UCI World cup RD2 – La Bresse, France
Source: Just Reid Racing and MTB Cut
The second round of this year's UCI World Cup series was held in the small town of La Bresse.
The hype around the pits was that the track looked flat and pedally after seeing a helmet cam shot just a few weeks before. This quickly changed after track walking and suddenly everyone was placing predictions on who the track would suit the most.The top section was flat and pedally but only for around 30-40 seconds before it dropped into steep tight and fast corners the rest of the way to the finish.
The race format meant that practice started very late in the week so riders amused themselves with whatever they could find, be it cruising around the pits or bowling, it even went as far as Matti Leihikonen and Rachel Atherton wowing the crowds with their skipping and juggling skills.
After 1 day of practice in the wet, the track was rutting up pretty well, all eyes were on Sam Hill and his secret lines that he was keeping under wraps for qualifying. Both Sam and Brendan pulled out the same one off line through a multiple line steep rocky section come race day which clearly paid off.
The morning of qualifying we all woke up to the sun shining and the track was drying out more and more. Steve took the top spot and the points with Gee qualifying just behind him.
1st – Steve Peat, 2:10:37
2nd – Gee Atherton, 2:10:74
3rd – Mick Hannah, 2:11:47
4th – Sam Hill, 2:13:51 (with a snapped chain!)
5th – Sam Blenkinsop, 2:14:73
Race day stayed dry almost right through to the end, but the last 30 riders down, did have a slightly damper track to contend with. Kyle Strait came down early and held the hot seat for the majority of the race with a time that would place him 11th at the end of the day.
Then came the top 20 and the times could not have been closer. Greg came down in 6th with rumours of him having some problems with his bike on race run and earlier in practice. Brendan stuck to his word from round 1 and showed how his new bike could perform on a technical steep track, 4th place for him and 2nd for team mate Sam.
Then what everyone was hoping would happen, finally did. Steve came across the line over a second faster than the rest of the field. He is now level with Nico on World Cup wins at 15. One more world cup victory along with a rainbow jersey in Australia and Steve will have ticked every box on his to do list before retiring. Maybe this could be his year after all!
Finals-
1st – Steve Peat, 2:07:14
2nd – Sam Hill, 2:08:41
3rd – Mich Hannah, 2:09:00
4th – Brendan Fairclough, 2:09:99
5th – Gee Atherton, 2:11:15
Women-
1st - Sabrina Jonnier, 2:28.57
2nd - Tracy Moseley, 2:33.59
3rd - Myriam Nicole, 2:34.78
4th - Mio Suemasa, 2:35.36
5th - Emmeline Ragot
-www.justreid.com
-www.mtbcut.tv
![photo]()
![photo]()
The second round of this year's UCI World Cup series was held in the small town of La Bresse.
The hype around the pits was that the track looked flat and pedally after seeing a helmet cam shot just a few weeks before. This quickly changed after track walking and suddenly everyone was placing predictions on who the track would suit the most.The top section was flat and pedally but only for around 30-40 seconds before it dropped into steep tight and fast corners the rest of the way to the finish.
The race format meant that practice started very late in the week so riders amused themselves with whatever they could find, be it cruising around the pits or bowling, it even went as far as Matti Leihikonen and Rachel Atherton wowing the crowds with their skipping and juggling skills.
After 1 day of practice in the wet, the track was rutting up pretty well, all eyes were on Sam Hill and his secret lines that he was keeping under wraps for qualifying. Both Sam and Brendan pulled out the same one off line through a multiple line steep rocky section come race day which clearly paid off.
The morning of qualifying we all woke up to the sun shining and the track was drying out more and more. Steve took the top spot and the points with Gee qualifying just behind him.
1st – Steve Peat, 2:10:37
2nd – Gee Atherton, 2:10:74
3rd – Mick Hannah, 2:11:47
4th – Sam Hill, 2:13:51 (with a snapped chain!)
5th – Sam Blenkinsop, 2:14:73
Race day stayed dry almost right through to the end, but the last 30 riders down, did have a slightly damper track to contend with. Kyle Strait came down early and held the hot seat for the majority of the race with a time that would place him 11th at the end of the day.
Then came the top 20 and the times could not have been closer. Greg came down in 6th with rumours of him having some problems with his bike on race run and earlier in practice. Brendan stuck to his word from round 1 and showed how his new bike could perform on a technical steep track, 4th place for him and 2nd for team mate Sam.
Then what everyone was hoping would happen, finally did. Steve came across the line over a second faster than the rest of the field. He is now level with Nico on World Cup wins at 15. One more world cup victory along with a rainbow jersey in Australia and Steve will have ticked every box on his to do list before retiring. Maybe this could be his year after all!
Finals-
1st – Steve Peat, 2:07:14
2nd – Sam Hill, 2:08:41
3rd – Mich Hannah, 2:09:00
4th – Brendan Fairclough, 2:09:99
5th – Gee Atherton, 2:11:15
Women-
1st - Sabrina Jonnier, 2:28.57
2nd - Tracy Moseley, 2:33.59
3rd - Myriam Nicole, 2:34.78
4th - Mio Suemasa, 2:35.36
5th - Emmeline Ragot
-www.justreid.com
-www.mtbcut.tv
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