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Rachel Atherton wins Hafjell downhill World Cup

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British star continues to lead World Cup overall

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Tahnee Seagrave (Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles)

Tahnee Seagrave (Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) on her way to winning the Hafjell World Cup

Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) on her way to winning the Hafjell World Cup (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic)

Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Riding Addiction)

Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Riding Addiction) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Downhill Team)

Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Downhill Team) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Morgane Charre (MS Mondraker Team)

Morgane Charre (MS Mondraker Team) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Elite women's downhill podium at Hafjell World Cup: Morgane Charre, Manon Carpenter, Rachel Atherton, Myriam Nicole, Emmeline Ragot

Elite women's downhill podium at Hafjell World Cup: Morgane Charre, Manon Carpenter, Rachel Atherton, Myriam Nicole, Emmeline Ragot (Image credit: Tour of Japan)

Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) raced to victory in the Hafjell, Norway round of the UCI World Cup downhill on Sunday, with a time of 4:09.900. Her nearest competition was 7.631 seconds back: Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Downhill Team). Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Riding Addiction), Morgane Charre (MS Mondraker Team) and Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic) completed the podium.

Favorites Emilie Siegenthaler (Gstaad-Scott) and Jill Kintner (Norco) both crashed on a rocky corner that caused many of the women trouble in the final. With rain, the rocky course was extremely slippery.

Eventual second place finisher Carpenter set a time that looked like it might hold up, but fastest qualifier Atherton, a fellow Brit, blew past it. French woman Nicole put up a good run, but could not beat Carpenter.

Ragot blazed the top part of the course, but made a mistake up top and would end up fifth.

Atherton set the tone for her run by being six seconds up after the first split. She increased her margin by a bit by the end.

"I was so nervous before the race. We had two runs before the race and it was wet," said Atherton. "It rained, and it was lethal - so slippery. I had a few wild moments and thought I was going down. I didn't know how fast I could and I just held on."

"I was struggling with the place the other girls crashed, even in the dry. I didn't slow down enough and had a massive slide, but I held it upright. The crowd went crazy and I thought maybe I was doing well."

Atherton leads the World Cup with one round remaining. Her nearest rival, Ragot, could still overtake her.

"Emmeline is right behind me and she gets faster and faster as the year goes on," said Atherton. "It's amazing. The girls are all pushing so hard. I don't know if I've gotten it sewn up. The last round, everyone wants to win and it's going to be fast."

Race note

Floriane Pugin (Gstaad-Scott) did not compete after crashing in training and separating her A-C joint in her shoulder.

Full Results

Elite women downhill
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rachel Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing0:04:09.900
2Manon Carpenter (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team0:00:07.631
3Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction0:00:08.081
4Morgane Charre (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team0:00:08.436
5Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic0:00:09.778
6Anita Ager-Wick (Nor)0:00:17.473
7Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR0:00:19.584
8Casey Brown (Can) Dirt Norco Race Team0:00:21.451
9Miranda Miller (Can)0:00:22.542
10Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Gstaad-Scott0:00:22.887
11Zarja Cernilogar (Slo) Blackthorn GT0:00:32.500
12Tahnee Seagrave° (GBr) Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles0:00:36.047
13Claire Buchar (Can)0:00:39.768
14Alanna Columb (NZl)0:00:44.150
15Martina Bruehlmann (Swi)0:00:49.867
16Fiona Ourdouillie° (Fra) US Cagnes VTT0:00:50.459
17Miriam Ruchti (Swi) SC Intense0:00:51.003
18Josefine Björkman (Swe)0:00:54.368
DNFJill Kintner (USA) Team Norco International
DNSVaea Verbeeck (Can)

Teams
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Giant Factory Off-Road Team91pts
2GT Factory Racing72
3Santa Cruz Syndicate71
4Devinci Global Racing58
5Lapierre Gravity Republic52
6Madison Saracen Downhill Team40
7Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof39
8Commencal / Riding Addiction38
9Specialized Racing DH33
10Gstaad-Scott32
11MS Mondraker Team26
12Pivot Factory Team22
13Team W-Racing22
14Hutchinson UR21
15Trek World Racing20
16Dirt Norco Race Team16
17RRP Ghost14
18Evil Vengeance Tour14
19Blackthorn GT10
20Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles9
21Unior Tools Team6
22US Cagnes VTT5
23SC Intense4
24Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team2
25Evil Ck Racing Evian1

Elite women downhill World Cup standings with one round remaining
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rachel Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing1085pts
2Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic925
3Manon Carpenter (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team880
4Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction683
5Morgane Charre (Fra) Ms Mondraker Team636
6Floriane Pugin (Fra) Gstaad-Scott580
7Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Gstaad-Scott451
8Tahnee Seagrave° (GBr) Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles291
9Jill Kintner (USA) Team Norco International241
10Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR236
11Fionn Griffiths (GBr)205
12Anita Ager-Wick (Nor)195
13Zarja Cernilogar (Slo) Blackthorn GT195
14Casey Brown (Can) Dirt Norco Race Team175
15Micayla Gatto (Can)175
16Jessica Stone (GBr) Unior Tools Team100
17Alanna Columb (NZl)85
18Miriam Ruchti (Swi) SC Intense85
19Vaea Verbeeck (Can)75
20Mélanie Pugin (Fra) Team Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie75
21Miranda Miller (Can)70
22Mio Suemasa (Jpn) Japan60
23Alia Marcellini* (Ita) Italy55
24Fiona Ourdouillie° (Fra) US Cagnes VTT55
25Claire Buchar (Can)52
26Petra Bernhard (Aut) Rrp Ghost50
27Jana Bartova (Cze) Czech Republic35
28Martina Bruehlmann (Swi)35
29Jaime Hill (Can)30
30Kristen Courtney (Can)25
31Rebecca Gardner (USA)20
32Alison Zimmer (USA)15
33Jacqueline Harmony (USA)15
34Marianne Ruud° (Nor)15
35Josefine Björkman (Swe)15
36Rachael Walker (GBr)10
37Severine Cigana (Fra) US Cagnes VTT10
38Taylor Allison° (USA)5

Teams World Cup standings with one round remaining
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1GT Factory Racing408pts
2Lapierre Gravity Republic335
3Giant Factory Off-Road Team270
4Santa Cruz Syndicate261
5Gstaad-Scott255
6Commencal / Riding Addiction222
7Devinci Global Racing218
8Specialized Racing DH214
9Madison Saracen Downhill Team195
10Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof184
11MS Mondraker Team162
12Trek World Racing135
13Hutchinson UR115
14Evil Vengeance Tour81
15Fmd Racing / Intense Cycles55
16Team Norco International54
17Pivot Factory Team51
18Evil Ck Racing Evian46
19GT / 360 Degrees40
20RRP Ghost39
21Blackthorn GT39
22Dirt Norco Race Team36
23Topcycle By Trek34
24SC Intense29
25Unior Tools Team27
26Team W-Racing22
27Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team21
28Team Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie15
29US Cagnes VTT13
30Torpado Surfing Shop11
31Kona10
32Team Bulls - DH9

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