Neko Mulally Takes Personal Record Points Haul At 2013 World Cup Round 3

The third round of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup took place in Vallnord, Andorra in front of loud and enthusiastic crowd estimated at around 15,000. Sitting in 3rd place overall coming into this round, Brook MacDonald (NZL) had a difficult week battling a serious shoulder injury that hed incurred a week ago in XC training back home in New Zealand, and only managed 6 complete runs of the course. His team mate Neko Mulally however scored his first ever top 10 in qualifying and backed it up with a solid 16th in the final. This gave the young American 80 points and pushed him up to 15th in the overall standings.

George Brannigan who still races in knee braces following surgery late last year, scored a 29th place, moving him up in the rankings as well to be top 40 for the first time this season. Greg Williamson was impeded in his run when a spectators red backpack was dropped onto the course forcing some evasive action. That, and some personal errors, saw him finish a personally disappointing 33rd.

Neko said after his run: Had a great start but just got a little tight towards the end of the run, but basically achieved what I set out to do. Im happy to move up to 15th and be really close to the guys in front. Mont-Sainte-Anne is the track I look forward to the most all year, so I cant wait for Round 4.

Brook said: My main goal this weekend was to minimize the damage and be 100% for one of my favourite tracks, Mont-Sainte-Anne, in 2 weeks. The shoulder was a lot better today and thanks to my coach and Greg Minnaars Physio, I was able to ride. I kept it smooth and stayed out of trouble but just wasnt able to run at full speed. Im still in the Top 10 overall and I will be chasing points in Canada!

The team will stay on in Andorra for the next 2 days and do some valuable testing, trying out some new things that they plan to have on board for Canada. With 2 riders in the top 15 overall, and all 4 in the top 40, the team is looking forward to the 2nd half of the World Cup season.