Carpenter wins Leogang World Cup

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History repeated itself as France and Great Britain once again battled for glory in the elite women's downhill World Cup. After the qualifying, the top five spots were occupied by three Brits (Tahnee Seagrave, Rachel Atherton and Manon Carpenter) and two French athletes (Myriam Nicole and Emmeline Ragot). It was up to these five riders, to leave their mark in the grand finale.

Seagrave set the first benchmark by putting over four seconds into the rest of the field. But she didn't have time to make herself comfortable in the hot seat, because Myriam Nicole was already on track and crossed the line four seconds up.

Still missing a win in Bikepark Leogang, Atherton is not yet on the top of her game after a long-lasting illness. All her hard efforts in the middle part couldn't recover her time after a slow start. It may not have been a winning run, but she rode to the finish 1.3 seconds faster than Nicole.

At this point, all eyes were on last year's winner Ragot, who favours Leogang's downhill motorway and was tipped for the win. It was in the "Roots of Asitz" section, where she lost her flow and the much needed momentum to bag the win. Atherton, Ragot, Nicole lit up the leader board. Then Carpenter pedaled out of the start gate. Fastest in qualifying, she had the joker in her pocket. Battling hard to keep up with Atherton's time in the upper part of the track, Carpenter showed real strength.

As soon as she hit the "Hollywood Section" before the last jump, it was clear that she was on the road to victory. Her aggressive riding style earned her a real speed advantage and put her 2.699 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. No need to stress that the British downhill queen was more than excited about her win.

"I am so happy! The fast track in Leogang really suits me, although it was really windy in the upper part," said Carpenter. "The dry conditions and the amazing atmosphere on the track contributed to my victory. It was an awesome week, the win feels so good!"

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