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.
Heavy rain on the previous evening had led to concerns that the track would become muddy and treacherous, but the morning sun quickly started to dry things up, and many riders said that the rain actually made the track better than ever by race time.
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 |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1