Atherton tops Hannah and Ragot in Windham

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Round five of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in Windham, New York gave Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) her third victory in four races, and she claimed the overall leader's jersey, despite a controversial decision not to disqualify her for exiting the course.

The hot, dry conditions that have turned the track into a dusty, loose and fast run all week, persisted for race day. The short, sub-three-minute run meant that there was no margin for error, and a few riders either flatted or crashed out of contention as they pushed the limits.

Third ranked Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Riding Addiction) started uncharacteristically early after crashing in qualifying, and set the first sub-three minute time for the women. It would stand up until the final five women, when it was beaten by four riders. First, Emilie Seigenthaler (Scott 11) knocked 1.3 seconds off. American champion Jill Kintner (Norco International) was next, but crashed out, breaking her arm. Then Tracey Hannah, winner of round one, rode and took over the Hot Seat, two seconds faster than Seigenthaler.

"I've been struggling on some of the longer course, as I get used to racing those distances again," said Hannah. "This shorter, fast course was more to my liking."

However, World Cup leader Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) was right behind her, and looked to be on a good run, over three seconds ahead by the second split time. Unfortunately for Ragot, she was hit by a crosswind on the final jump, crashing within sight of the finish line, pushing her behind Hannah after she ran across the line, dragging her bike.

Atherton, the fastest qualifier, was last to ride. The British rider was fastest at both splits but then almost crashed herself after a jump, due to the wind which blew her sideways while she was in the air. The GT rider remarkably managed to avoid going down, fishtailing off the course before recovering without coming to a stop. She managed to finish a slim 0.262 seconds ahead of Hannah.

This set up a controversy: Atherton clearly did not re-enter the course where she had exited it, which traditionally has meant disqualification. However, the rules were changed in recent years, allowing the Commissaire President to avoid disqualifying a rider if he or she did not gain an advantage.

It was clear that Atherton had not gained an advantage, but for Ragot's MS Mondraker team, it left a bitter taste when it lost the leader's jersey over what they felt was an incorrect interpretation of the regulations.

"When I crossed the line I didn't even think that I'd be disqualified," said Atherton. "I celebrated and then they said we're not sure if the commissaire is ok. So we waited and waited. Everyone kept saying 'Yah you have the win'. It kind of puts a dampener on things, but at the end of the day the commissaires were ok with it. I lost all my time, I was two seconds up at the split, and I lost all that time, so it's the commissaire's decision."

"It has been an amazing season so far. The girls are getting so fast. Emmeline is on fire and she pushes me on. I have to step my game up every race. It is exciting to have everyone going so fast."

Atherton takes over the World Cup lead after five rounds with 950 points, 30 points in front of Ragot. Nicole continues to hold third with 751 points, followed by Hannah at 732.

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