Mont Saint Anne Day 4 - UCI World Cup 2012

Jun 25, 2012
by Ian Hylands
 
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This is the way a photographer s day begins at the World Cup bag full of gear stashed by the door cuppa fresh brew in hand and a quick weather eye outside to see what extra items might be required for the day sunscreen or umbrella... Fraser Britton living the dream.
  This is the way a photographer's day begins at the World Cup: bag full of gear stashed by the door, cuppa fresh brew in hand, and a quick weather eye outside to see what extra items might be required for the day: sunscreen or umbrella... Fraser Britton living the dream.

CG is sorely missed--so much so that a mustache get well soon CG event was organized at Fox Racing Shox this morning before practice started. We miss you man heal up...
  CG is sorely missed - so much so that a mustache "get well soon, CG" event was organized at Fox Racing Shox this morning before practice started. We miss you, man; heal up...

Not gonna make the final... Florian Pugin talking over her injury with Sabrina. Florian binned it in pretty hard Friday and with her left eye nearly swollen shut it s another race she ll have to sit out this season.
  Not gonna make the final... Florian Pugin talking over her injury with Sabrina. Florian binned it in pretty hard Friday and with her left eye nearly swollen shut, it's another race she'll have to sit out this season.

Evidently exactly 28psi is the magic number to make Gwin s tires go round.
  Evidently exactly 28 psi is the magic number to make Gwin's tires go 'round.

Josh Bryceland keeping on the PT for his shoulder separation from last season.
  Josh Bryceland keeping on the PT for his shoulder separation from last season.

Sick Mick Hannah rolling the start ramp one last time before finals.
  Sick Mick Hannah rolling the start ramp one last time before finals.

Ragot rolling the start gate early this morning in the ghostly light of an in and out fog bank.
  Ragot rolling the start gate early this morning in the ghostly light of an in and out fog bank.

Needles in the inside line.
  Needles in the inside line.

Story of the day. Another run another flat.
  Story of the day. Another run, another flat.

A frustrated Remi Therion heading off track with a front flat. He s got the horses but just not the luck in this particular race.
  A frustrated Remi Therion heading off track with a front flat. He's got the horses, but just not the luck in this particular race.

Steve Smith 7th after a clean run. Not happy about it in the least.
  Steve Smith, 7th after a clean run. Not happy about it in the least.

I had a fantastic upper section but I was a bit too cautious in the woods on my race run. It was a good run but being conservative in the woods...it cost me a podium. -Justin Leov.
  "I had a fantastic upper section, but I was a bit too cautious in the woods on my race run. It was a good run, but being conservative in the woods...it cost me a podium."-Justin Leov.

Not again Matti Lehikoinen went down hard below the rock garden in his finals possibly breaking his collarbone. X-rays are pending.
  Not again: Matti Lehikoinen went down hard below the rock garden in his finals, possibly breaking his collarbone. X-rays are pending.

Cruising through the weeds on morning practice.
  Cruising through the weeds on morning practice.

Mitch Ropelato. First week with a factory ride and he got a bit sketchy near the bottom of the course - but he s still learning a lot an having the time of his life.
  Mitch Ropelato. First week with a factory ride and he got a bit sketchy near the bottom of the course - but he's still learning a lot and having the time of his life.

Let s get it on Rachel Atherton suiting up for battle... It s been hot and humid here in Quebec--when it hasn t been pissing rain--and riding up to the start shack in a gondola that basically amounts to a glorified sauna means that Rachel delays donning the all black GT team kit until the start of her first practice run.
  Let's get it on: Rachel Atherton suiting up for battle... It's been hot and humid here in Quebec when it hasn't been pissing rain - and riding up to the start shack in a gondola that basically amounts to a glorified sauna means that Rachel delays donning the all black GT team kit until the start of her first practice run.

Remember the shot of that chain ring scraped rock from the track walk Yeah chalk up another victom to that rock or another one like it Emmeline Ragot smashed and bent her chain guide somewhere in that area. Pedaling was not an option Ragot could only pump the lower section. Mechanicals are a part of racing but finishing 2.388 seconds off pace when you cannot go full tilt even though you have the horses was a bitter pill for Ragot.
  Remember the shot of that chain ring scraped rock from the track walk? Yeah, chalk up another victim to that rock or another one like it: Emmeline Ragot smashed and bent her chain guide somewhere in that area. Pedaling was not an option; Ragot could only pump the lower section. Mechanicals are a part of racing, but finishing +2.388 seconds off pace when you cannot go full tilt even though you have the horses was a bitter pill for Ragot.


Sam Blenkinsop roared down the hill and onto the hot seat only to be joined by teammates Cam Cole and Patrick Thome shortly there after...Lapierre racing definitely has something good going.
  Sam Blenkinsop roared down the hill and onto the hot seat, only to be joined by teammates Cam Cole and Patrick Thome shortly there after...Lapierre racing definitely has something good going.

Stevie at the bottom of his run trying to make up for lost time.
  Stevie at the bottom of his run, trying to make up for lost time.

I had a good run--one I was satisfied with. I mean I made a few bobbles up top but otherwise a clean run. But I ended up off the podium which really sucks... Being on the podium completely changes your vibe it s where I want to be. Steve Smith.
  "I had a good run--one I was satisfied with. I mean I made a few bobbles up top, but otherwise a clean run. But I ended up off the podium, which really sucks... Being on the podium completely changes your vibe; it's where I want to be." Steve Smith.

Back on target. Sam Hill is rapidy getting back up to speed. A podium just adds to the confidence.
  Back on target. Sam Hill is rapidly getting back up to speed. A podium just adds to the confidence.

Almost. Gwin was square in his sights but it wasn t meant to be for Minnaar here at Mt St Anne. 1.307. But tantilizingly close.
  Almost. Gwin was square in his sights, but it wasn't meant to be for Minnaar here at Mt St Anne. +1.307. But tantilizingly close.

Gwin has taken 8 of the last 11 World Cup contests. Given how hard it is to maintain a hard edge in as talented a field as modern downhill racing has right now that is simply an awe inspiring stat.
  Gwin has taken 8 of the last 11 World Cup contests. Given how hard it is to maintain a hard edge in as talented a field as modern downhill racing has right now, that is simply an awe inspiring stat.

Turning wrenches for so long he s forgotten more than I ll likely ever know about making bikes go fast...Monkey is simply one of the best in the business and while Gwin may ride like none other Monk s steady hand in the pits has definitely contributed to his on track success allowing Gwin to forget about the bike and focus on the ride.
  Turning wrenches for so long he's forgotten more than I'll likely ever know about making bikes go fast...Monkey is simply one of the best in the business; and while Gwin may ride like none other, Monk's steady hand in the pits has definitely contributed to his on track success, allowing Gwin to forget about the bike and focus on the ride.


Women s podium.
  Women's podium.

Men s podium.
  Men's podium.

Gwin was prepared for the champagne shower this week.
  Gwin was prepared for the champagne shower this week.

Words and Photos by Colin Meagher and Fraser Britton



61 Comments

  • + 43
flag andytheaussie (Jun 25, 2012 at 0:53)
 Great racing. Good to see close times in the top five too. So many great runs but Gwin is just running away with it. Much better coverage than Fort william in terms of showing more of the track, rather than just one motorway section. But Rob Warner, it's time to bring the personality back! Been a bit flat this year...
  • + 16
flag mtbfraser (Jun 25, 2012 at 3:16)
 "he'll feel like his neck is on viagra tomorrow"
  • + 12
flag Number29 (Jun 25, 2012 at 3:21)
 With you there bro, no funny calls or nicknames from Rob, has redbull put the hardword on him, it's just not the same, about as popular as a ginger haired stepchild.
  • + 9
flag greenbadger (Jun 25, 2012 at 6:17)
 yeh come on rob - let it hang out like a fat bird in a bikini!!
  • + 17
flag CFOxtrot (Jun 25, 2012 at 9:49)
 If you want an audience wider than frat boys, bogans and chavs it's wise to see Rob tone down the "funny" gutter humor.

I'm talking to all those people who are always whinging about needing to "grow the sport." You're not gonna grow it with insider jokes, crude humor, or cross-dressing.

I'm fine with Rob's personality from freecaster if the scope of the audience is serious racers, already-fans of DH racing, and admirers of Rob's personality. But if you want wealthy and influential people starting to pay attention to DH racing to "grow the sport" you have to have something that resembles what THEY find entertaining. And it's not cross-dressing, insider jokes, or crude remarks.

Naturally my point is we do not need to grow the sport, because by growing it we water it down, make it bland, and take it from being a home recipe BBQ grilled cheeseburger your way to some crap soy/pinkgoo on a bun with a sheet of yellow plastic masquerading as cheese.

I thought Warner & Lopes was a good combo in the comment box.
  • + 1
flag GingaCal (Jun 25, 2012 at 14:15)
 I prefer Warner and Nigel Page. Much more exciting.
  • + 3
flag cdbfree (Jun 25, 2012 at 22:27)
 warner and cg were brilliant the couple times they commentated together, endless laughing haha
  • + 1
flag warhorsey (Jun 25, 2012 at 23:23)
 Yeah Gwinny!!! Also a shout out to CG and Matti. That sucks to hear about Matti's biff..
  • + 3
flag neimbc (Jun 26, 2012 at 11:18)
 @ Andytheaussie - I absolutely agree about Warner - I wouldn't be surprised if Redbull put a muzzle on him for the commenting. He and the coverage was better on freecaster.
[Reply]
  • + 29
flag Bashment (Jun 25, 2012 at 0:49)
 Sam its coming...
  • + 6
flag notallowedtoswear (Jun 25, 2012 at 5:59)
 still he's smiling and he's smiling and hes fifth that was unheard of a couple seasons ago, used to only smile on the top step
  • + 6
flag drsouce169 (Jun 25, 2012 at 10:04)
 It's awesome to see him back and injury free *knock on wood* He's been my favorite rider for so long, it's been a bummber not seeing him on top for the past few years. Now all he's gotta do is take down Gwin!
[Reply]
  • + 15
flag redguy13 (Jun 25, 2012 at 2:34)
 Best one is "get well soon, CG"
Respect to his friends, and best wishes to CG.
[Reply]
  • + 11
flag treymotleyDH (Jun 25, 2012 at 0:56)
 hpe sam moves up into top spot soon!
  • + 2
flag Number29 (Jun 25, 2012 at 3:22)
 Leogang worlds top spot, thats all he wants
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  • + 6
flag gravityhelps (Jun 25, 2012 at 1:03)
 great f*cking race. great broadcast by redbull much better then the last few cuz the had cameras in the tough sections. gwin seems to be invincible unless he has a crash. i heard an interview with minnaar and dude sounded gutted almost made it sound like he's kinda given up prob just the right after the fact let down but he made it sound like he doesnt know what else he can do.
[Reply]
  • + 7
flag jzdyrko (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:59)
 Coverage of the Women on Redbull Sux......small field, should show more riders
  • + 1
flag z05m (Jun 25, 2012 at 12:50)
 Its not Red-Bull. The total field was just around 30 women racers. I really wish we would have a larger field of woman racers on the World cup circuit. There is nothing cooler than a woman that does DH.
  • + 1
flag fullbug (Jun 25, 2012 at 12:59)
 i would have to say girls who surf would easily be as cool
  • + 2
flag scissors888 (Jun 25, 2012 at 12:59)
 It costs a lot of money for these teams to come over to North America for 2 events. If they had 3 or 4 races over here you would see teams bring more racers and smaller teams making the trip over. This is what hurt the women's field this week.
  • + 1
flag Knife-in-the-dark (Jun 25, 2012 at 20:23)
 Same number of women as last season. Redbull coverage definatly lacks compared to freecaster. It isn't that hard to show 20 women.
  • + 1
flag scissors888 (Jun 25, 2012 at 22:46)
 I was comparing the number of women in the north american events versus the european events. And no it may not be hard to show 20 women but their are still 80 men to follow them.
  • + 1
flag Knife-in-the-dark (Jun 26, 2012 at 13:12)
 Yes, scissors true. The original post was comparing the 2 coverages, and freecasters showed all 20 women and 80 men, now we see ~50 men and 8 women, regardless of field size.
  • + 1
flag scissors888 (Jun 27, 2012 at 9:50)
 True, it would be nice to see more then 8 women go down the track, especially if they are not showing it live. But its red bulls first year doing WC's so lets see how they improve for next year.
[Reply]
  • + 7
flag mtbfunfunfun (Jun 25, 2012 at 5:16)
 Ragot with a mechanical and just 2.3 down is utterly insane. Hats off!
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag sino428 (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:56)
 That's a badass men's podium. That's the five guys you expect to be there. Basically all heavy hitters of DH right there.
[Reply]
  • + 5
flag Vostok (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:05)
 I hope to see Sam Hill challenging Gwin once he's fully up to speed. What an exciting world cup that would be!
[Reply]
  • + 4
flag crividh (Jun 25, 2012 at 6:13)
 Anyone know what happened with Neko Mullay from trek world racing ? ; had a pretty massive crash in the finals....
  • + 3
flag takeiteasyridehard (Jun 25, 2012 at 9:13)
 Agreed, I'd like to know if his kneck is ok. That was a scary otb.
  • + 2
flag Y0sh1 (Jun 25, 2012 at 9:29)
 Ya, I cringed at the sight of that one. Hope he's ok. That looked like a pretty big impact...
  • + 1
flag ElVenezuelan (Jun 25, 2012 at 10:02)
 No broken bones, mild concussion. That was one big crash but he was lucky to walk way.

dh.trekworldracing.com/news/1340581664/aaron-gwin-wins-round-4-justin-leov-top-10
[Reply]
  • + 5
flag cikudh (Jun 25, 2012 at 1:21)
 where's Hart riding pictures !?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag dtsabas (Jun 25, 2012 at 13:46)
 That was such a sick race to watch.. Blenki and Steve Smith had amazing style and scrubs. Gwin blew my mind how fast he pitched it off of the hip and then rock drop into the big berms.. Simply incredible.
[Reply]
  • + 3
flag DeepInTheForest (Jun 25, 2012 at 10:26)
 The Podium photos are funny. The girls are all standing close to each other, the guys are at least elbow width apart.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Straner Plus (Jun 25, 2012 at 11:00)
 Is sam running a 35mm renthal bar with a Havoc DM stem? Could be wayyyy off with that visual observation but thought I would ask
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag erdadh (Jun 25, 2012 at 1:10)
 hoho,the greatest kings on the podium ! great jobs guys
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  • + 1
flag bikerfou18 (Jun 25, 2012 at 13:30)
 This Track is Completely WET . I rolled today ..Very great World cup Weekend
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag cthorpe (Jun 25, 2012 at 12:09)
 Poor Matti. He just cant keep from getting hurt,
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag Liamcrook (Jun 25, 2012 at 9:37)
 Shameless energy drink plugging on the podiums!
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag Goernsi87 (Jun 25, 2012 at 6:26)
 fantastic run by Sam! Great!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Arin (Jun 25, 2012 at 3:49)
 The podium love you gwinny..^^
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag skippy888 (Jun 25, 2012 at 17:27)
 How many POD's can you get??????????????
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag bike-skate (Jun 25, 2012 at 23:31)
 Copngrats Mitch Ropelato, so happy for you,
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag DOliver17 (Jun 25, 2012 at 23:27)
 how many people are gonna be running exactly 28 psi now...
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag MtMedic31 (Jun 25, 2012 at 17:52)
 Way to go Gwinny!! Representin the Stars n Stripes!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag brumbrum (Jun 25, 2012 at 11:08)
 love to see Sam and Danny
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag young-gun (Jun 25, 2012 at 16:20)
 Gwin is a sand-bagger. He needs move up to the next category; Elite Pro.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag parkourfan (Jun 25, 2012 at 10:49)
 I love how they get icetech rotors for the medals!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag kylecp1 (Jun 25, 2012 at 6:26)
 Dayyam! Rachels lookin DEISEL..
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Sneebyl (Jun 25, 2012 at 0:52)
 Monk looks like he's about to cry.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag xTheRoseRedx (Jun 25, 2012 at 8:02)
 Good to see Danny on that podium.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Ritvars11 (Jun 25, 2012 at 10:43)
 Gwins Power Hides In cookies Big Grin
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Ogalosh (Jun 25, 2012 at 11:08)
 What happened to Peaty?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag Joeypalmer (Jun 25, 2012 at 5:41)
 Top guys all on podium
  • + 2
flag Its-That-Guy (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:29)
 You don't say...
  • + 3
flag Joeypalmer (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:36)
 Apparently it was a stroke of genius I was having when I realized this. Be nice to see Peaty and Hill in a top 3 spot this year
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag arquitetodh (Jun 25, 2012 at 7:00)
 Gwin is fantastic!!!
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag redguy13 (Jun 25, 2012 at 2:33)
 ..
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