Gwin smokes the competition in Val di Sole
By Tour of Japan published
Minnaar, Atherton eight seconds slower
In the men's race at the second round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy, Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) threw down a tremendous challenge to the rest of the field by finishing over seven seconds ahead of second placed Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) in qualifying. Minnaar, the winner of round one and World Cup leader, had won the warm-up event with most of the favorites in Leogang, Austria last weekend while Gwin was coming off victory at the US Pro GRT in Plattekill, New York last weekend.
Times were dropping steadily through the 82-rider strong field until junior-aged Loic Bruni (Lapierre International) threw down the first sub-3:25 time with 30 riders to go. Bruni held the lead for ten riders before Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) took half a second off despite racing with a dislocated finger, and Smith lasted for 13 riders until Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) bumped him out by a second. The lead continued to drop by fractions of a second until Minnaar, the second fastest qualifier, held the hot seat.
However, despite going nearly six seconds faster than he had in qualifying, Minnaar was still almost two seconds slower than Gwin's qualifying time and, barring a crash, Gwin was the odds-on favourite as he began his run. The American champion did not disappoint; fastest at both intermediate splits by huge margins, he knocked more than six seconds off his qualifying time to win by 7.85 seconds, a staggering margin when Minnaar had beaten him by a mere 6.32 tenths of a second in the first round. Gee Atherton (GT Factory) finished third, followed by teammate Marc Beaumont, with Cameron Cole (Lapierre International) in fifth.
"I've been looking for a run like that for some time now," said Gwin. "I couldn't be happier. I was pretty sure my quali time would hold, and even though the course here is super rough and dusty, I managed an almost clean run. Greg rode amazingly well on this track and is going to be tough competition for the remainder of the season."
Gwin and Minnaar are tied at 450 points in the World Cup standings, each with a win and a second, however, Gwin took over the series' lead by virtue of the more recent victory. Atherton is third with 315 points, followed by Beaumont at 228 and Smith with 215.
On a more serious note: everyone was thinking positive thoughts for the very popular Frenchman Cedric Gracia, in hospital with a broken leg and fractured hip after crashing into a tree earlier in the week.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing | 0:03:10.577 |
2 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:07.850 |
3 | Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 0:00:08.393 |
4 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 0:00:08.937 |
5 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre International | 0:00:09.743 |
6 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:10.318 |
7 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy-Specialized | 0:00:10.500 |
8 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 0:00:11.308 |
9 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 0:00:11.319 |
10 | Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:11.392 |
11 | Loic Bruni* (Fra) Lapierre International | 0:00:11.917 |
12 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team | 0:00:12.404 |
13 | Bernard Kerr (GBr) | 0:00:12.638 |
14 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:12.673 |
15 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Ms Mondraker Team | 0:00:12.720 |
16 | George Brannigan (NZl) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:13.947 |
17 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 0:00:14.539 |
18 | Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:15.740 |
19 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:16.016 |
20 | Mickael Pascal (Fra) Ck Racing Santacruz | 0:00:16.179 |
21 | Richard Rude Jr* (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 0:00:16.335 |
22 | Joshua Button (Aus) Sc-Intense | 0:00:16.400 |
23 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) | 0:00:16.645 |
24 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Scott11 | 0:00:16.762 |
25 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 0:00:17.253 |
26 | Florent Payet (Fra) Sc-Intense | 0:00:17.584 |
27 | Matthew Beer (Can) | 0:00:17.884 |
28 | Julien Camellini (Fra) | 0:00:17.891 |
29 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Lapierre International | 0:00:18.132 |
30 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 0:00:18.396 |
31 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team | 0:00:18.405 |
32 | Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United Ride | 0:00:18.424 |
33 | Marco Milivinti (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 0:00:18.540 |
34 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Cg Racing Brigade | 0:00:19.435 |
35 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:19.742 |
36 | Sam Dale (GBr) | 0:00:19.983 |
37 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 0:00:20.128 |
38 | Harry Molloy (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 0:00:20.787 |
39 | Yoann Barelli (Fra) | 0:00:20.900 |
40 | Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 0:00:20.952 |
41 | Connor Fearon* (Aus) Kona | 0:00:20.959 |
42 | Eliot Jackson (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 0:00:21.070 |
43 | Kyle Sangers (Can) | 0:00:21.199 |
44 | Francisco Pardal (Por) | 0:00:21.723 |
45 | Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Topcycle By Trek | 0:00:21.729 |
46 | Luke Strobel (USA) | 0:00:22.112 |
47 | Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) | 0:00:22.178 |
48 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 0:00:22.525 |
49 | Faustin Figaret (Fra) Sc-Intense | 0:00:23.005 |
50 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 0:00:23.629 |
51 | Gianluca Vernassa* (Ita) Devinci Global Racing | 0:00:23.786 |
52 | Oscar Harnstrom (Swe) Pila-Black Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd | 0:00:23.901 |
53 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 0:00:24.354 |
54 | Fraser Mcglone* (GBr) | 0:00:24.449 |
55 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 0:00:24.751 |
56 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 0:00:24.782 |
57 | Miran Vauh (Slo) | 0:00:24.878 |
58 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:25.011 |
59 | Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Dagg - Racing | 0:00:25.936 |
60 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 0:00:26.185 |
61 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 0:00:26.214 |
62 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 0:00:26.284 |
63 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:26.336 |
64 | Carlo Caire* (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team | 0:00:26.377 |
65 | Jack Reading (GBr) | 0:00:26.510 |
65 | Charly Di Pasquale (Fra) Xcytt Racing | |
67 | Arthur Parret (Fra) Passion Velo.Fr | 0:00:26.513 |
68 | Manuel Gruber (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 0:00:28.354 |
69 | Emyr Davies (GBr) | 0:00:28.933 |
70 | Dan Stanbridge (GBr) Dirt Norco Race Team | 0:00:30.540 |
71 | Matthias Stonig (Aut) | 0:00:31.270 |
72 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Pila-Black Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd | 0:00:32.317 |
73 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) Team Norco International | 0:00:33.562 |
74 | Mathias Haas (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 0:00:33.949 |
75 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Hutchinson United Ride | 0:00:36.596 |
76 | Harry Heath (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:38.409 |
77 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 0:00:38.507 |
78 | Nejc Rutar (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 0:00:43.407 |
79 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kona | 0:01:02.334 |
80 | Benjamin Torrano (Fra) | 0:01:03.694 |
DNF | Renaud Smaniotto (Fra) Passion Velo.Fr | |
DNS | Oliwer Kangas (Swe) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GT Factory Racing | 102 | pts |
2 | Lapierre International | 71 | |
3 | MS Mondraker Team | 65 | |
4 | Trek World Racing | 54 | |
5 | Scott11 | 53 | |
6 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 52 | |
7 | Devinci Global Racing | 49 | |
8 | Commencal / Riding Addiction | 35 | |
9 | Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 34 | |
10 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 26 | |
11 | Monster Energy-Specialized | 24 | |
12 | Passion Velo.Fr | 22 | |
13 | Alpine Commencal Austria | 18 | |
14 | SC-Intense | 15 | |
15 | Hutchinson United Ride | 14 | |
16 | Team Morzine - Avoriaz / Haute - Savoie | 13 | |
17 | Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 12 | |
18 | CK Racing Santacruz | 11 | |
19 | Torpado Surfing Shop | 10 | |
20 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 10 | |
21 | Team Norco International | 8 | |
22 | Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 6 | |
23 | Unior Tools Team | 3 | |
24 | Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing | 450 | pts |
2 | Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 450 | |
3 | Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 315 | |
4 | Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing | 228 | |
5 | Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing | 215 | |
6 | Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United Ride | 209 | |
7 | Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy-Specialized | 191 | |
8 | Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 165 | |
9 | Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 161 | |
10 | Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 152 | |
11 | Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing | 144 | |
12 | Damien Spagnolo (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team | 143 | |
13 | Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing | 143 | |
14 | Brook Macdonald (NZl) Ms Mondraker Team | 139 | |
15 | Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 137 | |
16 | Julien Camellini (Fra) | 133 | |
17 | Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate | 130 | |
18 | Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre International | 126 | |
19 | Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre International | 125 | |
20 | Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 124 | |
21 | Richard Rude Jr* (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 124 | |
22 | Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International | 123 | |
23 | Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Topcycle By Trek | 121 | |
24 | Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Scott11 | 118 | |
25 | Bernard Kerr (GBr) | 115 | |
26 | George Brannigan (NZl) Devinci Global Racing | 115 | |
27 | Robin Wallner (Swe) Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 109 | |
28 | Troy Brosnan (Aus) Monster Energy-Specialized | 107 | |
29 | Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 100 | |
30 | Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 98 | |
31 | Mickael Pascal (Fra) Ck Racing Santacruz | 97 | |
32 | Cédric Gracia (Fra) Cg Racing Brigade | 93 | |
33 | Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 91 | |
34 | Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 88 | |
35 | Johannes Fischbach (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team | 86 | |
36 | Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 85 | |
37 | Patrick Thome (Fra) Lapierre International | 78 | |
38 | Luke Strobel (USA) | 78 | |
39 | Harry Molloy (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 74 | |
40 | Bryn Atkinson (Aus) Team Norco International | 72 | |
41 | Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Hutchinson United Ride | 71 | |
42 | Eliot Jackson (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 69 | |
43 | Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing | 67 | |
44 | Joshua Button (Aus) Sc-Intense | 67 | |
45 | Connor Fearon* (Aus) Kona | 59 | |
46 | Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr) | 58 | |
47 | Richard Thomas (GBr) | 56 | |
48 | Florent Payet (Fra) Sc-Intense | 55 | |
49 | Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Pila-Black Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd | 55 | |
50 | Matthew Beer (Can) | 54 | |
51 | Oliver Burton (GBr) | 54 | |
52 | Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kona | 53 | |
53 | Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team | 51 | |
54 | Oscar Harnstrom (Swe) Pila-Black Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd | 50 | |
55 | Marco Milivinti (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop | 48 | |
56 | Johann Potgieter (RSA) | 48 | |
57 | Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Cg Racing Brigade | 47 | |
58 | Sam Dale (GBr) | 45 | |
59 | Duncan Riffle (USA) Dirt Norco Race Team | 45 | |
60 | Isak Leivsson (Nor) | 44 | |
61 | Yoann Barelli (Fra) | 42 | |
62 | Greg Williamson (GBr) | 42 | |
63 | Kyle Sangers (Can) | 38 | |
64 | Curtis Keene (USA) Specialized Racing - Usa Gravity | 38 | |
65 | Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 38 | |
66 | Francisco Pardal (Por) | 37 | |
67 | Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing - Usa Gravity | 37 | |
68 | Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa) | 34 | |
69 | Timothy Bentley (RSA) Hutchinson United Ride | 33 | |
70 | Miran Vauh (Slo) | 33 | |
71 | Faustin Figaret (Fra) Sc-Intense | 32 | |
72 | Jonty Neethling (RSA) | 32 | |
73 | Benny Strasser (Ger) | 31 | |
74 | Gianluca Vernassa* (Ita) Devinci Global Racing | 30 | |
75 | Alexander Kangas (Swe) | 28 | |
76 | Alex Bond (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 28 | |
77 | Emanuel Pombo (Por) | 28 | |
78 | Jack Reading (GBr) | 28 | |
79 | Fraser Mcglone* (GBr) | 27 | |
80 | Stefan Garlicki (RSA) | 27 | |
81 | Thomas Braithwaite (GBr) | 25 | |
82 | Matti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 23 | |
83 | Mathieu Gallean (Fra) Dagg - Racing | 22 | |
84 | Lars Peyer (Swi) Sc-Intense | 22 | |
85 | Lewis Buchanan (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 20 | |
86 | Harry Heath (GBr) Unior Tools Team | 20 | |
87 | Logan Binggeli (USA) | 18 | |
88 | Carlo Caire* (Ita) Argentina Bike Gravity Team | 17 | |
89 | Niklas Wallner (Swe) Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 17 | |
90 | Nejc Rutar (Slo) Unior Tools Team | 17 | |
91 | Charly Di Pasquale (Fra) Xcytt Racing | 16 | |
92 | Fergus Lamb (GBr) | 16 | |
93 | Arthur Parret (Fra) Passion Velo.Fr | 14 | |
94 | Manuel Gruber (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 13 | |
95 | Ludovic May (Swi) | 13 | |
96 | Emyr Davies (GBr) | 12 | |
97 | Dan Stanbridge (GBr) Dirt Norco Race Team | 11 | |
98 | Tommy Herrmann (Ger) | 11 | |
99 | Matthias Stonig (Aut) | 10 | |
100 | Guillaume Cauvin* (Fra) Hutchinson United Ride | 10 | |
101 | Lutz Weber (Swi) | 8 | |
102 | Mathias Haas (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 7 | |
103 | Tiaan Odendaal* (RSA) | 7 | |
104 | Benjamin Torrano (Fra) | 7 | |
105 | Jonathan Jones (GBr) | 6 | |
106 | Mark Scott (GBr) | 5 | |
107 | Kevin Aiello (USA) | 4 | |
108 | Dan Sheridan* (Irl) | 3 | |
109 | Kristoffer Haugland (Nor) | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GT Factory Racing | 145 | pts |
2 | Trek World Racing | 120 | |
3 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 118 | |
4 | MS Mondraker Team | 113 | |
5 | Hutchinson United Ride | 101 | |
6 | Devinci Global Racing | 96 | |
7 | Scott11 | 84 | |
8 | Lapierre International | 76 | |
9 | Monster Energy-Specialized | 67 | |
10 | Commencal / Riding Addiction | 55 | |
11 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 50 | |
12 | Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 43 | |
13 | Team Norco International | 41 | |
14 | SC-Intense | 37 | |
15 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 36 | |
16 | Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 35 | |
17 | Alpine Commencal Austria | 32 | |
18 | CG Racing Brigade | 26 | |
19 | Passion Velo.Fr | 22 | |
20 | Topcycle By Trek | 18 | |
21 | Team Morzine - Avoriaz / Haute - Savoie | 13 | |
22 | Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof | 12 | |
23 | CK Racing Santacruz | 11 | |
24 | Torpado Surfing Shop | 10 | |
25 | Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 9 | |
26 | Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 9 | |
27 | Unior Tools Team | 3 | |
28 | Ghost Factory Racing Team | 2 | |
29 | Kona | 1 |

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