Australian champion Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) marked her return to international downhill competition with a win in the opening round of the UCI Montain Bike World Cup on Sunday in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
The women's field lost two top contenders even before racing started, with Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) crashing the day before and injuring her shoulder, and Sabrina Jonnier (Labyrinth Shimano) crashing on racing day morning and suffering a leg injury.
However, there was never any doubt who the fastest rider was; Hannah qualified first by an impressive three and a half second margin, and took the win by nearly a second over the 2011 junior World Cup champion, Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen).
World champion Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) was a distant third, nearly three seconds in arrears, while former four cross world champion Jill Kintner (Team Norco) took fourth, for her first ever downhill podium appearance.
Hannah, who has been away from the World Cup circuit for four years and is a former junior World Champion, said, "It has always been my intention to come back, it just took a few years. This was more of a test race for me, to see where I was, and I didn't know what to expect. I'm in pain, but it is good pain. I am so exhausted. I'm happy, and extremely satisfied. I just can't believe it, it is so amazing."
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United Ride | 0:04:33.806 |
| 2 | Manon Carpenter (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 0:00:00.949 |
| 3 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) MS Mondraker Team | 0:00:02.810 |
| 4 | Jill Kintner (USA) Team Norco International | 0:00:08.492 |
| 5 | Miriam Ruchti (Swi) SC-Intense | 0:00:10.896 |
| 6 | Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott11 | 0:00:11.402 |
| 7 | Anita Molcik (Aut) | 0:00:12.123 |
| 8 | De Souza Oliveira (Bra) | 0:00:14.385 |
| 9 | Petra Bernhard (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 0:00:15.112 |
| 10 | Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 0:00:17.275 |
| 11 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) | 0:00:18.065 |
| 12 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) | 0:00:18.557 |
| 13 | Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) | 0:00:27.356 |
| 14 | Martina Bruehlmann (Swi) | 0:00:28.002 |
| 15 | Caroline Sax (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 0:00:33.423 |
| 16 | Gabriela Williams (Cze) CG Racing Brigade | 0:00:34.377 |
| 17 | Zarja Cernilogar (Slo) | 0:00:46.668 |
| 18 | Tamara Maria Ulrich (Aut) | 0:01:24.564 |
| DNS | Floriane Pugin (Fra) Scott11 | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hutchinson United Ride | 87 | pts |
| 2 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 66 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Trek World Racing | 66 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | MS Mondraker Team | 48 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Devinci Global Racing | 47 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | GT Factory Racing | 43 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Monster Energy-Specialized | 43 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 35 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Team Norco International | 33 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Scott11 | 31 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 26 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | CG Racing Brigade | 26 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 24 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | SC-Intense | 22 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Commencal / Riding Addiction | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Topcycle By Trek | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Alpine Commencal Austria | 14 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 9 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 6 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Lapierre International | 5 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 3 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Ghost Factory Racing Team | 2 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Kona | 1 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tracey Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United Ride | 250 | pts |
| 2 | Emmeline Ragot (Fra) MS Mondraker Team | 180 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Manon Carpenter (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 165 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Jill Kintner (USA) Team Norco International | 145 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Miriam Ruchti (Swi) SC-Intense | 122 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Scott11 | 105 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Luana Maria De Souza Oliveira (Bra) | 84 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Anita Molcik (Aut) | 80 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction | 71 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Petra Bernhard (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria | 60 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Mio Suemasa (Jpn) | 50 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Fionn Griffiths (GBr) | 45 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Harriet Rucknagel (Ger) | 40 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Martina Bruehlmann (Swi) | 35 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Caroline Sax (Fra) Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 30 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Floriane Pugin (Fra) Scott11 | 30 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Gabriela Williams (Cze) CG Racing Brigade | 25 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 25 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Zarja Cernilogar (Slo) | 20 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Tamara Maria Ulrich (Aut) | 15 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hutchinson United Ride | 87 | pts |
| 2 | Santa Cruz Syndicate | 66 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Trek World Racing | 66 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | MS Mondraker Team | 48 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Devinci Global Racing | 47 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | GT Factory Racing | 43 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Monster Energy-Specialized | 43 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Madison Saracen Downhill Team | 35 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Team Norco International | 33 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Scott11 | 31 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team | 26 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | CG Racing Brigade | 26 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Giant Factory Off-Road Team | 24 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | SC-Intense | 22 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Commencal / Riding Addiction | 20 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Topcycle By Trek | 18 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Alpine Commencal Austria | 14 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Labyrinth Shimano Racing Team | 9 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Team Lac Blanc / Solid / Batibois Alsace | 6 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Lapierre International | 5 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Team Are Bikepark By W-Racing | 3 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Ghost Factory Racing Team | 2 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Kona | 1 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
-
All about Remco: Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe field notably experienced squad to back rookie Evenepoel in Sunday's Tour of Flanders
Knowledgeable Classics racer Gianni Vermeersch likely to play key support role -
'Being a little sneaky' with smart teamwork, Kristen Faulkner starts her European season at Tour of Flanders and says EF Education-Oatly 'can surprise the field'
Full recovery from 2025 shoulder surgery proven with three gold medals on road and track at Pan American Championships and Ardennes Classics next on calendar -
'I'm just at the level I want to be' – Lotte Kopecky says she 'doesn't really care' whether rivals view her as Tour of Flanders frontrunner
SD Worx-Protime leader full of confidence as she speaks to the media three days before chasing more history in the highlight of the Flemish spring -
'We know we are able to win' – Pauline Ferrand-Prévot returns to Tour of Flanders as a firm favourite after 'unexpected' success in 2025
Frenchwoman has set De Ronde as a big goal for 2026 and Visma-Lease a Bike say they're ready to race for victory
