 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) Cg Racing Brigade | 143 | |
18 | Matthew Scoles (NZl) Team Cingolani Trek | 129 | |
19 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Morewood Unitedride | 128 | |
20 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz | 126 | |
21 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) Team Maxxis - Rocky Mountain | 124 | |
22 | Florent Payet (Fra) Sc - Intense | 119 | |
23 | Luke Strobel (USA) Ms Evil Racing | 114 | |
24 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Riding Addiction Commencal | 111 | |
25 | Michael Hannah (Aus) | 109 | |
26 | Ben Cathro (GBr) | 102 | |
27 | Shaun O'connor (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 99 | |
28 | Filip Polc (Svk) Ms Evil Racing | 98 | |
29 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Are Bikepark Powered By W - Racing | 98 | |
30 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 97 | |
31 | Mickael Pascal (Fra) Morewood Unitedride | 97 | |
32 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 97 | |
33 | Julien Camellini (Fra) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 96 | |
34 | Joshua Button (Aus) Sc - Intense | 95 | |
35 | Nick Beer (Swi) Scott 11 | 94 | |
36 | Romain Paulhan (Fra) | 94 | |
37 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Massif Des Vosges | 93 | |
38 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Evil Racing | 92 | |
39 | Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra) Scott 11 | 91 | |
40 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kona | 90 | |
41 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) | 80 | |
42 | Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 70 | |
43 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 68 | |
44 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 68 | |
45 | Mitch Ropelato (USA) | 68 | |
46 | Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) | 66 | |
47 | Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing | 62 | |
48 | Timothy Bentley (RSA) Morewood Unitedride | 62 | |
49 | Sam Dale (GBr) Team Sunn Montgenevre | 60 | |
50 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Cg Racing Brigade | 59 | |
51 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Mondraker Factory Team | 58 | |
52 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 57 | |
53 | Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) | 55 | |
54 | Dan Stanbridge (GBr) Dirt Norco Race Team | 52 | |
55 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 48 | |
56 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 47 | |
57 | Nico Vink (Bel) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Massif Des Vosges | 46 | |
58 | Bernard Kerr (GBr) | 46 | |
59 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 43 | |
60 | Scott Mears (GBr) | 42 | |
61 | Curtis Keene (USA) | 42 | |
62 | Greg Williamson (GBr) | 40 | |
63 | Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team | 39 | |
64 | Harry Heath (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 37 | |
65 | Fergus Lamb (GBr) | 36 | |
66 | Will Rischbieth (Aus) | 35 | |
67 | Adam Brayton (GBr) | 33 | |
68 | Jack Reading (GBr) | 32 | |
69 | Alex Bond (GBr) | 32 | |
70 | Marcel Beer (Swi) | 31 | |
71 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 29 | |
72 | Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 28 | |
73 | Wyn Masters (NZl) Ms Evil Racing | 27 | |
74 | Jonty Neethling (RSA) | 27 | |
75 | Johann Potgieter (RSA) | 26 | |
76 | Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) | 25 | |
77 | Hayden Brown (RSA) | 23 | |
78 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof | 21 | |
79 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) | 20 | |
80 | Thomas Jeandin (Swi) | 19 | |
81 | Lars Peyer (Swi) Sc - Intense | 18 | |
82 | Fraser Mcglone (GBr) | 17 | |
83 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 16 | |
84 | Daniel Pombo (Por) | 16 | |
85 | Florian Arthus (Fra) | 15 | |
86 | Kelvin Purchase (RSA) | 15 | |
87 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 14 | |
88 | Chris Hutchens (GBr) | 14 | |
89 | Tiaan Odendaal (RSA) | 13 | |
90 | Dan Atherton (GBr) Commencal | 12 | |
91 | Seanan O'riordan (Irl) | 11 | |
92 | Francesco Danilo Petrucci (Ita) Team Cingolani Trek | 11 | |
93 | Roman Roschi (Swi) | 10 | |
94 | Oscar Harnstrom (Swe) | 9 | |
95 | Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa) | 9 | |
96 | Arthur Parret (Fra) Passion Velo Thiers Stemtee | 8 | |
97 | Christopher Mcglinchey (Irl) | 8 | |
98 | Jérôme Payet (Fra) | 7 | |
99 | Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre International | 7 | |
100 | Charly Di Pasquale (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 6 | |
101 | Joris Bigoni (Fra) | 6 | |
102 | Mathias Haas (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 5 | |
103 | Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Ryde - Racing | 5 | |
104 | Daniel Critchlow (GBr) | 4 | |
105 | Travis Browning (RSA) | 3 | |
106 | George Brannigan (NZl) Devinci Global Racing | 3 |

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