Qualifying Highlights: Pietermaritzburg DH World Cup #1
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 Aaron Gwin Enduroing his way 2.5 seconds up in qualy's with Ratboy just behind. After a long struggle last season, Aaron seems to have found the motivation to get back into the top ranks. |
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| Sam Hill warming up for the afternoon's qualifications. Last year he crashed halfway down the hill at Worlds and could still put down some heat during tomorrow's finals. |
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| Marcelo Gutierrez hitting the trainer while getting some rays. |
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| Chainsaws, wizbangers, and South African flags. There were a few hooligans out on the track for qualifying today. Expect things to be rowdy around the gully tomorrow. |
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| Matt Delorme and Paris Gore acquired their own media shuttle. What it lacked in speed and comfort it made up for with charm. |
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| American young gun Luca Shaw took first in Junior qualifying today. He cut his teeth with Specialized last year and had some great results, Val Di Sole being one of the best for him. This year, he is on the new TLD/SRAM program, and it looks like his hard work over the winter is paying off. |
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| Loris Vergier boosting the big ones . |
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| It was a welcome sight to see Rachel Atherton roll up to the start gate after she spent the last few days bedridden with a bacterial infection. |
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| Manon Carpenter blasting her way into the top rank for tomorrow's finals with the threat of Rachel a few seconds back. |
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| Emmeline Ragot took the 3rd spot. |
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| Jill Kintner's skill for pedal oriented courses has already paid off with taking the 4th spot in qualy's and hopefully keeping up a consistent result this season. |
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| Morgane Charre seems to be quite happy with how things are panning out on her new Evil Undead. No pun intended. |
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| PomPon was easily the fastest rider heading into the gully, and if she can get the power down through the bottom section expect her to be up there in the fight for the podium on Saturday. |
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| Tracy Hannah landing in the fifth position for the women's field. Tracy has done well here in the past and will definitely be hungry for a podium finish after dealing with an injury-plagued season last year. |
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| Rachel Atherton was right back on the IV drip following her 2nd place quali run. Hopefully tomorrow will have her firing closer to 100% |
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| Aaron Gwin is well on his way to putting any doubt about his fitness and winning ways to rest. Gwin qualified first today, 2.53 seconds up on Josh Bryeland. |
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| It would be a lie to say that it wasn't a bit of a surprise to see Rat Boy smash out a 2nd place qualifier in front of his powerhouse teammate and pre-race favorite, Greg Minnaar. |
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| Greg Minnaar on his home track in Pietermaritzburg rocking the rainbow jersey earned here last year at Worlds. With a 3rd place finish today, there's no telling what he will do tomorrow here on home turf. |
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| Minnaar has his sights set on victory, coming in fastest in the speed trap at 68kmh, just edging Gwin by .1kmh |
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| Mick Hannah is definitely the danger man here in Pietermaritzburg. He has been looking incredibly fast all week, but qualies just didn't work out in his favor today. A race run crash landed him at the back of the field in 92nd place. Mick will be hungry for the top spot on the podium tomorrow. |
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| Sam Blenkinsop qualified fifth today. The kiwi is looking strong out on the track and a top five spot is a real possibility for him. |
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| Full speed and sideways was Loic's approach to the Money Maker as he enters the finish arena. |
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| Troy Brosnan on his custom Enduro DH bike. Kinda like a reverse mullet; long in the front short in the back. |
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| Marcelo Gutierrez pulled back 15 spots between split one and two meaning the Colombian has a lot of fire left in him for tomorrow's final. |
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| The line less taken. Sam Hill blasting into Slip and Slide where everyone else is on the other side of that big rock. It's so good to see those quintessential Sam Hill moments! |
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| When in doubt, go foot out. Isak Levvson, the Norwegian addition to Team Norco International, shows some style on his last practice run today. Isak qualified 31st, clearly keeping things pinned. |
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| Matti Lehikoinen: Once a pro, always a pro. He might have hung up his boots, but he still has a set of flip-flops and full factory ride for impromptu 5 second shoots next to the track. Thanks to creative director Dave Trumpore for commanding this slick-tired action. And yes it is a full-production Merida available from any quality supermarket near you. |
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| Gee Atherton picking through the maze of rocks. |
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| Brook hitting the deck in the top rock garden and not having the best start to the season, getting a massive hematoma after smashing a tree. |
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| Cam Cole is ready to remind everyone he is officially back on the scene after his savage crash. He cranked out a 12th fastest today, only 7 seconds off the lead pace. |
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| Johannes Fischbach could be the dark horse tomorrow, currently sitting just outside top ten. |
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| Wyn Masters grabs a Bull by the horns and shows a corner who's boss. |
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| Andrew Neethling always seen to have a bit of bad luck here in his home country with crashes or mechanicals. Hopefully he got it all out of his system today and can find some podium speed tomorrow. |
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| Bryceland's best mate, Sam Dale, has been pinning away for years and often not getting the press his riding deserves. If he can hold 10th or better in the final things could be about to change. |
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| Enduro is just that little bit radder when Brendog is behind the bars. |
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| Neko Mulally smoked the African dirt to land 7th this afternoon. Here we see him in training testing the 'hospital line' but thankfully getting away with it. If you look close you will see how unhappy his front wheel is with the situation. |
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| Every year is championship contention year for Gee Atherton and the right start is key. He has a very strong, but unexceptional history on this course and after his fall today in the rocks it's a bit unsure whether he's on pace on African soil. |
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| Loic Bruni was all smiles after a solid 4th place quali, knowing he and teammate Sam Blenkinsop could both end up on the podium tomorrow. |
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| "I knew I had to get a good top split in to be competitive so I absolutely smashed the first bit. A bit sketchy in places but carrying good speed, then keeping it rolling and braking as little as possible. I got sort of separated from Greg and Steve in training I don't know why. Guess we had a lover's tiff from our love triangle. I'm sure we'll make up... they might want to practice with me now haha." |
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| Think what may happen to the internet tomorrow if Gwin wins on an Enduro... |
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| Represent. Aaron Gwin might not have had the season he wanted last year, but it looks like things are working themselves out. |
 | Yeah, things are really coming together. I don't feel like I was really that far off the pace as my results were showing last year. I felt like I was right there, but I was just having bad luck in my race runs and a couple things just weren't lining up. You have races like that; you put in all the hard work, you do everything to prepare, and sometimes things don't work out. People like to jump on things like that. The team and I have been working hard all off-season getting ready and things are really coming together. At this point I think we are pretty dialed, and I'm looking forward to just racing bikes and having fun. That's what it's all about.- Aaron Gwin |
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edit: In 2012 Gwin spent almost the full day on the hot seat, it was on Fort William, he crashed twice on qualis
Hope everybody got it, so the question won't be ask AGAIN !
The effort is greatly appreciated, mind you.
Usually I watch the coverage on ten or one but I never caught any info about it been on?
cheers, 3;30 damn it I need to go buy a DVR/PVR not too keen on getting up that early.
Injured or not, Norway is his track so you know he has Worlds as a major goal for this season.