UCI MTB World Cup Round Two Result

UCI Mountain Bike 2009 Roud Two Result
FINAL RESULTS
Elite men
1 Steve Peat (GBr|Santa Cruz Syndicate) 0:02:07.1
2 Samuel Hill (Aus|Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz) 0:00:01.3
3 Michael Hannah (Aus|GT Bicycles) 0:00:01.9
4 Brendan Fairclough (GBr|Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz) 0:00:02.9
5 Gee Atherton (GBr|Animal Commencal) 0:00:04.0

Elite women
1 Sabrina Jonnier (Fra|Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain Bicycles) 0:02:28.6
2 Tracy Moseley (GBr|Trek World Racing) 0:00:05.0
3 Myriam Nicole (Fra) 0:00:06.2
4 Mio Suemasa (Jpn) 0:00:06.8
5 Emmeline Ragot (Fra|Suspension Center)

Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) is one victory away from taking the all-time lead in Downhill World Cup victories after an incredible ride at this year's second round in La Bresse, France yesterday.

After recording his 16th victory, Peat now matches French rider Nicolas Vouilloz in World Cup wins. He has also moved into first place in the overall standings for this year's competition.

"I'm very happy to win after such a long time, and happy to break Vouilloz's record," said Peat afterwards, referring to the fact that this is his first World Cup victory since Willingen, Germany in 2006. Referring to the fact that his team-mate Greg Minnaar won the first round in South Africa, he added: "It's good to keep the jersey in the team."

The short course required the skills of an all-round rider to perform well, with fast pedaling and jumping sections at the top, followed by steep, technical and rocky sections in the lower half. Many a rider started out fast, only to lose precious seconds in the final third of the 1.2km course.

The men's race had a potential upset in the making when heavy rain swept in shortly after American Kyle Strait (Specialized Team America) grabbed the hot seat. Strait was 29th to start, and the track had been dry and hard until that point. Favoured Chris Kovarik (Chain Reaction/Intense) crashed shortly afterwards, showing how slippery it was getting.

Strait's time of 2:12.33 held up for over 30 riders before Justin Leov (Trek World Racing) managed to displace him by a mere five-one-hundredths of a second. Leov also settled in for an extended sit in the hot seat, remaining in the top spot until the final 10 riders began their runs. Strait would finish 11th, just behind Leov.

Leov's team-mate Andrew Neethling was the first to better Leov, dropping the leading time to below 2:12 (2:11.98). However, he was replaced immediately by Mikael Pascal (MSC Bikes). Minnaar was next to take the lead, but again it was a short lived reward, as Britain's Brendan Fairclough (Monster Energy-Specialized) became the first rider to go under 2:10, with a 2:09.99 run.