Pietermaritzburg World Cup 2012 - Day 3 Qualifying

Mar 16, 2012 at 8:17
by Ian Hylands  
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We knew she d come out swinging but no one really expected Tracy Hannah to qualify first. And she was p-i-n-n-e-d coming through the steep step section.

We knew she'd come out swinging, but no one really expected Tracy Hannah to qualify first. And she was p-i-n-n-e-d coming through the steep step section. +3.5 seconds...


Greg Minnaar coming into the gully section a wee bit hot he damn near clipped the tree just opposite the track from me. But taking chances evidently payed off he qualified first.

Greg Minnaar coming into the gully section a wee bit hot; he damn near clipped the tree just opposite the track from me. But taking chances evidently payed off: he qualified first, but only by 0.008 seconds. - Colin Meagher


42232 Dhi Me Results Qr
42232 Dhi We Results Qr



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174 Comments
  • 145 2
 C'mon Steve Smith!!!! Podium Finish would be sick!
  • 6 1
 YEAH! Smile
  • 17 0
 lets hope he does well this year ! such a cool rider!
  • 35 1
 im Australian and i aprove this message
  • 28 0
 right up there with gwin and minnaar! i'm liking this! Eh oh stevie go!
  • 8 0
 Yeah smith! Seeing him win would be amazing! And holy top 5 are all with in 2 seconds it's going to be tight!
  • 3 1
 2 of my Dirt Fantasy Team picks are in the top 3. Solid start for Wildwood Racing.
  • 5 0
 the dirt fantasy rankings have been updated with the qualifying results
  • 1 0
 chair boi!!! so stoked for tomorrow!!!!! Smile
  • 3 0
 Don't forget Troy applying the pressure too!
  • 2 0
 Awww, no video?
  • 2 0
 theres a video on the dirt mpora site
  • 2 0
 Yeah! come on Tracy Hannah! this is looking good for my dirt fantasy league!
  • 3 0
 YEEEAA RICHIE RUDE
  • 7 0
 Great qualifier Stevie. Keep it Canadian.
  • 7 0
 Brook Qualifying Crash:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b9PwgdbelUc
  • 2 0
 dude these times r all so close. looks like everyone has been training hard. see what happens in the race run.
  • 4 0
 Wheres rachel atherton ?
  • 3 0
 @Devinallan000x - she has opted out of this race to let her shoulder injury recover properly (it is an early start to the season). Some more on it here: dirt.mpora.com/news/rachel-atherton-world-cup-1-pietermaritzburg.html
  • 2 0
 go bro!!!!!
  • 35 0
 SMIIITTHH! You've got all of Canada behind you, make us proud.
  • 25 0
 And pretty much every single person who watched "seasons"
  • 9 0
 also follow me and inside out.
  • 12 8
 It's about time Canada got a wc hero! Gwin for the win though! Let's go America! Canada has hockey lets keep on top of DH!
  • 11 28
flag Dallll (Mar 16, 2012 at 9:45) (Below Threshold)
 too bad hockey sucks
  • 8 44
flag octalex1 (Mar 16, 2012 at 10:11) (Below Threshold)
 AMERICA!!! this is gwins race the only reason he didnt qualify first is because he wants to make the canadians think they have a chance!
  • 14 2
 Now now octalex1...
  • 13 3
 LOL... but yeah, with either Smith or Gwin on top, everything is going to be just right. North America certainly has two of the best racers ever.
  • 4 29
flag octalex1 (Mar 16, 2012 at 11:44) (Below Threshold)
 yes they do but ima talking about the united states of AMERICA!!! n u know that son
  • 8 2
 You turds have about 7 brain cells between you and they're fighting. If Minnaar squeeks the win out, how does that work into your grand scheme? You obviously havent been following the hype of the other WC riders this week. It's no wonder why so many PBers are routing against Gwinn these days. This year, the field is stacked!
  • 5 4
 i know who is racing the top 30 are all amazing riders.... but why wouldn't you want gwin to win? Sick style super fast and home grown! We never said the field wasnt stacked, we said we want gwin to win! or steve smith!


in fact I really want to see needles do well in his home country! and sam hill surprise some people and keep it interesting so hes got a chance at the overall when it gets to tracks more his style. Dont get all high and mighty on us for cheering on our favorite riders there bryan.
  • 8 0
 I'm all about Gwinn's success. I'm proud and glad he's humble too. But as soon as the American's have a champion to route for , all the old U, S, clich-A's come out and all the classy well wishing for other riders is out too. It's not about being high and mighty, it's just about being a bit more humble, esp with so much competitiion. IE Octalex. It's not like we've been dominating for the last 10 years. It's been one season. Pride effects kharma (IMO).
  • 4 3
 wtf is hill doing 14th...
  • 9 1
 @octalex1 your an embarrassment.
  • 1 0
 perfectly acceptable bro. Home nation n all that.
  • 16 0
 Greg Minnaar all the way, have a South African finish first would be epic
  • 12 0
 No one expected Tracy Hannah to qualy first? Really? She'll smash them all year in every round. That's what a lot of people have said.
  • 6 0
 Ditto. I expected it. That's why she's on my fantasy team. I rode with her when she was 15 and she was a ripper back then. I can only imagine how much stronger and faster she is now.
  • 28 2
 AND she's way hotter than Rachel... yup, I said. Flame on.
  • 17 4
 anyone who has followed racing for more than 2 seasons will tell you that tracey will smash it this year on the wc. i guess if your some trendy boy or girl, or you have been hangin around the freeride scene,this may be a suprsise to you......... she is the most hardcore female racer for dh on the planet. she has no time for b.s. , no time for 'partying', no time for buttkissing, no time for all those other things that alot of female wc racers rely on to secure sponsorships. she is a hardcore dh bike racer.she deserves to be the best in the world and she deserves to be treated properly by the industry and sponsors for one reason and one reason only........because she is as fast as all hell! honestly, tracey hannah is one of the few racers,male or female, that i have total and utmost respect for. tracey hannah is the real deal. lets hope the tracey hannah era of female dh has arrived. the current crop of female racers should be afraid, very afraid.............
  • 2 0
 @stacykohut

^^ f*cking A+

Tracey Hannah for the win
  • 1 0
 she's gonna take the women's DH WC title as long as she stays healthy. that's my prediction after she won the australian title by storm.
  • 1 0
 @stacykohut

Aye, I second that.

And you are the baddest man on four wheels.
  • 1 0
 Anyone know why she rides an Izimu instead of a Makulu?
  • 14 2
 CANADA FUCK YEA! Also I love how close the times are this year, so excited for sunday to see everyone on their new teams!
  • 10 0
 hope steve smith wins it.....he is quality
  • 7 0
 Alright TRACY! Great first picture... Just awesome giving it for us old school single pivot riders!! First in qualies wihtout all the techy race improving pivots! Shows that its the rider just as much as the bike...
  • 2 1
 I thought she was on GT. Glad to see Morewood came thru on the sponsoreship for her. They'll patting themselves on the bike after this podium.
  • 5 0
 Brendan was 31st in the quali and 15th at the split. Pretty good for being on an entirely NEW bike for only 2 weeks!!! and racing at the place that destroyed his Knee last year. Oh, and having his entire face torn apart in surgery in December!.
GO BRENDAN (and all my other guys! :-) )
  • 9 0
 Fuck yeah Steve peat!
  • 8 0
 Stevie, less than a second back... stoked!
  • 5 1
 I really hope the Steve Smith wins this. Minnaar is so strong on the pedals that it will be hard to beat him, though Gwin is in top-shape. Like I said before, this track is built for the veterans, the lighter young guns (Bronsan, Hart, etc) will have a tough time keeping up.

Do it for Canada Steve !!!
  • 6 0
 UK Junior rider jono jones in 34th for his first world cup, smash it race day jono!
  • 8 0
 Let's go Stevie Smith!.
  • 3 0
 YEAHHH! Stee-Vee! Stee-Vee! So pumped to see you up there, man. I watched the NZ segment of Follow Me last night as a tribute! Go-on sson! Go get you some!
  • 7 0
 gracia!!!! unbelievable stuff
  • 6 0
 Troy is up there with the big boys now ! wanna see him win a big season opener, or Stevie !
  • 7 0
 Tracy Hannah is going to smash all the girls this year.
  • 6 0
 Go CG by far the most bad ass rider in the whole world
  • 4 0
 Go Steve Smith!!!!!
iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PGs94TM-lRg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>/iframe>
  • 7 2
 Gwin was up on the splits... If he can crank it in the pedal section he's on it
  • 5 0
 anyone noticed graves? i like to see him come down with a mix of Dh and 4x style
  • 1 0
 Yeah, I was going to say that. I know you can't read too much into quali positions, but ninth first time out is pretty damn impressive.
  • 7 6
 I just noticed the "P", wich according to the legend is "protected", but what do they mean ? A full body armor ? Just a back protection (not a full armor) ?

Does it change anything for the points, the ranking or... the fact that they're protected ?
  • 10 0
 It means that they're a protected rider and pre-qualifed, if they flat or dnf in qualifying they still get to race tomorrow...
  • 9 13
flag bunkey (Mar 16, 2012 at 9:27) (Below Threshold)
 Body armour lol
  • 1 0
 What's the english word for it then... ?
  • 11 2
 bunkey that was a legit question you turd
  • 3 0
 @Rideuse67, the protection is for the top twenty ranked riders. Normally this goes on the current World Cup series rankings for that year but as this is the first race of the year it goes on last years rank. It's basically so that the best riders will always in theory make it through to the final which is great for the fans should they have a mishap in qualifying as Ian said above.
  • 2 1
 Great question Rideuse67. Thanks for clearing that up Ian. That's great inside info I would have never known, nor did I know there was a distinction. BUNKEY, go suck one!!
  • 1 0
 Three month gap between 1st and 2nd rounds DH..

(not to mention no 4X aghhhhhhhhhh!!)

WTF UCI???
  • 3 0
 So stoked for Tracey! Go girl, steal it from them girls! They've been a tiny bit comfy through those years with you and Anne Caro.
  • 5 0
 where is peat ? CG is also looking good
  • 2 1
 Interesting how the bigger guys (Minnar, Gwin, Gee, Gracia, Graves) get faster through the splits and the little guys (Brosnan & Hart) are fastest through the first split and fall further back as the race goes on.

It will be fun to see who's got the legs on Sunday.
  • 5 0
 Massive props to the guys who go it alone without sponsors.
  • 3 1
 Funny no one has noticed it, but did you see former Junior World Champ Manon Carpenter was up on Tracey on the 2nd split?!?! Interesting...
  • 5 0
 Go Brosnan !!!
  • 1 0
 Brayton was on it today flat out and full of crack , not so clever yesterday though as he hurt his shoulder with a very nasty fall,could have been a lot worse though, believe me as I was right next to him when it happened .
  • 2 0
 Minnaar for the win! The dude has been on it all weekend!! @octalex1 --- bro you are an embarrassment to Americans, and I'm not even freaking American!
  • 4 0
 Damnnn, whoever called Minnaar was on point!
  • 4 0
 This is going to be a really close race
  • 4 0
 come on stevie! booooooyah
  • 1 0
 If Split 1 is before the pedally finish the differences times make some great reading regarding the riders power. Folk like Peaty, Graves all totally beasted the 2nd section. While Hart started out better then relaxed.
  • 3 0
 Grubby Graves!!! Awesome to see him top-10 in his first WC back on downhill!
  • 4 0
 This is going to be an Epic Season of DH Racing....
  • 1 1
 Is the speed listed (69.777 km for Mr. Minnaar) the average speed or just a snapshot at a particular place on the course. I would guess average because it gets lower, the further down the list you go... BUT DAMN that is hauling A$? for an average speed.
  • 1 0
 Actually as you get further past the first 5-10 the speeds start to go up and down. It cant be an overall average , it must have been a time read at a certain place early in the race. Like maybe the first split. Steve peat has the third fastest time overall behind Minaar and Gwinn but finished 11th.
  • 2 0
 Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the speed they take from the speed trap, which is usually the fastest section of the course.
  • 1 0
 @cyrix - you are right. It is a speed trap placed at the fasted section of the course and as such represents the top speeds during the run. An average speed of just shy of 70khm would be MENTAL! I am not sure where the speed trap is exactly, but I think it is just before the two HUGE table tops - have a watch of the helmet cam runs if you are not sure where I mean...I *think* they are at around the 2.08min mark on the vid (happy to be corrected if anyone knows the exact spot) www.pinkbike.com/news/Helmet-Cam-Pietermaritzburg-World-Cup-2012.html
  • 2 0
 Unbelievable that Canada has just 1 rider out there! Every other country has 4, 5 10 riders. Us... 1??? Something wrong with our programs cuz we got the mountains...
  • 5 0
 Canadian are too busy riding wicked trails and roadtrippin for fun to bother with racing it seems. I noticed right away when I moved here from Australia where racing is all that matters to most DHers, that very few people in Canada give a shit about racing, and those that do are not typically the best all round riders. Canadian's talent ends up in movies, not on podiums.
  • 4 0
 @Kramster: That is the best discription of Canadian MTBing I have ever heard. Not to say we don't like or take racing seriously here. It's just not the biggest focus around these parts.
  • 2 1
 It should be! DH will probably become an Olympic sport...FR and movies is all fun and games but the real deal is: first one to the bottom wins...
  • 5 0
 Don't get me wrong, I am glad for the years I spent racing. But giving up racing was the best thing I did as far as enjoying riding goes. It's taken on a whole different feel for me. I still ride as fast as I can and work to get faster but I'm generally just having more fun on a bike now. From an entertainment perspective I am just as happy to see Vanderham do his thing as Sam Hill and I still enjoy following the WC and watching Clay's movies. My observation is that it's more the Canadian way to avoid crowds and ride for the feel of being out in the mountains with your friends. Some people don't want to spoil that by lining up in their pajamas for three hours to throw down a 3 minute run. Ski racing and back country skiing are two different worlds and I think it's easy for people to understand the difference there. DH is a bit more subtle, but some people just don't want to spoil an otherwise good ride by making a scene over it and introducing stress and a need to perform, and they would rather travel to ride in an epic location deep in the mountains than some beat down short race track that's built so everyone can ride it. That's how I've come to feel about it now that I'm in Canada. I still have a lot of respect for pro DHers but it's far from the be all and end all of mountain biking in a place of epic terrain and endless mountains.
  • 4 1
 Huge Gwin fan but stoked to see Minaar on fire, and Gracia back in top ten.
  • 3 0
 Come on Stevie!! Rock that Wislon!!
  • 3 0
 I will like GRAVES Jared for number 1!! go graves!!
  • 3 0
 Good to see Peaty beating Hart's time! He's still in this!
  • 2 0
 i like how Gracia is doing right now.. fairly consistent times is practice and quali..GO CG!!
  • 2 0
 cmon danny what the hell you doing man give us another champere run Smile !!!!!!!!!!
  • 1 0
 didn't anyone notice manon carpenter? 2nd at the 1st split and 1st at the 2nd. she must have had a crash or something?
  • 2 0
 WTH!!! Way to go Stevie Smith!!!
  • 2 0
 Tracy Hannah is killing it. Smash them all.
  • 1 0
 Lmfao Johannes Fischbach his first DH/WC race and he places 16 ,what a surprise ;D
  • 2 0
 Congrats Myriam and Ruffin!
  • 2 0
 Brook M. got dead last, anyone know what happened?
  • 2 0
 Guessing he had a crash or meccanical first split he was 1.54 2nd 3.30 and then finish 6.50 where as the top guys are low 4 mins brook lost 3 mins somewhere in the last section, He has a p for protected beside his name so all good he qualifies
  • 1 0
 Same here, I was freaking out to see Brook last. Must have been mechanical.
  • 4 0
 He took a pretty massive slam in the lower section I believe. He'd got some cuts on his face and his knee was all strapped up. Kinda gutted because I think he could have done well all season.

here it is.... www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Brook-MacDonalds-Qualifying-Crash-at-2012-South-Africa-World-Cup,12450/sspomer,2
  • 1 0
 Feck! Looked nasty.
  • 1 0
 Holy Shite, looked like he got pogo'd off that jump. man he was honkin'. Is he done for the season?? Great footage!!
  • 3 0
 So stoked! Yeah Stevie!
  • 2 0
 Jono Jones Fastest Junior! 34th!
  • 2 0
 Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas?
  • 1 0
 Not racing, not sure why, as he is not injured
  • 5 3
 I'm gwining ear to ear Wink
  • 3 0
 Smith and CG!! awesome.
  • 1 0
 Watch out for Steve Smith, .8 seconds off if you blink he might just take the win. Gwin maybe saving something for sunday?
  • 2 0
 Lets go Stevie Smile represent Canada and show them what you can do!
  • 1 0
 Is this playing on tv so we can watch it?
  • 1 0
 redbull.tv or something along those lines.
  • 1 0
 Checkout youtube. Specialized have a whole bunch of vids from the event on there as well as others
  • 2 0
 Check out the post on the home page of Pinkbike, we'll be showing it here as well...
  • 2 0
 www.pinkbike.com/news/Pietermaritzburg-World-Cup-2012-Watch-it-here-live.html
  • 1 0
 Go de Souza! You deserve to win! Brasil!
  • 1 0
 Brosnan, Smith and Faircloft for podium :-)
  • 2 0
 go troy brosnan!!!!
  • 1 0
 Brendawg got the short end of the shitstick with that slow and low ride...
  • 1 0
 Scroll down - he is in 31st going into tomorrow.
  • 2 0
 exactly...
  • 1 0
 What happened to my Giant Factory guys? :-/
  • 1 0
 Ah, 10 and 12! I can actually zoom in now that I'm on my phone.
  • 2 1
 Sam quailed 14th? Just a little rusty
  • 1 0
 He`s rockin a spare tire now... still hasn't lost the baby weight lol
  • 1 0
 Did Manon Carpenter crashed or something? Her split time were crazy fast
  • 1 0
 Apparently in the final section, she would of been 2nd if not 1st. Not bad for 19!
  • 1 0
 Where's Matti Lehikoinen? Or am I just being blind?
  • 1 0
 I don't see him either
  • 1 0
 He is having more surgery (on his nose I think..) and missing this round :-(
  • 1 0
 So you think he's out for this round only?
  • 1 0
 I think so!
  • 1 0
 Ah ok, thanks.
  • 1 0
 DOOD. That is a LOADED top 5 for the men!
  • 2 1
 Good job Tracy & Mick, where is Atherton's family?
  • 2 0
 where's rachel?
  • 1 0
 still recovering from shoulder injury
  • 1 0
 Ah ok thanks.
  • 1 0
 shocking how far behind the women are! is it that bad being a woman?
  • 1 0
 Steve Smith 3rd and Nick Beer 13th... DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING...yessss !!!
  • 1 0
 Well Hill is NOT back. SMIIITTTHHHH.
  • 1 0
 Look out for Graves in the finals!!!
  • 1 0
 Kick Gwinny's Azzz Minnaar.
  • 1 0
 DANNY HART IS 1#
  • 1 0
 GO CG!!!!
  • 1 0
 Danny Hart ?
  • 1 0
 #12
  • 2 1
 COME ON GEE!!!
  • 1 0
 minaar you wool,
  • 1 0
 Good job Steve
  • 1 0
 TRACEY!!!
  • 1 0
 Go Gwinny!
  • 2 3
 why Brenda Fairclought is not on the board?
  • 3 0
 31st
  • 3 2
 He is, 31st.
  • 1 0
 He's on #31...scroll down .

Good to see the Pombo brothers, Portuguese riders on top 100.
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