It was close. Really close. Bit of a nail biter, to be honest. Yes, it was a only twenty ladies vying for the podium here in South Africa, but with the exception of Rachel Atherton, all the heavy hitters were here. And seemingly out of nowhere came Fionn Grifiths to take the hot seat mid-way through the race. And she’d hold that seat for nearly 20 minutes before Tracy Moseley unceremoniously gave her the boot: .288 of a second, though, is definitely a tight squeeze...
And it was just as tight of a squeeze in the elite men’s race, as well. The Old Guard—Steve Peat—came crashing down in a banger time of 4:15.443. With 22 racers remaining, that was the time to beat. But it wasn’t until Aaron Gwin came home sixteen riders later with a 4:08.634 to smash Peaty’s time to bits that things got interesting.
Gwinnie’s time was solid. Super solid. But there were six heavy hitters remaining, including the two fastest qualifiers: Greg Minnaar and Mick Hannah. You don’t come into Minnaar’s house and expect to steal a win, nor do you expect to beat an on form Hannah. But that’s exactly what happened. Minnaar came across the line .241 seconds off, and when Hannah slid out in a turn and crashed hard enough to shear his stem face plate bolts off, it was California Sunshine on top of the box, and sealing a double win for Trek.
In an interesting note, four of the five podium finishers in the men’s race were on dropper seat posts. More than a few racers considered that borderline sacrilege (and it might just be a bit of sour grapes from the have-nots), but unless the UCI rules otherwise, droppers are legit. They’d be a select course thing, for sure, but still…
Great job riding on Fionn’s part, too; it’s been a long dry DH podium spell for Griffiths.
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 T-Rav turning a perfectly good Maxxis Hgh Roller into... |
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| ...an even better High Roller for Mr Greg Minnaar's race machine. |
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| With blazing sun and temps in the 80s, it was definitely not a day for these. |
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| But with a 40 second nightmare pedaling section, it was definitely a day for this: a dropper style post. Every team wanted them, and likely the entire country of South Africa was scoured in the search for them. The only podium finisher in the men's field to race without one was Fabien Barel. |
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| The track here in Pietermaritzburg may not have been overly technical, but it had its moments. |
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| Getting ready to rumble means meticulous preperation. Greg Minnaar spent nearly two minutes per shoe, lacing them up just so: not too tight, not too loose. |
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| Winning is in the details. The sure hand of Jack, Sam Blenkinsop's mechanic, checking for loose spokes before sending Blenki out for his race run. |
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| It was moments like this final rock garden that made Mio Suemasa's choice of a single crown fork seem a bit overwhelmed. "It is almost not enough. And as the course has gotten rougher, I'm having to be very careful on my line choice." |
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| Hannah was feeling loose in the morning practice session, but he slid out of a corner on the upper section of the track and it was game over. |
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| CG finished sixteenth on the day, 9 seconds and change off the win. But it was his strongest showing in nearly two years, proving that the Frenchman has re-discovered his focus. |
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| Knocking on a top ten. But .09 seconds out. Next time, Bryn, next time. |
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| Not everyone can pony up for a pit space--those ain't cheap. But for a one man and a wrench outfit like Dirt/Norco here in South Africa, free fifty for a parking lot "pit" was spot on. |
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| Just as pit space is expensive, not every racer can bring a trainer to the top to stay loose for their race run, so many racers put in time turning circles on the shuttle access road. |
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| So you gotta wonder: when are they going to ask a DH racer to pose for the Cycle Passion calendar? |
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| It was like a car wreck...you didn't want to look, but you kind of couldn't help it. |
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| New team, new sled... I think she likes it. Fionn Griffiths riding her Intense to damn near a win. |
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| Over 100mm of rain fell on the track last week, but you wouldn't know it now. |
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| Just when you can't think of another use for duct tape, along comes someone who can. |
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| Local boy Travis Browning loving it. Every time a South African racer came down the track, the crowd went nuts. |
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| "I haven't raced a World Cup Downhill in two years. I've got a 4Xer's fitness now. By the time I got down to the section that winds through the 4X track, I was completely hammered." -Jared Graves. |
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| No dropper post here, just low and fast. |
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| Notice that left hand "shifter" on Peaty's bike? That'd be a dropper post remote. |
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| Not the kind of track Sam Hill shines on, but he was able to salvage an eighth place. That, combined with his qiualifying points, has him in seventh overall. A bit down, but not out for the overall. |
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| It's been a looooong time since an American won a Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill. Congratulations, Gwin! |
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| Aaron Gwin's grill says it all: winning feels like nothing else. |
seems that bikejames.com wasn't as good a coach as he claimed to be - it was Gwin's awesomeness 
well done gwin tho.
