BRYCELAND SMASHES FIELD IN WINDHAM AND GRABS WORLD CUP LEAD WITH OVER 1000 POINTS!

Josh “Ratboy” Bryceland stormed to the top of the podium once again at UCI Downhill World Cup #6 in Windham (USA) on Saturday, August 9.
His winning margin of 1.581 seconds was a country mile on such a short course. The result marks his third podium and second win of the season, now placing him squarely in the lead overall with 1007 points. 

“I'm still in awe that I'm leading the World Cup,” said Bryceland. “I could hear the crowd from the bottom cheering for Gwinny in the finals, so I knew he had had a good run. I put that out of my head and took a few deep breaths, and then gave it everything I had.”

Teammate Greg Minnaar, the reigning World Champion who was recovering from knee surgery earlier in the year, finished in eleventh to consolidate his sixth place in the overall rankings. 

“I was refining my bike settings during the week and I felt like I had it dialed in for the qualifier, but I missed getting up to speed in practice.“ explained Greg. “Finishing 11th isn't acceptable to me” he added, suggesting the best is still to come from the South African this season.

Steve Peat was the first to congratulate Josh as he crossed the line, visibly ecstatic at the continued rise of his protégée.

“Ratboy rules!” exclaimed Peaty. “It was another great event at Windham, and my bike was rad. I'm just gutted to be leaving without a decent result, but this place has always had mixed emotions for me over the years!”

The Syndicate are now amped for the final round of the World Cup in Méribel (FRA) set for August 21-23.  Will Ratboy be able to retain his lead and take his first World Cup title?  The whole mountain biking World will be tuning in live to find out!!

Windham Results: 
1st  JOSH BRYCELAND (GBR)    2:24:332 
2nd  AARON GWIN (USA)             2:25:913  
3rd  TROY BROSNAN (AUS)         2:26:455 
11th  GREG MINNAAR (RSA)        2:28.540 
43rd STEVE PEAT (GBR)              2:33.488

Brook MacDonald Races to the Podium in Windham

In an exciting and closely fought round 6 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham, USA, Trek World Racing’s Brook MacDonald made his 2nd appearance on the 2014 World Cup podium with a 5th place ride on the fast, rocky and short track. His podium ride also marked the 40th World Cup podium for the Trek Session since the team started; the most successful downhill bike in recent history.

Fellow Kiwi George Brannigan also had a great ride improving on his qualifier to move into the top 10, landing a solid 8th place. The result good enough to launch him into 17th overall giving him protected rider status going into the next round in France.

Local hero Neko Mulally was on a flyer of a run, 3rd fastest at the 1st split and destined for the podium, when unfortunately his front wheel washed out in a blown out berm, and he went down. Amazingly he salvaged the run, finishing with enough points in 25th to move up in the overall standings to 9th.

Greg Williamson also moved up 5 places in the overall standings after his steady ride to 22nd place. After qualifying in the top 20 he was a little disappointed by his conservative run, but learned a lot from the experience.

Unfortunately for Laurie Greenland, the UCI doesn’t afford protected status for the top 10 juniors and so a puncture in qualifying left him out of the finals on Sunday.

Brook said: “Always stoked to get on the podium and now I have two of these under my belt for the season, my confidence has lifted greatly. I feel great on the bike and can’t wait to lift my level even further coming into the next two big events”.

Neko said: “You have to really lay it on the line with a track line this and I was so happy with how I was riding the final. The crash came out of nowhere and I was on the ground before I knew it, but thankfully with my 3rd place qualifier I’ve earned enough points to improve my overall. Keen to take my current form to France for the finals”.

George said: “I had a lot of fun on my run, this track is pretty wild and you have to push it to get a result. Really happy to get protected status and to know I’m riding at a great level at this end of the season”.

The team’s next race is World Cup Round 7 in Méribel, France, on August 22 and 23.

Danny Hart Podiums at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup!

Giant Factory Off-Road Team rider Danny Hart of Great Britain scored his second World Cup podium of the season Saturday, finishing third at Mont-Sainte-Anne on a prototype Giant Glory 27.5 team bike.

Hart, the 2011 downhill world champion, qualified with the seventh fastest time on a tough, physical course at the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski area near Quebec City, in eastern Canada. His teammate Andrew Neethling of South Africa, also riding the Glory 27.5, had a super strong run to qualify third.

In the finals on Saturday, Hart put in a near flawless run, taking the leader’s position from Sam Blenkinsop with a time of 4:12.205. In the end, Hart was edged out by Australian winner Sam Hill and fellow Brit Josh Bryceland in second.

Neethling was unable to match his stellar qualifying run, and finished 14th in the finals. The team’s third rider, Colombian Marcelo Gutierrez, crashed in his finals run and finished 47th. Gutierrez is now 18th overall in the standings.

Hart’s podium finish allowed him to retain his seventh place overall standing in the World Cup, with two rounds left to go. Round 6 takes place next weekend in Windham, New York.

Neko Mulally and Laurie Greenland Maintain Top 10 Standings in UCI World Cup

The venue for round 5 of the World Cup Downhill, Mont-Sainte-Anne, never provides a dull day of racing, and yesterday was no exception. Unfortunately for Trek World Racing the solid preparation and fast pace in practice didn’t translate into the results the riders deserved, but nevertheless there were some positive highlights to a tricky day.

George Brannigan’s best ever result at Mont-Sainte-Anne over the years he’s been racing here was a 17th, so his improvement from 26th in qualifying up to a new personal best of 15th was a solid result.

Laurie Greenland’s first visit to the mythical Quebec track had the junior wide eyed and impressed to finally see and ride the track he’s watched for years on screen. To finished 8th in his first race here, and maintain his top 10 in the overall, was another solid ride all part of the learning process. Mont-Sainte-Anne is a track mastered over time.

Neko Mulally had yet another top 10 qualifier but in the race got a little messy on a track that had rapidly dried out in the first day of full sunshine for the week. Finishing 17th Neko managed to remain in the top 10 in the overall, where he’s been all season.

Brook MacDonald saw crashes affect both his qualifier and final, despite being on pace all week. Two and half seconds up at split one in the final only to crash before split 2, Brook was on for high top 10 placing, and was clearly dejected by the a flying run spoiled by a front wheel wash out in changed conditions, finishing 16th.

George said: “Of course it’s great to have my best ever result here but after thinking of what could have been, because I made some silly errors up top, I know they cost me a top 10 here. Pace is good and that’s what matters.”

Laurie said: “It’s a long track here and I was surprised that in my race run I didn’t feel anywhere near as tired as I did in practice. I’ve learned a lot here especially about how to prepare for a track like this compared to some of the shorter ones”.

Greg Williamson had a huge crash on his final practice run where he hit his hip square onto a tree stump at high speed and later had trouble walking. He opted wisely not to race and instead focus his attention on recovery before next week’s round 6 in Windham, US.

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Downhill Final Results

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Men

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Women

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Junior Men