Round 4 of the UCI World Cup took place under sunny skies last weekend in the mountains of Leogang, Austria. With some changes to the course this year, and a few rain showers early in the week roughing up the terrain, Leogang Bike Park proved worthy to host 340 riders for an octane-injected World Cup Downhill event.
Here the world’s best riders battled it out over the merciless Limestone Alps terrain. The Downhill course allowed a few to triumph while others crashed dramatically. As far as racing, times were so close in the final that little mistakes were the difference between 15th and 40th, as Team Norco riders Lorenzo Suding and Bryn Atkinson found out on the weekend. Isak Lievsson was feeling the effects from his concussion the week before, and took another spill early on in practice, adding insult to injury. Norco rider (and Five Ten athlete) Jill Kintner had consistency and put a run together to finish 6th, which keeps her striving for podiums.
The sole Canadian among top-ten finishers, Micayla Gatto, finished 8th. “Solid race in Leogang yesterday,” said Gatto. “Had a clean run and am seeing progression in my riding and racing, so I am happy. Next World Cup isn’t until Mont Sainte Anne [starting July 31], so looking forward to some serious riding time, Crankworx Europe, and getting myself up to speed for one of my favourite tracks on the circuit.”
Among other finishers:
JILL KINTNER – 6th: “Leogang has been a really good venue for me over the years. From the first turn on, it’s just huge braking bumps and holes into sweet ruts, a few switchbacks, rock gardens, high speed jump sections, steep woods with roots, etc. The ground was rolling so fast for finals, that I probably braked in a few more places than I should have, trying to hold it together. My run was decent and I was in a good state of mind, just kicking myself now for riding the bottom too slow. The podium is where I want to be, so l will do everything I can to find more speed for the next few rounds. Overall, I am happy and having a lot of fun racing with the best.”
LORENZO SUDING – 42nd: “I felt great on the bike all weekend and the track was fast as heck, which I love. There were clear signs of good form in my qualifying run being 15th at the top split, so I was confident come finals. Sadly a couple mistakes made me loose time which was somewhat disappointing. Being optimistic I learned new valuable things that will make me a better racer. Looking forward to six weeks of training and racing before Round 5 in Mont Ste Anne. So back to work! Ciao!”
BRYN ATKINSON – 46th: “The times in Leogang were so tight that a couple mistakes killed my result. I had good speed and was loving the course, just didn’t quite have the perfection for that race. On a positive note, the team chemistry is really good, and our presence as a whole has us all building for the next rounds. I think with a bit of time off to rest and train up, we will be firing on all cylinders for St.Anne and Windham.”
ISAK LIEVSSON – 63rd: “Leogang was a rough one for me. I had another pretty big crash on the first day of practice, and it set my confidence back quite a bit. I managed to pull myself together so that I at least qualified, but beyond that I didn´t have much more in me. A mediocre race run put me way back in the pack. It is what it is, but it makes me more eager to get back into training hard and getting after it in these weeks off. ”
LEOGANG 2014 WORLD CUP FINAL DOWNHILL RESULTS:
PRO WOMEN
1. Manon Carpenter – GBR
2. Rachel Atherton – GBR
3. Myriam Nicole – FRA
4. Emmeline Ragot- FRA
5. Tahnee Seagrave GBR
6. Jill Kintner – USA
7. Tracey Hannah – AUS
8. Micayla Gatto – CAN
9. Morgane Charre – FRA
10. Emilie Siegenthaler – SUI
PRO MEN
1. Josh Bryceland – GBR
2. Greg Minaar- RSA
3. Troy Brosnan- AUS
4. Brook Macdonald- NZL
5. George Brannigan – NZL
6. Matt Simmonds – GBR
7. Danny Hart – GBR
8. Andrew Neethling- RSA
9. Connor Fearon – AUS
10. Sam Hill – AUS
42. Lorenzo Suding – ITA
46. Bryn Atkinson- AUS
63. Isak Leivsson – NOR
Reblogged from Five Ten.
