Aaron Gwin Extends World Cup Lead After A Nail Biting Finish

Fort William is a classic stop on the World Cup tour and the mixed weather and rider fortunes meant it was again a race with drama and varying luck for the top riders. Championship contenders Greg Minnaar and Trek World Racing's Aaron Gwin had qualifying runs they weren't completely happy with Minnaar finishing 7th, and Aaron scoring no points after having two crashes due to front wheel wash outs. Aaron felt he chose the wrong tire for the conditions on Saturday and was disappointed to concede 18 points to Greg, but the main points were up for grabs today.

Because of the qualifying result, Aaron started earlier than the main contenders and took the hotseat with a 4m 48secs. It was difficult to know if this time would hold for the next hour as the top 20 men came down the hill, or would they push towards Marc Beaumont's (GBR) qualifier of 4m 42secs. The lead started to whittle away and was down to 3secs when Danny Hart took to the track and got the gap down to 0.6secs. With Greg Minnaar crossing the line with a drive train mechanical and eventually finishing 6th, it was up to the final two riders from Team GT to knock Aaron from the hotseat, which eventually did not happen. Aaron took his 7th World Cup win from 10 starts for Trek World Racing (and a 100% podium success rate), with hart second and Gee Atherton third. Aaron’s World Cup lead is now 85 points.

Aaron said: "I just rode a smooth run. It was hard to judge but all I knew was that it needed to be smooth. It was pretty nerve wracking watching all the big guys coming down and I started to think a podium w as likely, but the win was a real surprise. I'm glad to have finally conquered this amazing track! The fans here have been incredible all week."

For Justin Leov it was bitterly disappointing after riding at his best level all week and feeling confident of a great run in the final, when a small error in a straight forward section of track cost him valuable time.

Justin said: "It was just a simple mistake but it cost me a lot. I pretty bummed because I know from my riding and what others have said to me that I was on it this week. I just have to push forward and take the positives from my riding this week and head to North America tomorrow as determined as ever." Neko Mulally is back racing with Justin Leov in the Vermont round of the US National Series, at Sugarbush Resort next weekend, and the team will all be back together the following week in Mont-Sainte-Anne for next round of both the XC and DH World Cups.

Aaron Gwin Dominates At Val Di Sole WC Round 2

After setting the fastest qualifying time yesterday by more than 7 seconds, Trek World Racing's Aaron Gwin displayed incredible poise and composure to once again win by a similar margin today in the finals here at Val di Sole, Italy. While the rest of the field were separated by tenths of a second, the sizes of Aaron's winning margins really were the talk of the paddock throughout the weekend. The win today puts Aaron in the leader's jersey, but tied on points with main rival Greg Minnaar (RSA).

The course here in Val di Sole, site of the 2008 World Championships, is notoriously steep and rooted an d is considered one of the toughest on both rider and machine. Training accidents claimed many riders but fortunately the sunny weather ensured the racing was largely a safe affair, but the images were dramatic nevertheless. It's hard to appreciate the incline of this course unless you've walked it or stood trackside.

Unfortunately Neko Mulally was unable to race as his ankle wasn't 100% ready for the demanding track. A single practice run on Friday made that abundantly clear, but he took a radio to the course and relayed a lot of valuable information back to the team's start crew. Starting last and not knowing what time Greg Minnaar had recorded, Aaron took to the track with a chance to win his 6th World Cup. While Minnaar sat in the hotseat it was clear that barring an accident, the win was Aaron's for the taking. No rider had beaten his qualifying time of 3mins 16.693secs so he still had the fastest time on the hill for the weekend no matter what, but Aaron went on to beat his qualifying time by 6 seconds.

Aaron said: "I’ve been looking for a run like that for some time now, I couldn't be happier. I was pretty sure my quali time would hold, and even though the course here is super rough and dusty, I managed an almost clean run. Greg rode amazingly well on this track and is going to be tough competition for the remainder of the season."

Teammate Justin Leov moved up in the overall rankings from 16 to 13 after his run today, but despite the improvement was disappointed with how his final run went.

Justin said: "I overrode the first sector of the course and made an error that cost me a second. I tried to make it up in the second sector but just starting making more mistakes and had to rein it in to get down. Fort William's up next week and I'm keen to get back there."

Next week sees Round 3 at the classic Fort William course. Greg Minnaar has won there a number of times including last year, but Aaron has a score t o settle with the track after having a lead of more than 5 seconds in 2011 and crashing with 2 corners to go. With the two of them tied on points it will be an exciting showdown at the Fort.

Full results: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYzODg&LangId=1

Trek World Racing Make It a 1-2 At The 2012 Mountain Creek Pro GRT

Last weekend and this coming weekend sees back to back rounds of the Pro GRT on the East Coast of the USA, which all three DH riders from Trek World Racing are supporting. Yesterday saw the riders at Mountain Creek, at Vernon, New Jersey, home of the former US Open, and now the new Mountain Creek Bike Park which Aaron Gwin had the honor of officially opening on Saturday.

The event still carries a great prize purse and the fans are always vocal and big in number. Aaron qualified fastest on Saturday with a 2m 13secs, but Neko Mulally was a non-starter after injuring his ankle in a training incident. Perhaps best characterized as a serious sprain, the injury means that Neko was best to opt out of racing until he can put his weight back on the foot, most likely next week. Here's what he said:

"I stuffed my foot into the ground and twisted my ankle pretty bad. My foot slipped off the front of my pedal and planted onto the ground and then my pedal hit the back of my calf and caused my ankle to hyper-extend. I plan to keep the weight off it and the doctor says it should feel better in a few days. The goal is to be 100% ready for Val di Sole (Italy, World Cup #2), and I'm going to be as smart as I can to make sure that happens. It sucks, I didn't even crash, I just slipped a pedal following Justin. I didn't even lose speed but I just couldn't put weight on it when I got it back on the pedal."

The remaining two riders took to the final and in the super-hot conditions, staying well hydrated was key to getting a great run in. Aaron bettered his qualifier by 3 seconds to tak e the win in 2m 10secs, and now leads the series. Justin Leov took second with a 2m 14secs, making it a great 1-2 for the team.

Aaron said: "It was a fun weekend here in Vernon. I rode well today and I felt good. It's all building towards Italy and each time I race I feel better and better."

Justin said: "My run was good, after having a 'near season ender' in seeding yesterday, today was all about just having a solid top to bottom run and I achieved that. I will continue to build next week and should be on key for Italy."

The downhillers go to Plattekill, New York for the next round this weekend. Neko will decide on Friday whether or not he needs to race on the weekend.

More info on the Pro GRT series available here:

http://www.usacycling.org/progrt

Neko Mulally Wins Inaugural Duryea Downhill

Racing just minutes from home, Trek World Racing's Neko Mulally took another win for season 2012 by taking the victory at the Duryea Downhill, an event held in Neko's hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, and an event he help put together. Here's what he had to say about the weekend.

"One of my side projects this year has been helping to organize a downhill race in my hometown. The race was very enjoyable for all who participated. The Duryea Downhill is unique because it finishes in Reading's City Park which is in the center of town. There were a lot of spectators and for that reason and it was cool to race on a track that's a little different to the ski slopes we're used to. This race was awesome for me personally because it was so clo se to home and being able to race on my home trails in front of all my friends from school and my family was really special.

The whole weekend was great. Saturday evening I had a BBQ in my yard where a lot of the riders came to hang out and ride my pump track. Ray Waxham from Trek's Race Department was with us all weekend and he is always great to have around. My bike was set up perfectly for the track as the race was held on the mountain where I do all my home testing. The new Shimano Saint components were very popular because most of the guys here hadn't seen them yet. I ran the Bontrager G4 tires again which I believe gave me a big advantage on rolling speed. I won the race by over 7 seconds, and it was awesome to see all my friends and family waiting at the finish line. I am really glad that I was able to help make this race possible and I hope it can become an annual event."

Race results are here: http://duryeadownhill.com/Results.html

2012 Duryea Downhill Race Results

Trek World Racing Takes 2 Podium Spots In Port Angeles

At the opening round of the US National series for gravity racing, Trek World Racing's 3 Downhill riders took on some of the fastest men in the world, including current World Cup series leader Greg Minnaar and eventual race winner Steve Smith, on the famous Pacific North West track in Port Angeles, in Washington State. Aaron Gwin finished 2nd and Neko Mulally joined him on the podium for 5th.

Last time the team raced here, in 2010, we also picked up a silver medal in the men's category when Justin Leov took 2nd place behind Bryn Atkinson, but this weekend wasn’t going well for the Kiwi. Shortly after the event Justin tweeted: "It wasn't happening for me this weekend, but thanks to all the people up here in the North West! You guys rock!" Justin heads back to New Zealand for a couple of weeks of training at home before hitting the east coast of the US for more American racing.

Neko Mulally is having his best start to a race season yet and after some impressive podiums already this year, he backed it up with yet another podium here, 3 tenths ahead of World Cup leader Greg Minnaar (RSA). After qualifying 8th, Neko put down a great run for the finals and had this to say shortly afterwards:

"I got a lot out of racing this weekend. We did a ton of practice runs which made for good training on the bike. I over-rode my qualifying run and wanted to ride smoother in the final. I managed to get through smoothly and put down a pretty solid run. The suspension was working great and got me safely through the all the deep holes that had developed. I really enjoyed racing h ere in Port Angeles as it's one of my favorite venues."

After qualifying conservatively in 9th, Aaron had a strong race in the finals moving up to 2nd, and thoroughly enjoyed the week of testing, training and racing with his team mates.

"We had an awesome weekend here in Port Angeles. The people up here are super cool and make this race one of my favorites of the year."

The downhillers have a small break now before racing on the US east coast in mid-May.

Results:

1. Steve Smith (CAN) 2m 30.69secs

2. Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) 2m 32.43secs

3. Mick Hannah (AUS) 2m 33.57secs

4. Josh Bryceland (GBR) 2m 33.92secs

5. Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing) 2m 34.73secs

6. Greg Minnaar (RSA) 2m 35.06secs

14. Justin Leov (Trek World Racing) 2m 38.24secs

Follow the team on Twitter @trekworldracing