The highlight of the day for us at downhill247.com was seeing Connor Fearon claim a thoroughly deserved third place! We have been long time supporters of Connor and know how much work he has done for this one race.
Another World Championships in the bag and what a race in so many ways! After a week that could best described as average, in terms of the weather, Mother Nature smiled on us and brought the blue sky and sun out for finals. The morning practice session was still very muddy and talking to the riders after their finals run, many said conditions on some areas of the track surprised them after a wet practice session.
Once practice was over and finals started the countdown was on…The fans were out in force, obligatory support signs included!This World Champs was Justin Leov’s last one after 10 years on the circuit.If there was no action on the track you could count on some spectators to serve up some action. This corner at the bottom was Hecklers Rock style with Aussies and Kiwis partying! Their partying went well into the night with various degrees of success!
JuniorA�Women started the day off and it was Canadian Holly Feniak that upset hot favourite Tahnee Seagrave to take the win. After dominating the junior World Cup circuit Tahnee was displaced by the Canadian who had not raced any World Cups and was unknown to many. Third place was Australian Danielle Beecroft, this result was definitely not a surprise as we were aware of her speed from her racing exploits back home.
Danielle Beecroft started the day of well for Australia with the bronze medal, here she hits one of the more technical chutes on the track.
Junior Men were next on track and Australia had a real chance to stack the top ten positions with riders. In the end we had a very good result and lost out on the overall number one junior ranking by a single point to France.
A disappointed David McMillan crashed twice in his race run and finished 64th.Luke Ellison jumping his way into 37th.Thomas Crimmins came home in 31st place, while Joey Vejvoda, above, took 21st place.Dean Lucas brought home 12th place and was happy with his result.Jack Moir in his first World Champs placed 5th, a super impressive result, look out for him next year in South Africa!Connor Fearon said he gave it everything and was happy with his run.He took the hot seat at the bottom and had a nervous wait to see how his time would hold up.The tension at a World Champs is always high but with two juniors having to do re-runs the tension was even higher.In the end there were smiles all round for Connor’s third place and the collective efforts of the team! Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!
Junior Women
1.A� Holly Feniak 4.01.62
2. Tahnee Seagrave 4.09.72 + 8.10
3. Danielle Beecroft 4.19.57 + 17.95
4. Geraldine Fink 4.22.63 + 21.01
5. Chloe Gallean 4.22.86 + 21.24
Junior Men
1. Loic Bruni 3.29.14
2. Richard Rude Jr 3.32.26 + 3.12
3. Connor Fearon 3.34.08 + 4.94
4. Noel Nieder 3.35.17 + 6.03
5. Jack Moir 3.36.98 + 7.84
…
12. Dean Lucas 3.40.72 + 11.58
21. Joe Vejvoda 3.43.13 + 13.99
31. Thomas Crimmins 3.46.80 + 17.66
37. Luke Ellison 3.49.82 + 20.69
64. David McMillan 4.04.21 + 35.07
With juniors finished Elite Women hit the course and in what is one of the feel good stories from the Champs, relatively unknown privateer Morgane Charre took the victory ahead of the biggest names on the circuit. It was a surprise but good to see.
Surprise! One that doesn’t happen often in this sport but happened in both Junior and Elite Woman this year, a relatively unknown rider upset the established names on the circuit. We would like to think Morgane could secure a factory ride now!
Elite Men was a really strange race, the feeling at the bottom when it became apparent Aaron Gwin had problems was an odd one. Many people wanted to see what he could do on this track. Gwin wasn’t the only one with problems, Steve Peat crashed on a flier of a run, as did Josh Bryceland who said he will looking back on this racing thinking ‘what could have been?’. Troy Brosnan’sA�horrendous overseas season and run of terrible luck here at Leogang continued, crashing within the first 100m of the track dislocating his shoulder.
Troy Brosnan in the morning practice, immediately after this drop is where Troy crashed in his race run.Whoops, that shouldn’t do that! Aaron Gwin’s prototype brakes failed spectacularly on the most important run at the biggest race of the year! The mood at the Trek team was a very somber one.With his race done Josh Bryceland put in for the crowd and the assembled media.Steve Peat may have crashed in his race run but he still got his hands on a rainbow jersey, the UCI presented him a special edition Leogang World Championship jersey to honour his 20 years of racing World Championships. When Peaty spoke people were waiting to here news on his retirement but he dashed these claims by saying he still thinks he has a few more years left in him.Bar Troy Brosnan’s crash Australia had another solid World Champs. Jared Graves powered home for 32nd place.It was awesome to see Josh Button Crack the top 20 with 20th place, likewise for Mitch Delfs who tied with Andrew Neethling for 18th position. Bryn Atkinson who was looking fast all week charged home for 13th place and Sam Hill who had a lot of family support here in Leogang finished 5th, just 3.41 seconds off the win.Timed practice showed what everyone could see, Mic Hannah had speed on this track. In the finals he came down and took the hot seat, he missed out on a podium spot by under a second finishing 4th.Stevie Smith had a few loose moments in his run, including this corner at the bottom where he ran wide and almost snagged a pedal on the ground! It must not have slowed him down too much, third place at the end of the day.One of the most consistent men in downhill racing, Greg Minnaar, finally took the top spot after last being there in 2003.Once he knew he had won Greg Minnaar had a smile on his face that would stay there for the rest of the day and night!
Elite Women
1. Morgane Charre 3.50.65
2. Emmeline Ragot 3.51.85 + 1.20
3. Manon Carpenter 3.52.14 + 1.49
4. Floriane Pugin 3.52.27 + 1.62
5. Rachel Atherton 3.56.55 + 5.89
Elite Men
1. Greg Minnaar 3.21.79
2. Gee Atherton 3.22.37 + 0.58
3. Stevie Smith 3.23.00 + 1.21
4. Mic Hannah 3.23.93 + 2.14
5. Sam Hill 3.25.20 + 3.41
…
13. Bryn Atkinson 3.28.58 + 6.79
18. Mitch Delfs 3.29.77 + 7.98
20. Josh Button 3.29.99 + 8.20
32. Jared Graves 3.32.41 + 10.62
DNF. Troy Brosnan
With the 2012 World Champions crowned manyA�riders actually head to Norway inA�two weeks time for the final World Cup, expect full coverage from downhill247.com on this event too!
Day 3 here in Leogang had a practice session for the riders in the morning followed by a timed practice session afterwards. Conditions were much the same in the morning but fortunately towards the end of the day they had improved.
This morning’s practice sessionA�finished without a hitch, the odd flat tyre or crash but no notable events.A�By this stage most riders should have a fair idea on their lines and the timed practice session is the first true indication of rider’s speed. For the juniors their time determines the starting order with the fastest time being the last person down the hill for finals. In Elite men the time does not play a part in the start order, this is determined by rank.
All that stands between the riders and glory! Add mother nature into the mix and you have the ingredients for an awesome race.
With timed practice out of the way it was time for the timed run. The first riders down the hill were the junior females and Australia’s Danielle Beecroft proved she is a real chance of a medalA�by coming in third place.
Third place in timed practice for Danielle Beecroft puts her in a strong position for finals.
The junior mens field was made up of 76 riders with Australia looking to feature heavily at the pointy end. For their timed runs we sat in the one spot to get an idea of how each rider negotiated that section of track. It was interesting to note that the Australian riders all took the A-line (as shown in the photos below) whereas many of the other top junior riders didn’t.
Junior Men
1. Loic Bruni 3.34.17
2. Noel Niederberger 3.38.96 + 4.80
3. Fraser McGlone 3.40.79 + 6.62
4. Connor Fearon 3.41.10 + 6.93
5. Jan Cepelak 3.41.71 + 7.54
…
10. Jack Moir 3.43.85 + 9.68
20. Dean Lucas 3.45.71 + 11.54
22. David McMillan 3.45.77 + 11.61
29. Joe Vejvoda 3.48.95 + 14.79
36. Tom Crimmins 3.51.70 + 17.53
47. Luke Ellison 3.55.16 + 20.99
Connor Fearon was the top placed Aussie junior in fourth place 6.93 seconds off first, Connor has stated his goal is to at least claim a medal here at Leogang.Jack Moir finished tenth, an excellent result considering this is his first World Championships campaign.Dean Lucas was sporting a new paint job on his helmet, as were many of the juniors, that was finalised earlier in the day!David McMillan will be looking for a solid result tomorrow, after finishing 22nd in timed practice a top 20 is definitely on the cards.This is Joey Vejvodas second junior World Championships, 29th in timed practice.Tom Crimmins was hot property in the pits here at Leogang, he has been having his photo taken everywhere. It didn’t affect him out on the track, 36th place.Luke Ellison at his first World Championships came home in 47th.
After the junior men elite women started off the proceedings for the elite riders. With Tracey Hannah out injured the closest Australia had to a representative was Claire Buchar who finished tenth but is here representing Canada. Elite men is what a lot of the fans really come to see but with the timed run not having any bearing on Sundaya��s start order, it is hard to know just how much the riders were pushing. Either way it was Sic Mic Hannah who topped the time sheets half a second ahead of Steve Smith. Talking to Mic before his run he was calm and with a solid year of racing under his belt his confidence should be high, leta��s hope tomorrow pays off for him. Three of the big contenders, Greg Minnar, Aaron Gwin and Gee Atherton took out third through fifth respectively.
Elite Men
1. Mic Hannah 3.26.63
2. Steve Smith 3.27.16 + 0.52
3. Greg Minnaar 3.27.94 + 1.30
4. Aaron Gwin 3.28.79 + 2.16
5. Gee Atherton 3.29.06 + 2.39
a��
16. Bryn Atkinson 3.36.05 + 9.42
20. Troy Brosnan 3.37.14 + 10.51
29. Jared Graves 3.38.74 + 12.11
32. Sam Hill 3.39.92 + 12.76
43. Mitch Delfs 3.42.30 + 15.66
107. Josh Button 4.20.13 + 53.50
Mic Hannah had a flier of a practice run and took out the top spot on the time sheet, Mic has been looking fast all week.Steve Smith always looks fast, just over half a second behind Mic.Greg Minnaar appeared to be really pushing when he flew past us in the woods.Aaron Gwin was definitely cruising in his practice run, not hitting all the lines we expected him to.Gee Atherton rounded out the top five 2.39 seconds back.Bryn Atkinson has been looking fast all week, he has been going big over this step down/roll in every run.You have to think Troy Brosnan has more in the bag for finals.Jared Graves, solid in the top 30.Sam Hill cruised his practice run, not jumping all the jumps on the course.Mitch Delfs has had a good year, a solid result at Champs would seal this for him.Josh Button crashed in front of us, nothing major but good he got it out of the way before tomorrow!
Tomorrow is the big day, finals! We cana��t waita��
Sam Hill is one to watch even more when the weather turns pear shaped and pear shaped it did!
Typical Alps weather in Leogang, perfect one day miserable the next! It has been raining forA�24 hours non stop, you wouldn’t believe it unless you were stuck in the middle of it like the riders here at Leogang. The mud meant riders lacked some speed for the big jumps in the middleA�of the course but the comments were that the track was super grippy. This is testament to the local trail builders who are all to aware how much water can fall quickly in these parts.
Joey Vejvoda hits one of the jumps near the bottom of the course, split practice meant juniors were first off in the morning.
With such average conditions riders weren’t taking too many chances,A�Aussie junior David McMillan snapped his shock early inA�practice but managed to get it fixed in time to get a couple more runs in.A�The rest of the juniors were looking fast and will all be contenders on Sunday. In senior men the usual suspects were all going fast, Bryn Atkinson looked super pinned, whipping off jumps most riders were struggling to clear. Jared Graves was busy all day, possibly doing the most runs of any Australian rider, clearly a man on a mission. As was Mic Hannah who was riding with his trademark flat out style.
Jared Graves didn’t let the conditions bother him, instead he punched out run after run, saying it was the most fun he has had on a bike in the wet for a while!Mic Hannah has a super distinctive riding style and position on the bike.Mitch Delfs was also super distinctive today, for a slightly different reason to Hannah though…Pretty standard photo of a pretty standard trick, cutting down spikes!Connor Fearon was fast all day long, he was also sporting a 2013 model helmet which he was happy to show to people!The last part of the course drops away quickly, here you can see the pits in the background.Troy Brosnan was doing runs all day, sometimes with team mates, some times with other riders, such as Aaron Gwin.This may look like a random picture of tyre marks but it is not. It was taken directly after Sam Hill hit this corner, yes they are his tracks on the left there. He has such a unique style of cornering, whatever works for you!Mechanics and pressure sprayers were working over time today.Brook MacDonald has been looking comfortable all week, here he is being followed by Andrew NeethlingNo matter how cold and wet it was this made us smile, Cedric Gracia out and about! Lets hope he gets a stint in the commentary box on Sunday.
More rain is forecast for tomorrows timed practice session which could provide an interesting indication of who has genuine speed here at Leogang.
The first rider on the course at the 2012 World Championships was Brook MacDonald. Look at the background scenery! No wonder he had three cameras strapped to him!
The 2012 World ChampionshipsA�kicked off here at Leogang, Austria today with the official track walk followed by an open practice session. The open practice session meant all categories were allowed on track at once, thisA�causedA�some congestion as riders would catch slower riders in front of them. While the track is certainly steep, fast and wild the riders felt it had been tamed down since the last World Cup held here. Conditions were good for the riders, if anything the dry conditions meant big braking ruts were forming in corners.
Mitch Delfs sending the biggest jump on the course, it is the second of two big jumps on the course and not many riders were attempting both. If you came up short the consequences could be pretty serious as the next photo showsa��a��Sam Blenkinsop came up short on the biggest jump on the course with pretty dire consequences, a large cracking sound was heard as his rear swing arm snapped! He very quickly put his bike into the back of a car and headed to the pits!However, no matter which way you look at the jump it is pretty impressive as Ben Reid shows…If Aaron Gwin is feeling the pressure here in Austria you wouldna��t know it, he was bar humping jumps as he headed down the course.Despite Gwin’s ‘alternate’ jumping style on some of the jumps, when we saw him double this root/rock combo in the first wooded section of the course it proved he is the man to beat. Most riders didn’t even jump off the root preferring to keep low to set up for the drop afterwards. Those who jumped to flat came up half a bike length short, then Gwin came along…He was a clear foot higher and metre longer than anyone else, super smooth and fast.Stevie Smith was looking fast in practice and after last yeara��s disappointment will be keen for a big result this weekend.On the other hand Jared Graves was looking for lines, stopping and scoping out sections as he headed down the track.The Aussie juniors were out in force, hitting multiple runs, on the track today and looking super-fast to boot!David McMillan on his way through one of the wooded sections on the course, the track ducks in and out of the open the whole way down the mountain.Troy Brosnan was looking good, returning from injury and back on the track that caused it! The jump which Troy hurt himself on a few months ago has had another lip added further back up the run in, as riders were coming too fast and going too far with the original set up.Many people are tipping Sam Hill to do well here if it rains but he wasna��t looking too bad in the dry!
Rain fell here after practice and is continuing into the night, it will be interesting to seeA�how muchA�more rain falls before tomorrowa��s practice session. Many riders already have the spikes out in anticipation of what is going to happen! Check back to downhill247.com soon!
It has arrived, the new improved downhill247.com site! The new format has a host of improvements, oneA�being that it allows us to run larger pictures, we hope to bring you guys even more great shots in the future. Don’t forget to follow downhill247.com on Facebook (here)A�to stay up to date with what is happening on the site. If you think you can contribute to the site with photos, articles, etc get in touch; contact@downhill247.com Enjoy!
After his maiden World Cup victory Brook MacDonald was hanging in Whistler with a huge amount of confidence as he gets ready for the World Championships. Photo: Owen Perry
One of the big highlights at Crankworx is the Canadian Open, this race is on a pure World Cup quality track. Check out some of the amazingA�photos and no doubt you will agree. Continue reading “Canadian Open – Crankworx – Whistler”→
