Mosely extends World Cup lead

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For the fifth time in seven years, Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing) won the women's downhill World Cup at Fort William, Scotland. Rachel Atherton (Commencal) made it a one-two for the British, with France taking the rest of the top-five spots. Moseley's second consecutive win gives her a significant 170-point lead over second ranked Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) in the overall rankings.

American Jacqueline Harmony set the early fast time, but was soon surpassed by Morgane Charre (Passion Velo Thiers Stemtee), who was the first to go under six minutes in the final. German Harriet Rucknagel dropped the leading time marginally before Petra Bernhard (Alpine Commencal Austria) knocked a more significant seven seconds off to take the leading time down to 5:45.

However, the faster riders were still to start, and former world champion Emmeline Ragot (Team GR) soon knocked a further six seconds off the leading time. Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), the only woman other than Moseley to have won at Fort William since 2005, took the lead down by another six and half seconds, despite having to restart her run when a rider ahead of her crashed on the course.

Myriam Nicole (Riding Addiction Commencal) shaved another 1.821 seconds off the lead, but the three fastest qualifiers were next on the track, and each of them was faster. Pugin, after a steady, unspectacular run, was ahead by three quarters of a second, but the two Brits were up next, and Moseley obliterated the leading time, finishing seven and a half seconds in front of Pugin. Significantly, Moseley gained time in the lower half of the course, where other riders were fading.

Last was Rachel Atherton, in her first World Cup after missing the first round to finish her recovery from a shoulder industry suffered last season. Atherton had qualified a bare two-tenths of a second ahead of Moseley in qualifying and, after posting the fastest split at the upper half of the course, she faded slightly in the bottom portion, to finish 1.721 seconds back.

"It's pretty amazing. To come here as world champion is pretty special, but to come here as world champion and manage to win, it's just awesome," said Moseley.

"The crowd is amazing, it makes it such a pleasure to ride and to push harder and harder. It means a lot to win here, to win five times here - I'm happy. I really pushed, I knew Rach [Atherton] was going to be tough; every time you race her, you know it's going to be hard to beat her. It's good to have another British girl to push me. Guaranteed, it meant the crowd was going to get a British win one way or another."