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 Gwin is a genuinely humble guy who takes racing pretty seriously. On Saturday's short practice, he hiked back up to try a section over again, searching for the perfect line. |
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| Marc Beaumont testing traction in the morning's practice before the final. |
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| Both Hannah's had great day's racing. Here, Mick gives it one last practice run through the gulley. |
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| As riders exit the gulley, the only things on their mind is the 3 massive tables up ahead. Robin Wallner gives them the stare down at full speed - hands off the brakes. |
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| Robin Wallner of Sweden boosting big on the tables. |
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| Steve Smith gets ready to do Canada proud with a 5th place podium finish. |
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| Damian Smith of Yeti uses a spare DT hub to add a little extra pressure onto the tape job on Eliot Jackson's race jersey. |
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| The Fox Racing Shox pits were surprisingly quiet this morning. |
 | Everything's pretty dialed. We'll likely have a few minor tweaks after the practice but the fact our pit is so quiet is a sign that we've done our job. - Mark Fitzsimmons, relishing his ability to enjoy the luxury of a cup of coffee in the Fox Racing Shox Pit race day morning. |
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| A lot of talk--maybe too much--has been focused on cutting tires for this track. But there is no other track on the World Cup this year that offers the extremes in traction that this track can have: in the baking heat, you want as fast a rolling tire in the rear as you can get for the hard packed surface and the pedal section. In the event of rain, the high clay content demands the traction that only spikes can offer. Danny Hart's mechanic had this selection of Schwalbe rubber in case the looming clouds again drenched the track: Vertstar Hans Dampf, Dirty Dan full spike, and a Muddy Mary in case it got wet but not drenched. |
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| CG getting a little extra grip on his thumb shifter, courtesy of some sandpaper and a dab of super glue. |
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| Unfortunately for Nigel, he's going to have to wear these lucky socks every Sunday for the rest of the season. |
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| Pre-race chill down takes many forms. Some, like Patick Thome of Lapierre International, find a quiet spot and chill. |
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| Others, like Troy Brosnan, need a distraction. Like Mad Skills Motocross. |
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| CG drops into his own little world before heading to the shuttles and a fantastic 10th place finish. The Entertainer's still got it! |
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| Trackside vendors had EVERYTHING for sale: beer, soda, bbq, coffee, and ice cream |
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| Jill Kintner had a great weekend here in Africa. After paying $1850 just to get their team bikes here from Australia, she scored her first World Cup DH podium ever with a 4th place. Great job, Jill! |
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| Manon Carpenter had a breakthrough performance today, taking second behind Tracey Hannah. |
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| Back at last! Tracey Hannah picking right back up where she left off when she stepped away from competitive bike racing. |
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| Tracey Hannah almost threw it all away on the last step down when she dumped the front end a bit too much. |
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| Loic Bruni of Lapierre grew up with a racing in his blood--his father was a well known French DH racer. Now young Bruni appears to be poised to make his own mark, coming home as the fastest junior. And placing 27th overall. |
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| Brook MacDonald was a bit more wary during his race run of going full tilt off the hip where he crashed during qualifying, opting to scrub the lip a bit instead. |
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| Brook Macdonald flies through the crowd. |
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| CG throwing down the style. |
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| Sik Mik was making a run at joining his sister atop the podium, and he looked like he had it locked down until first Gwin, then Minnaar came down behind him. |
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| Aaron Gwin was an inch or two short this week, but was stoked on a second place. Will he return to his dominating ways in Italy at the next World Cup? Only time will tell. |
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| Gwin had an amazing run, but it wasn't enough to hold off Minnaar's sensational charge down the track here in Pietermaritzburg. |
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| Greg Minnaar was the man of the week as he somehow managed to make up over 2 seconds in the last sections of the track in front of a delirious home crowd. |
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| Greg Minnaar crossing the finish line at the 2012 UCI World Cup DH in Pietermaritzburg as captured by Oakley's Steve Blick |
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| ..and the actual photo from Blicks phone. |
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| Soak it in, Greg. You earned it this week. |
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| Rob Warner, watering the plants... |
, super amazing you all came through with live feed. Fantastic job and Thanks to all sponsors, mechanics, riders, workers, fans and Earth for the great terrain she provides us!!!
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. CG's still got it after all these years!
