The UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano kicked off in Lourdes, France, for the second consecutive year. After rain and damp conditions all week leading up to the event, race day dawned sunny and warm, drastically changing course conditions.
In the Elite women's category, UCI World Champion and 2015 overall UCI World Cup Champion Rachel Atherton (Trek Factory Racing) took a convincing win, followed by British compatriots Tahnee Seagrave (Transition / FMD) and Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen). Lourdes was the only UCI World Cup event that Atherton did not win last year.
Aaron Gwin (The YT Mob), defending UCI World Cup Champion, repeated as the Elite men's winner, although only after UCI World Champion Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity powered by SRAM) crashed in the final few hundred metres while holding a commanding lead. Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) took second and Danny Hart (MS Mondraker) third.
in the Junior Men's category, Finnley Iles (Specialized Gravity powered by SRAM) won ahead of Matt Walker (Madison Saracen) and Nikolas Nestoroff (Intense Factory Racing).
[YOUTUBE ID="RaHVhpCqpe8"]
Downhill (round #2) and Cross-country Olympic (round #1) - Cairns (AUS) > Saturday April 23rd - Sunday April 24th
Where to watch?
The races will be broadcasted live on our website and on Red Bull TV :
DHI Women/Men > 23.04.2016 / 04:30 – 06:30 GMT XCO Women > 24.04.2016 / 01:00 – 03:00 GMT XCO Men > 24.04.2016 / 04:00 – 06:00 GMT
All live broadcasts can be watched worldwide and without geo-blocking.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano did not visit Cairns in 2015.
… Cairns UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
The UCI World Cup travels Down Under to Cairns, Australia, for the second round of the downhill series and the first round of the cross-country on April 23-24. The UCI World Cup last visited Cairns in 2014, for the second round of both the DHI and XCO series. This year's event will be a final test event for organisers before they host the UCI World Championships next year (2017).
Sitting above coconut fringed beaches and coral islands of the Great Barrier reef, the 1.9 kilometre DHI course is pure rainforest racing at its best. Riders depart high in the tropical mist and twist down through ancient rock outcrops on volcanic clay. Rachel Atherton and brother Gee Atherton were the winners in 2014.
The 4.31 kilometre XCO course weaves its way through steep gumtree-lined ridges and dark rainforest valleys. Riders funnel into rainforest single track for a steep, tight and technical climb, before a series of high speed, technical drops. Eva Lechner (ITA) and Julien Absalon (FRA) were the winners in 2014.
Jolanda Neff
Jolanda Neff is one of the brightest young stars of Women's Cross-country. The 23-year-old Swiss athlete, who rides for the Stockli Pro Team, is considered one of the most technically proficient riders in the field, a strong descender and fast starter, who prefers to open a large gap on her rivals early in races.
Neff won both the 2014 and 2015 overall World Cup titles, as well as three Under-23 UCI World Championship titles in a row (2012-14). In 2015 Neff won three UCI World Cup events, as well as the European Championships. This season, she has also been racing on the road, finishing third in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, the third round of the Women's World Tour.
Key Results
1st Under-23 World Championships (2012, 2013, 2014) 1st World Cup Overall (2014, 2015 1st European Championships (2015) 1st Mont-Ste-Anne UCI World Cup (2014, 2015) 1st Albstadt UCI World Cup (2015) 1st Nove Mesto na Morave UCI World Cup (2015) 1st Méribel UCI World Cup (2014) 1st Pietermaritzburg UCI World Cup (2014)
[INSTAGRAM ID="https://www.instagram.com/p/BECCmKwtpYT/?taken-by=uciwomencycling"]