Gwin wins Mont-Sainte-Anne downhill

Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) won the elite men's downhill World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada. He won by 1.3 seconds ahead of Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) and Danny Hart (Giant).

Although he was considered the favorite for the event by all his rivals and he won here last year, Gwin wasn't taking anything for granted. "We train to win so it's always the hope, but you never know until you cross the finish line. You just have to give it a shot."

"I felt good out there today. It was a hard run. It's one of those tracks. It's long but you just got to leave it out there. It's fun. I always like this track."

Thibaut Ruffin (Commencal / Riding Addiction) set the first fast time that would stick for awhile with a 4:23.829, which was good enough for an eventual 14th place. He contentedly settled into the hot seat and said, "My run went good. I gave everything and no big mistakes. It was fun."

Twenty seven riders later, Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) set a new best time in 4:19.161. It would net him a season's best ninth place finish.

Coming into the top 10 riders, occupants would shuffle in and out of the hot seat. Next up was Andrew Neethling (Giant) in 4:18.987. "I think I improved in a few spots that I wanted to after qualis," he said. "I felt like I was attacking the bottom. Obviously, I was a bit worn out and arms were fading. I don't feel like I lost much time. I managed to push through where I needed to. I'm happy to put in a solid one - that's where I want to be most weekends. I want to peak on the podium at a few. I need a lot of points now. I don't want to be the guy who just gets one good one every year. It's good to be up here."

Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized) immediately bumped Neethling out of the hot seat with a 4:17.631, good enough for an eventual fifth place.

"It's always good to get on the podium," said Hill. "I'd like to try to move up a few spots. The track felt boggy and soft this morning in practice. Then it dried off. I didn't ride practice yesterday and yes, the track was a bit different than qualifiers when it was dry. But you can adapt to it pretty easily.

"I think the track here flies pretty well. Even though some parts aren't as flat out as the open parts, you're just on it the whole time. It's about how fast you can go from top to bottom. There's nowhere you can get out of your rhythm."

Canadian Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) came down the mountain with a time that would net him seventh overall in front of a home crowd, but it wasn't enough for the hot seat.

Gee Atherton (GT Factory Racing) was next to set the fastest time in 4:17.082. "It was not a bad run. I'm happy enough. I pushed hard at the top and rode the bottom bit as quick as I could. I was starting to get tired at the bottom. It felt like it flowed pretty well. It's all about keeping the momentum and speed going. I felt fast. I had a bobble here and there, but it's a technical track, and it's hard to put a smooth run together."

Neither Justin Leov (Trek World Racing) nor Brook MacDonald (MS Mondraker) could go faster, so it was up to world champion Danny Hart to up the ante, which he did with a 4:16.162.

"It was hard work, but the crowds were good and I had a good run. It's such close racing now," said Hart. "Two seconds between the five of us is nothing on a track like this. Hats off to Gwin, but we'll catch him." Hart has been very consistent this season with a second at Fort William and a sixth at Val di Sole and a third here today.

"I'm up there, I just need to get two more places," said Hart, who is hungry for his first World Cup win.

Santa Cruz Syndicate's Greg Minnaar was next to top the leaderboard with a 4:15.329. "I was nervous up at the top," said Minnaar. "I've had good results here before and a lot of crashes trying to get good results, so this morning I felt like I had a good practice and I felt good on track."

"I pushed hard. I was quite loose at the top - more loose than I normally ride and coming down to the bottom, I tried to back off and be a bit smoother and I made a couple of mistakes where I was just off line. I was just disappointed. I gave it my all and pushed hard thinking that might be good enough for a win, but it's just not good enough these days. It's hard trying to figure out what it is. Second is pretty good, but we all come here to win. Aaron is killing it at the moment and it takes a lot to beat him."

Minnaar said the bottom half of his run was good after taking a lot of risks up top and blowing a corner. "I knew I had to clean up my act on the bottom half and I managed to do it. I pulled a bit of time back but it wasn't enough to take it."

What was enough to take it was Gwin's ride. "The organizers had opened up the top section. There was a bit of a headwind," said Gwin. "The top section of the track went well. I just had a mistake at the bottom. It kinda of messed me up, but I ended up pulling it together."

He led at each split down the mountain. "This place is fun. From the first practice run on Thursday, I came down with a big smile on my face. The rain made the track pretty much perfect for finals. It's a hard course to race, but a fun course to ride."

Gwin continues as World Cup leader with 900 points. "It's never easy to protect the lead. These longer tracks are tough," he said. "I'm looking forward to a shorter track next week. It's always fun racing in Windham. I have some family and a bunch of friends there."

Minnaar is in second in the World Cup with 765 points while Atherton has 640. Hart is fourth with 525 and Hill rounds out the top five with 461 points.

Race note

Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing) crashed hard on the course and did not finish the race.  He was treated onsite by medical staff and suffered no broken bones but sustained a concussion.  He does not remember the crash, and his team said they will watch him closely for the next 48 hours.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing0:04:14.022
2Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:01.307
3Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team0:00:02.140
4Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing0:00:03.060
5Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster Energy-Specialized0:00:03.609
6Brook Macdonald (NZl) MS Mondraker Team0:00:03.885
7Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing0:00:04.521
8Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team0:00:04.965
9Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre International0:00:05.139
10Justin Leov (NZl) Trek World Racing0:00:05.633
11Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre International0:00:06.015
12Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:07.502
13Patrick Thome (Fra) Lapierre International0:00:08.536
14Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction0:00:09.807
15Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United Ride0:00:09.924
16Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Scott110:00:09.925
17George Brannigan (NZl) Devinci Global Racing0:00:10.113
18Markus Pekoll (Aut) MS Mondraker Team0:00:10.207
19Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:10.648
20Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) CG Racing Brigade0:00:10.967
21Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing0:00:11.063
22Luke Strobel (USA)0:00:11.324
23Richard Rude Jr° (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team0:00:12.011
24Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Topcycle By Trek0:00:12.148
25Damien Spagnolo (Fra) MS Mondraker Team0:00:12.205
26Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Kona0:00:12.232
27Bernard Kerr (GBr)0:00:12.752
28Connor Fearon° (Aus) Kona0:00:12.767
29Bryn Atkinson (Aus) Team Norco International0:00:13.075
30Lorenzo Suding (Ita) Pila-BlaCK Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd0:00:13.683
31Eliot Jackson (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team0:00:13.925
32Harry Heath (GBr) Unior Tools Team0:00:14.004
33Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:14.047
34Oscar Harnstrom (Swe) Pila-BlaCK Arrows-Mtb Herin School Asd0:00:14.094
35Dan Stanbridge (GBr) Dirt Norco Race Team0:00:14.103
36Mickael Pascal (Fra) CK Racing Santacruz0:00:14.143
37Matthew Beer (Can)0:00:14.190
38Austin Warren° (USA)0:00:14.706
39Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra)0:00:14.922
40Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace0:00:15.222
41Nejc Rutar (Slo) Unior Tools Team0:00:15.279
42Florent Payet (Fra) SC-Intense0:00:15.869
43Adam Brayton (GBr)0:00:15.961
44Jack Moir° (Aus)0:00:16.087
45Mitch Ropelato (USA) Monster Energy-Specialized0:00:16.237
46Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team0:00:16.243
47Jono Jones° (GBr)0:00:17.362
48Cody Warren (USA)0:00:17.779
49Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team0:00:18.084
50Harry Molloy (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team0:00:18.631
51Lewis Buchanan (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:18.817
52Greg Williamson (GBr)0:00:19.291
53Dennis Dertell (Swe) Team 23 Degrees0:00:19.402
54Kyle Sangers (Can)0:00:19.419
55Kieran Bennett (NZl)0:00:19.966
56Guillaume Cauvin° (Fra) Hutchinson United Ride0:00:20.074
57Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) CK Racing Santacruz0:00:20.244
58Duncan Riffle (USA) Dirt Norco Race Team0:00:20.292
59Dean Lucas° (Aus)0:00:20.447
60Jack Reading (GBr)0:00:20.861
61Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing0:00:21.404
62Benny Strasser (Ger)0:00:21.447
63Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria0:00:21.647
64Ludovic May (Swi)0:00:23.557
65Oliver Burton (GBr)0:00:23.909
66Rob Fraser (Can)0:00:24.751
67Kazuki Shimizu (Jpn)0:00:26.132
68Mark Scott (GBr)0:00:26.820
69Benjamin Verrier (Fra)0:00:27.310
70Junya Nagata (Jpn)0:00:28.194
71Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:28.428
72Mark Wallace° (Can)0:00:47.660
73Joshua Button (Aus) SC-Intense0:00:55.192
74Charly Di Pasquale (Fra) Xcytt Racing0:02:31.116
75Sam Dale (GBr)0:02:45.108
76Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team0:03:23.751
77Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr)0:05:46.368
78Hans Lambert (Can) Lehikoinen Matti0:08:26.295
DNFMatti Lehikoinen (Fin) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / NukeproofRow 78 - Cell 2
DNFNeko Mulally (USA) Trek World RacingRow 79 - Cell 2
DNSJoe Connell° (GBr)Row 80 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Teams
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1GT Factory Racing80pts
2MS Mondraker Team69Row 1 - Cell 3
3Trek World Racing61Row 2 - Cell 3
4Lapierre International60Row 3 - Cell 3
5Giant Factory Off-Road Team55Row 4 - Cell 3
6Santa Cruz Syndicate54Row 5 - Cell 3
7Commencal / Riding Addiction52Row 6 - Cell 3
8Scott1141Row 7 - Cell 3
9Devinci Global Racing38Row 8 - Cell 3
10Hutchinson United Ride34Row 9 - Cell 3
11Monster Energy-Specialized28Row 10 - Cell 3
12Team Norco International18Row 11 - Cell 3
13Alpine Commencal Austria12Row 12 - Cell 3
14Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof12Row 13 - Cell 3
15CG Racing Brigade11Row 14 - Cell 3
16Passion Velo.Fr10Row 15 - Cell 3
17Madison Saracen Downhill Team8Row 16 - Cell 3
18Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team8Row 17 - Cell 3
19Kona8Row 18 - Cell 3
20Topcycle By Trek7Row 19 - Cell 3
21SC-Intense6Row 20 - Cell 3
22Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team5Row 21 - Cell 3
23Unior Tools Team3Row 22 - Cell 3
24Pila-BlaCK Arrows-MTBHerin School Asd1Row 23 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
World cup individual standings after four rounds
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Aaron Gwin (USA)900pts
2Greg Minnaar (RSA)765Row 1 - Cell 3
3Gee Atherton (GBr)640Row 2 - Cell 3
4Danny Hart (GBr)525Row 3 - Cell 3
5Samuel Hill (Aus)461Row 4 - Cell 3
6Steve Smith (Can)410Row 5 - Cell 3
7Marc Beaumont (GBr)367Row 6 - Cell 3
8Michael Hannah (Aus)354Row 7 - Cell 3
9Josh Bryceland (GBr)341Row 8 - Cell 3
10Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl)301Row 9 - Cell 3
11Justin Leov (NZl)301Row 10 - Cell 3
12Andrew Neethling (RSA)300Row 11 - Cell 3
13Cameron Cole (NZl)296Row 12 - Cell 3
14Brook Macdonald (NZl)286Row 13 - Cell 3
15George Brannigan (NZl)258Row 14 - Cell 3
16Matthew Simmonds (GBr)257Row 15 - Cell 3
17Damien Spagnolo (Fra)249Row 16 - Cell 3
18Brendan Fairclough (GBr)245Row 17 - Cell 3
19Rémi Thirion (Fra)242Row 18 - Cell 3
20Joseph Smith (GBr)233Row 19 - Cell 3
21Richard Rude Jr° (USA)230Row 20 - Cell 3
22Nick Beer (Swi)227Row 21 - Cell 3
23Patrick Thome (Fra)218Row 22 - Cell 3
24Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra)214Row 23 - Cell 3
25Luke Strobel (USA)212Row 24 - Cell 3
26Loic Bruni° (Fra)199Row 25 - Cell 3
27Pierre Charles Georges (Fra)194Row 26 - Cell 3
28Mickael Pascal (Fra)189Row 27 - Cell 3
29Bryn Atkinson (Aus)185Row 28 - Cell 3
30Bernard Kerr (GBr)169Row 29 - Cell 3
31Julien Camellini (Fra)167Row 30 - Cell 3
32Steve Peat (GBr)166Row 31 - Cell 3
33Mitchell Delfs (Aus)165Row 32 - Cell 3
34Thibaut Ruffin (Fra)158Row 33 - Cell 3
35Connor Fearon° (Aus)155Row 34 - Cell 3
36Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col)149Row 35 - Cell 3
37Jared Graves (Aus)142Row 36 - Cell 3
38Sam Dale (GBr)141Row 37 - Cell 3
39Johannes Fischbach (Ger)137Row 38 - Cell 3
40Greg Williamson (GBr)135Row 39 - Cell 3
41Markus Pekoll (Aut)126Row 40 - Cell 3
42Robin Wallner (Swe)125Row 41 - Cell 3
43Eliot Jackson (USA)119Row 42 - Cell 3
44Oscar Harnstrom (Swe)118Row 43 - Cell 3
45Florent Payet (Fra)114Row 44 - Cell 3
46Richard Thomas (GBr)112Row 45 - Cell 3
47Joshua Button (Aus)108Row 46 - Cell 3
48Lewis Buchanan (GBr)108Row 47 - Cell 3
49Matthew Beer (Can)108Row 48 - Cell 3
50Duncan Riffle (USA)108Row 49 - Cell 3
51Troy Brosnan (Aus)107Row 50 - Cell 3
52Lorenzo Suding (Ita)106Row 51 - Cell 3
53Harry Molloy (GBr)105Row 52 - Cell 3
54Ziga Pandur (Slo)98Row 53 - Cell 3
55Oliver Burton (GBr)96Row 54 - Cell 3
56Fabien Cousinie (Fra)95Row 55 - Cell 3
57Cédric Gracia (Fra)93Row 56 - Cell 3
58Jack Reading (GBr)91Row 57 - Cell 3
59Ben Reid (Irl)89Row 58 - Cell 3
60Marcus Klausmann (Ger)88Row 59 - Cell 3
61Nejc Rutar (Slo)88Row 60 - Cell 3
62Alexander Kangas (Swe)78Row 61 - Cell 3
63Neko Mulally (USA)75Row 62 - Cell 3
64Harry Heath (GBr)75Row 63 - Cell 3
65Fraser Mcglone° (GBr)73Row 64 - Cell 3
66Mitch Ropelato (USA)73Row 65 - Cell 3
67Matti Lehikoinen (Fin)67Row 66 - Cell 3
68Kyle Sangers (Can)65Row 67 - Cell 3
69Ruaridh Cunningham (GBr)62Row 68 - Cell 3
70Dan Stanbridge (GBr)57Row 69 - Cell 3
71Thomas Braithwaite (GBr)57Row 70 - Cell 3
72Francisco Pardal (Por)56Row 71 - Cell 3
73Filip Polc (Svk)55Row 72 - Cell 3
74Benny Strasser (Ger)50Row 73 - Cell 3
75Marco Milivinti (Ita)48Row 74 - Cell 3
76Johann Potgieter (RSA)48Row 75 - Cell 3
77Cyrille Kurtz (Fra)47Row 76 - Cell 3
78Dan Atherton (GBr)45Row 77 - Cell 3
79Boris Tetzlaff (Aut)45Row 78 - Cell 3
80Isak Leivsson (Nor)44Row 79 - Cell 3
81Austin Warren° (USA)43Row 80 - Cell 3
82Mark Scott (GBr)43Row 81 - Cell 3
83Fabien Pedemanaud (Fra)42Row 82 - Cell 3
84Yoann Barelli (Fra)42Row 83 - Cell 3
85Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa)41Row 84 - Cell 3
86Jono Jones° (GBr)40Row 85 - Cell 3
87Adam Brayton (GBr)38Row 86 - Cell 3
88Curtis Keene (USA)38Row 87 - Cell 3
89Nico Vink (Bel)38Row 88 - Cell 3
90Jack Moir° (Aus)37Row 89 - Cell 3
91Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa)37Row 90 - Cell 3
92Alex Bond (GBr)37Row 91 - Cell 3
93Lars Vatnebryn Sandviken (Nor)35Row 92 - Cell 3
94Guillaume Cauvin° (Fra)35Row 93 - Cell 3
95Mathieu Gallean (Fra)35Row 94 - Cell 3
96Cody Warren (USA)33Row 95 - Cell 3
97Timothy Bentley (RSA)33Row 96 - Cell 3
98Miran Vauh (Slo)33Row 97 - Cell 3
99Faustin Figaret (Fra)32Row 98 - Cell 3
100Jonty Neethling (RSA)32Row 99 - Cell 3
101Niklas Wallner (Swe)31Row 100 - Cell 3
102Gianluca Vernassa° (Ita)30Row 101 - Cell 3
103Ralph Jones (GBr)30Row 102 - Cell 3
104Ludovic May (Swi)30Row 103 - Cell 3
105Joe Barnes (GBr)29Row 104 - Cell 3
106Dennis Dertell (Swe)28Row 105 - Cell 3
107Emanuel Pombo (Por)28Row 106 - Cell 3
108Stefan Garlicki (RSA)27Row 107 - Cell 3
109Kieran Bennett (NZl)26Row 108 - Cell 3
110Charly Di Pasquale (Fra)23Row 109 - Cell 3
111Dean Lucas° (Aus)22Row 110 - Cell 3
112Lars Peyer (Swi)22Row 111 - Cell 3
113Scott Mears (GBr)22Row 112 - Cell 3
114Logan Binggeli (USA)18Row 113 - Cell 3
115Thomas Jeandin (Swi)18Row 114 - Cell 3
116Carlo Caire° (Ita)17Row 115 - Cell 3
117Phil Atwill° (GBr)17Row 116 - Cell 3
118Fergus Lamb (GBr)16Row 117 - Cell 3
119Rob Fraser (Can)15Row 118 - Cell 3
120Kazuki Shimizu (Jpn)14Row 119 - Cell 3
121Arthur Parret (Fra)14Row 120 - Cell 3
122Manuel Gruber (Aut)13Row 121 - Cell 3
123Benjamin Verrier (Fra)12Row 122 - Cell 3
124Emyr Davies (GBr)12Row 123 - Cell 3
125Junya Nagata (Jpn)11Row 124 - Cell 3
126Edgar Carballo Gonzalez (Spa)11Row 125 - Cell 3
127Tommy Herrmann (Ger)11Row 126 - Cell 3
128Matthias Stonig (Aut)10Row 127 - Cell 3
129Mark Wallace° (Can)9Row 128 - Cell 3
130Gaetan Ruffin (Fra)8Row 129 - Cell 3
131Lutz Weber (Swi)8Row 130 - Cell 3
132Mathias Haas (Aut)7Row 131 - Cell 3
133Tiaan° Odendaal (RSA)7Row 132 - Cell 3
134Benjamin Torrano (Fra)7Row 133 - Cell 3
135Kevin Aiello (USA)4Row 134 - Cell 3
136Dan Sheridan° (Irl)3Row 135 - Cell 3
137Hans Lambert (Can)3Row 136 - Cell 3
138Kristoffer Haugland (Nor)2Row 137 - Cell 3
Swipe to scroll horizontally
World Cup team standings after four rounds
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1GT Factory Racing292pts
2Santa Cruz Syndicate226Row 1 - Cell 3
3MS Mondraker Team222Row 2 - Cell 3
4Trek World Racing221Row 3 - Cell 3
5Lapierre International191Row 4 - Cell 3
6Hutchinson United Ride171Row 5 - Cell 3
7Devinci Global Racing169Row 6 - Cell 3
8Scott11162Row 7 - Cell 3
9Giant Factory Off-Road Team158Row 8 - Cell 3
10Commencal / Riding Addiction137Row 9 - Cell 3
11Monster Energy-Specialized125Row 10 - Cell 3
12Team Norco International82Row 11 - Cell 3
13Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof78Row 12 - Cell 3
14Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team68Row 13 - Cell 3
15Passion Velo.Fr50Row 14 - Cell 3
16Alpine Commencal Austria46Row 15 - Cell 3
17Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team44Row 16 - Cell 3
18Madison Saracen Downhill Team43Row 17 - Cell 3
19SC-Intense43Row 18 - Cell 3
20CG Racing Brigade37Row 19 - Cell 3
21Team Morzine - Avoriaz / Haute - Savoie27Row 20 - Cell 3
22Topcycle By Trek25Row 21 - Cell 3
23Kona16Row 22 - Cell 3
24Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace12Row 23 - Cell 3
25CK Racing Santacruz11Row 24 - Cell 3
26Unior Tools Team10Row 25 - Cell 3
27Torpado Surfing Shop10Row 26 - Cell 3
28Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing9Row 27 - Cell 3
29Dirt Norco Race Team4Row 28 - Cell 3
30Ghost Factory Racing Team3Row 29 - Cell 3
31Pila-BlaCK Arrows-MTBHerin School Asd1Row 30 - Cell 3

 

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