Madison Saracen Factory Race Team: UCI World Cup Round One - Lourdes, France

Straight off the back of the British Downhill Series, the Madison Saracen Factory Race Team headed out to Lourdes to take on the first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup of the year. Check out the below photo gallery from a wild weekend in France!




Below: With plenty of lines to choose from and some pretty soggy weather, an in-depth track walk was vital!






Below: Practice and Qualifying were slippery affairs with changing course conditions nearly every run.








Above: Manon Carpenter joins the Shimano MTB TV crew, to talk through her 2016 Saracen Myst build.









Below: Marc Beaumont was finding it tough in the changing conditions during qualifying and unexpectedly missed out on claiming a place for Sunday's final. Rest assured, you'll see Marc working his way back towards the front this season.




Below: 16-year-old Matt Walker wasn't phased by his first ever World Cup - he showed his speed with a second place in a stacked field of Juniors! Keep an eye on this name...






Below: Eager to start the 2016 World Cup campaign well, a consistent run saw Manon take the third step of the podium. It's never too early to start thinking about the overall and any mistakes can be punished severely.






Below: Matt Simmonds was riding well and with times tight at the top he finished 26th. Not quite where he wanted to be but certainly a base to move onwards and upwards for the coming rounds.






Overall a solid result for the team at the first World Cup of the year. Plenty of room to move forwards and we can't wait to push hard at the next round in Cairns, Australia.

---

MENTIONS: @madison

---