MTB World Championships results
The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held over the weekend in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. The downhill world championships were won by Sam Hill and Tracy Moseley. Hill won events at the World Cups held in Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2007 and 2009, and the Australian surprised himself by winning the gold medal despite two serious injuries earlier in the season.
"I don't know what it is, but this is where I do well," said Hill. "It's where I first raced the World Cup in 2001, and I'm always excited to come back."
The course saw rain on-and-off throughout the day. Canadian Steve Smith set the fastest time of 4:40.56 and the only rider who would go on to beat it was Hill. South African Greg Minnaar was the next-closest, at 4:40.93.
"These conditions were kind of bumming me out," said Hill. "As I was in the start house, I was trying to figure out what line to take in the first two corners. The track was pretty horrible and boggy after it rained last night and later this week. When I was halfway down the track, the crowds were whisper-quiet, so I figured I was about 10 seconds back. No one was cheering."
For Smith, it was a different situation. He and Hill both had the benefit over Minnaar of riding in drier conditions, while the South African had to ride with rain in his face. Smith had the added advantage of the home turf, spurred on by his own excitement and the cheering of the Canadian crowds. He won the silver medal despite a slip on the last jump and a separated AC joint on his bike.
"Right out of the gate, this course is fun all the way down," he said. "There is so much variety on the way down. The most challenging thing is putting a full run together. It's a long track and there's a lot going on. I had a little bit of pain, and I tried to ignore it during the race. Once the adrenaline was going, I didn't really feel it."
Brit Tracy Moseley won the women’s race ahead of Sabrina Jonnier and the defending champion Emmeline Ragot.
"I've had a long career and I've been trying to win this for many years," said Moseley, "and I've finally got this white jersey on my shoulders. I've been the sole Brit amongst the French riders for most of the year with Rach (Atherton) out for injury. I've been the one to have to fight the French. I knew Sabrina is really good on this track, we've been racing together since 1997. It's no surprise for me to find myself amongst these two."
The race was held on the same course and the same day as the men’s. Moseley finished in 5:17.47, 7.5 seconds ahead of Jonnier and 10.6 seconds ahead of Ragot. Jonnier won the Windham World Cup held the previous weekend and was targeting the gold.
"Mont-Sainte-Anne is my favorite track, and I've done well the past few years. I really wanted to win today, but I had a good season and a good World Cup."
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