Theme Track: AC/DC – Shoot To Thrill

Minnaar and Jonnier take new DHI wins

There were two familiar faces on the podium for round seven of the downhill series in the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) took her sixth consecutive win in the women’s category, while Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) took his third in the men’s, at Bromont, Quebec in Canada. Jonnier has now locked up the women’s overall title with one race still remaining. Sam Hill (Monster Energy-Specialized) retains the lead in the men’s series after finishing third, but Minnaar is only 16 points back, so this title will come down to the final round in Schladming, Austria, one month from now.

The off again – on again rain of the past week finally moved away overnight, with blue skies and bright sun appearing shortly before race time. The open sections of track dried out quickly, however, in among the trees the mud remained, forcing riders to carefully negotiate slippery rock gardens and rooted sections.

Women: Sixth consecutive win for Sabrina Jonnier

Junior World Cup leader Anais Pajot (Team Sunn) was the first to go below three minutes and 12 seconds in the women’s race, and took the Nissan Hot Seat. Jonnier was up only a few riders later, after an uncharacteristically slow qualifier that had her seeded fifth. The French rider obliterated the rest of the field, becoming the only rider to clock under three minutes. Floriane Pugin (Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker) took second, while Japan’s Mio Suemasa was third.

“I’ve been sick all week,” revealed Jonnier “and I had no energy. I was really disappointed with my qualifier, it was the worst that I have had. But the weather changes dried the track out and made it more to my liking. Even so, I was really surprised at how fast my time was.”

Men: Another win for South Africa Greg Minnaar

Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles), with 11 riders remaining, was the first to make a significant dent in the top time, taking it below 2:34. His time would hold until the young American revelation Aaron Gwin (Yeti Fox Shox) knocked a quarter of a second off the best time, to eventually take the fifth podium spot. World champion Gee Atherton (Animal Commencal) bumped Gwin, but Minnaar was only two riders later, and his time would prove to be the best, as the final two riders – Hill and number one qualifier Fabien Barel (Subaru) – could only manage the second and third fastest times respectively.

“The course was really tough after all the rain, many of the sections were just blown right out, and it was easy to make mistakes. I didn’t have a clean run; I don’t think anyone did, but I just tried to keep it clean and flowy, and be as smooth as I could. Definitely, this win is a confident booster, going into the Worlds, and I’ll be looking forward to having it all come down to the Final in Schladming.”

Mens
1  RSA MINNAAR Greg                   SCB 2:31.65
2  FRA BAREL Fabien                      SUB 2:32.11 +00.46
3  AUS HILL Samuel                        MER 2:32.28 +00.63
4  GBR ATHERTON Gee                   ANC 2:32.68 +01.03
5  USA GWIN Aaron                         YET 2:33.06 +01.41
6  AUS HANNAH Michael              GTB 2:33.32 +01.67
7  GBR PEAT Steve                            SCB 2:33.48 +01.83
8  AUS KOVARIK Chris                   CRC 2:34.44 +02.79
9  GBR BRYCELAND Josh               SCB 2:35.72 +04.07
10 GBR FAIRCLOUGH Brendan   MER 2:35.74 +04.09

Womens
1 FRA JONNIER Sabrina               TMR 2:58.28
2 FRA PUGIN Floriane                   IKP 3:00.92 +02.64
3 JPN SUEMASA Mio                                3:01.23 +02.95
4 GBR MOSELEY Tracy                  TRK 3:02.24 +03.96
5 FRA GROS Céline                          MLG 3:04.24 +05.96
6 CAN GATTO Micayla                            3:06.31 +08.03
7 CAN BUCHAR Claire                   CRC 3:06.75 +08.47
8 FRA RAGOT Emmeline               SCT 3:06.97 +08.69
9 SUI SIEGENTHALER Emilie     STT 3:07.55 +09.27
10 USA PRUITT Kathleen                      3:09.06 +10.78

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