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Thirion triumphs in men's downhill World Cup at Vallnord

Runner-up Gee Atherton remains World Cup leader

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Sam Hill (Team CRC / Nukeproof)

Sam Hill (Team CRC / Nukeproof)
(Image credit: Chain Reaction Cycles / Fraser Britton)
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Sam Hill (Team CRC / Nukeproof) on his way to the podium in Andorra

Sam Hill (Team CRC / Nukeproof) on his way to the podium in Andorra
(Image credit: Chain Reaction Cycles / Fraser Britton)
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Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction

Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Men's downhill podium (L-R): Steve Smith, Gee Atherton, Rémi Thirion, Samuel Hill, Troy Brosnan

Men's downhill podium (L-R): Steve Smith, Gee Atherton, Rémi Thirion, Samuel Hill, Troy Brosnan
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Large crowds at the Andorra World Cup

Large crowds at the Andorra World Cup
(Image credit: Eduard Aguilera)
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Remi Thiron on his way to winning his first downhill World Cup

Remi Thiron on his way to winning his first downhill World Cup
(Image credit: Eduard Aguilera)
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Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate

Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing

Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate

Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Brendan Fairclough (GBr) GSTAAD-Scott

Brendan Fairclough (GBr) GSTAAD-Scott
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing

Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team

Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team

Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH

Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing

Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing

Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH

Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Faustin Figaret (Fra) Topcycle By Trek

Faustin Figaret (Fra) Topcycle By Trek
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Richard Rude Jr (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team

Richard Rude Jr (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Luke Strobel (USA) Evil Vengeance Tour

Luke Strobel (USA) Evil Vengeance Tour
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing DH

Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing DH
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Cédric Gracia (Fra) CG Racing Brigade in his last World Cup race

Cédric Gracia (Fra) CG Racing Brigade in his last World Cup race
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
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Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof

Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof
(Image credit: Tour of Japan)

Rémi Thirion (Commencal / Riding Addiction) won the first downhill World Cup of his career on Sunday in Vallnord, Andorra. Gee Atherton (GT Factory Racing) and Sam Hill (Chain Reaction Cycles / Nukeproof) rounded out the top three.

Among the 80 riders to compete in the finals, there were no initial surprises. Once the favorites got their turn, Aaron Gwin (Specialized DH) set the fastest time, but he did not get to enjoy the hot seat for long.

Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) took it over and held it until Thirion crossed the line. The eventual winner had been fifth in qualifying and bettered Smith's time in the final run by two seconds.

"Incredible. First podium for me and first win," said Thirion. "I was hoping to be in the top 10."

Atherton was among the favorites, and he had the fastest first intermediate split, but a few mistakes in the final part cost him the race, and he finished second. However, the result helped him strengthen his spot in the World Cup overall.

Hill looked at one point like he might get his first World Cup win since 2009, but he, too, lost time in the final section. Racers were clearly tired at this point.

The podium was completed by Smith, who is second in the World Cup overall standings, and Troy Brosnan.

With the World Cup completed, Vallnord, Andorra officially announced that it was putting in a bid to host the 2015 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

Racer Cédric Gracia announced his retirement at the event.

Full Results

Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction0:04:13.666
2Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing0:00:01.350
3Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:01.756
4Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing0:00:02.273
5Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH0:00:02.476
6Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:02.549
7Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team0:00:02.975
8Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic0:00:03.548
9Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team0:00:03.979
10Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH0:00:04.376
11Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:05.171
12Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre Gravity Republic0:00:05.214
13Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Gstaad-Scott0:00:05.844
14Faustin Figaret (Fra) Topcycle By Trek0:00:06.543
15Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing0:00:06.836
16Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing0:00:07.078
17Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team0:00:07.335
18Francisco Pardal (Por) Evil Vengeance Tour0:00:07.377
19Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa)0:00:07.526
20Patrick Thome (Fra) Gstaad-Scott0:00:07.748
21Sam Dale (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team0:00:08.208
22Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing0:00:08.536
23Lorenzo Suding (Ita) GT / 360 Degrees0:00:08.587
24Bernard Kerr (GBr) Pivot Factory Team0:00:09.173
25Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) Evil Vengeance Tour0:00:09.364
26Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR0:00:09.567
27Guillaume Cauvin (Fra) Hutchinson UR0:00:10.330
28Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:10.669
29George Brannigan (NZl) Trek World Racing0:00:10.711
30Adam Brayton (GBr)0:00:11.597
31Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team0:00:11.822
32Luke Strobel (USA) Evil Vengeance Tour0:00:11.841
33Greg Williamson (GBr) Trek World Racing0:00:12.739
34Connor Fearon (Aus) Kona0:00:12.937
35Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa)0:00:13.174
36Harry Heath (GBr)0:00:13.317
37Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing DH0:00:13.589
38Jack Reading (GBr)0:00:13.616
39Matthew Walker (NZl)0:00:13.785
40Florent Payet (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian0:00:13.956
41Harry Molloy (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team0:00:13.969
42Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Evil Vengeance Tour0:00:14.517
43Joe Connell (GBr) SC Intense0:00:15.610
44Robin Wallner (Swe) Team W-Racing0:00:15.672
45Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team0:00:15.918
46Wyn Masters (NZl) Team Bulls - DH0:00:16.330
47Richard° Rude Jr (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team0:00:16.396
48Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team0:00:16.724
49Filip Polc (Svk) Evil Vengeance Tour0:00:17.339
50Remi Gauvin (Can)0:00:17.557
51Jack Moir (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team0:00:18.248
52Iago Garay Tamayo (Spa)0:00:18.882
53Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate0:00:19.637
54Christopher Mcglinchey (Irl)0:00:19.988
55Benoit Coulanges (Fra) Roc VTT Oz En Oisans0:00:20.612
56Mickael Pascal (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian0:00:21.082
57Florian Arthus (Fra)0:00:21.150
58David Mcmillan (Aus)0:00:21.205
59Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing0:00:21.441
60Alexis Pujol (Fra)0:00:21.530
61Guy Gibbs (Nor)0:00:21.764
62Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof0:00:22.540
63Terje Nylende (Nor)0:00:23.151
64Guillem Jorba Prats (Spa)0:00:24.066
65Melvin Pons (Fra) US Cagnes VTT0:00:24.361
66Johannes Fischbach (Ger) RRP Ghost0:00:24.548
67James Swinden (GBr)0:00:26.455
68Cédric Gracia (Fra) Cg Racing Brigade0:00:26.762
69Peter Williams (GBr)0:00:28.194
70Baptiste Pierron (Fra)0:00:28.521
71Carlo Caire (Ita)0:00:30.079
72Ludovic Oget (Fra)0:00:33.206
73David Trummer (Aut) RRP Ghost0:00:40.946
74Bryn Dickerson (NZl)0:00:41.521
75Romain Paulhan (Fra)0:00:44.564
76Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria0:01:08.320
77Mathew Stuttard (GBr)0:01:10.064
78Kyle Sangers (Can)0:02:29.741
79Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian0:02:40.266
DNFAlexander Kangas (Swe)
DNFCameron Cole (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team

Teams
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1GT Factory Racing91pts
2Commencal / Riding Addiction70
3Lapierre Gravity Republic68
4Giant Factory Off-Road Team60
5Gstaad-Scott52
6Specialized Racing DH49
7Santa Cruz Syndicate46
8Madison Saracen Downhill Team45
9Devinci Global Racing39
10Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof35
11MS Mondraker Team20
12Evil Vengeance Tour19
13FMD Racing / Intense Cycles18
14Topcycle By Trek17
15Trek World Racing17
16Team Norco International16
17RRP Ghost10
18Unior Tools Team9
19Hutchinson UR9
20GT / 360 Degrees8
21Pivot Factory Team7
22Team Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie6
23US Cagnes VTT6
24Torpado Surfing Shop5
25Blackthorn GT3
26SC Intense1

Elite men World Cup standing
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing680pts
2Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing477
3Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate391
4Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction368
5Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof349
6Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic325
7Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH315
8Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre Gravity Republic301
9Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson UR297
10Brook Macdonald (NZl) Trek World Racing284
11Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH282
12Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team273
13Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team219
14Josh Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate216
15Neko Mulally (USA) Trek World Racing215
16Lorenzo Suding (Ita) GT / 360 Degrees200
17Florent Payet (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian198
18Markus Pekoll (Aut) Ms Mondraker Team192
19Antonio Ferreiro Pajuelo (Spa) Evil Vengeance Tour186
20Brendan Fairclough (GBr) Gstaad-Scott185
21Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate181
22Sam Dale (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team180
23Guillaume Cauvin (Fra) Hutchinson UR164
24Faustin Figaret (Fra) Topcycle By Trek162
25Andrew Neethling (RSA) Giant Factory Off-Road Team161
26Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing160
27Connor Fearon (Aus) Kona157
28Greg Williamson (GBr) Trek World Racing153
29Joseph Smith (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof149
30Harry Heath (GBr)136
31Matthew Simmonds (GBr) Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof135
32Bernard Kerr (GBr) Pivot Factory Team135
33Francisco Pardal (Por) Evil Vengeance Tour128
34Bernat Guardia Pascual (Spa)127
35Johannes Fischbach (Ger) RRP Ghost121
36Patrick Thome (Fra) Gstaad-Scott121
37Joe Connell (GBr) SC Intense121
38George Brannigan (NZl) Trek World Racing120
39Cameron Cole (NZl) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team119
40Ben Reid (Irl) Dirt Norco Race Team112
41Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Evil Vengeance Tour108
42Luke Strobel (USA) Evil Vengeance Tour108
43Austin Warren (USA) Pivot Factory Team100
44Robin Wallner (Swe) Team W-Racing98
45Harry Molloy (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team96
46Edward Masters (NZl)95
47Wyn Masters (NZl) Team Bulls - DH94
48Richard° Rude Jr (USA) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team92
49Aurélien Giordanengo (Fra) Topcycle By Trek87
50Ziga Pandur (Slo) Unior Tools Team77
51Jack Moir (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team76
52Christopher Mcglinchey (Irl)73
53Remi Gauvin (Can)71
54Nick Beer (Swi) Devinci Global Racing70
55Lewis Buchanan (GBr) SC Intense69
56Mickael Pascal (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian68
57Mathew Stuttard (GBr)66
58Filip Polc (Svk) Evil Vengeance Tour64
59Matthew Walker (NZl)63
60Fraser Mcglone (GBr)63
61David Trummer (Aut) RRP Ghost59
62Jack Reading (GBr)54
63Oscar Harnstrom (Swe) GT / 360 Degrees54
64Boris Tetzlaff (Aut) Alpine Commencal Austria54
65Adam Brayton (GBr)51
66Cyrille Kurtz (Fra) Evil CK Racing Evian51
67Melvin Pons (Fra) US Cagnes VTT50
68Isak Leivsson (Nor)48
69Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spa)46
70Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction46
71Bryn Atkinson (Aus) Team Norco International45
72Terje Nylende (Nor)45
73Jared Graves (Aus) Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team44
74Mitch Ropelato (USA) Specialized Racing DH44
75Ben Cathro (GBr)38
76Julien Piccolo (Fra)37
77Oliwer Kangas (Swe)33
78Zakarias Blom Johansen (Nor)32
79Marco Milivinti (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop31
80Reece Potter (NZl)31
81Iago Garay Tamayo (Spa)29
82Cédric Gracia (Fra) Cg Racing Brigade29
83Alexander Kangas (Swe)28
84Rudy Cabirou (Fra)28
85Kyle Sangers (Can)27
86Benoit Coulanges (Fra) Roc VTT Oz En Oisans26
87Scott Mears (GBr)25
88Florian Arthus (Fra)24
89Lars Vatnebryn Sandviken (Nor)23
90David Mcmillan (Aus)23
91Niklas Wallner (Swe) Team W-Racing22
92Gaetan Ruffin (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction22
93Alexis Pujol (Fra)21
94Martin Knapec (Svk)21
95Richard Thomas (GBr)20
96Guy Gibbs (Nor)20
97Benny Strasser (Ger)20
98Johann Potgieter (RSA) RRP Ghost19
99Marcus Klausmann (Ger) Ghost Factory Racing Team18
100Guillem Jorba Prats (Spa)17
101Arthur Parret (Fra)17
102Matej Charvat (Cze)16
103Bryn Dickerson (NZl)16
104James Swinden (GBr)14
105Gareth Brewin (GBr)14
106Fabien Cousinie (Fra) Hutchinson UR14
107Kevin Aiello (USA)13
108Peter Williams (GBr)12
109Logan Binggeli (USA)12
110Baptiste Pierron (Fra)11
111Carlo Caire (Ita)10
112Ludovic Oget (Fra)9
113Rhys Atkinson (Aus)8
114Romain Paulhan (Fra)6
115Pierre Charles Georges (Fra) Lac Blanc/Scott6
116Charly Di Pasquale (Fra)4

Teams World Cup standings
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1GT Factory Racing271pts
2Lapierre Gravity Republic208
3Santa Cruz Syndicate160
4Commencal / Riding Addiction150
5Gstaad-Scott143
6Specialized Racing DH133
7Madison Saracen Downhill Team117
8Giant Factory Off-Road Team112
9MS Mondraker Team106
10Devinci Global Racing106
11Trek World Racing102
12Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof96
13Hutchinson UR94
14Evil Vengeance Tour53
15Team Norco International41
16Topcycle By Trek29
17Blackthorn GT29
18FMD Racing / Intense Cycles28
19Pivot Factory Team27
20RRP Ghost25
21GT / 360 Degrees25
22Evil CK Racing Evian23
23Dirt Norco Race Team20
24Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team18
25SC Intense18
26Team Morzine-Avoriaz/Haute-Savoie15
27Torpado Surfing Shop11
28Kona10
29Unior Tools Team9
30Team Bulls - DH9
31US Cagnes VTT8

 

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