Weather puts Chapery World Cup at Risk
The World Cup in Champery, Switzerland, suffered treacherous weather conditions this past weekend, which not only tested the patience and bike handling abilities of the competitors, but also risked their lives. The downhill races of Friday and Saturday suffered scores of crashes, many minor slips, but also some severe injuries which resulted in the need for some riders to be airlifted from the mountain course.
"Plagued by bad weather all weekend the Champéry course looked more like a battlefield than a race track with the three days of heavy rain in the lead up to Saturday's finals not helping matters," said downhill winner Gee Atherton’s Commencal team manager Dan Brown.
Sustained heavy rains plagued the cross country events as well as the downhill, turning the tracks slick or covering them in thick mud. The 1,500m course became a mudslide during the qualification stage, only backing off before the finals on Saturday, after the damage had been done. The drying mud clung to bikes, weighing down the riders and reducing the race to a crown on the final course, which is considered one of the toughest of the circuit even when dry.
"My run was far from great but I don't expect anyone's was down there,” said Atherton, the downhill winner. “It was way more physical than qualifying with the mud making the bikes feel so heavy."
Gee Atherton now stands behind Greg Minnaar in the World Cup, after the fourth of six rounds. Minnaar rides for Santa Cruz Syndicate with the World Champion Steve Peat.
"It was so steep it ended up being one line, just get in the slot and ride," said Peat. "The track is steep and technical, with lots of tight turns, some good jumps, not too rocky, but plenty of roots came out. It was sticky in the finals due to weather conditions and it was very hard to carry speed anywhere. The track is so steep and in case of injuries, they must airlift people off the hill."
Nico Vink was airlifted from the mountain during the finals for medical treatment. Christian Wright didn’t even get to start the finals since he suffered a serious crash during practice, which required the same treatment. The women’s race suffered less injury, but was just as weighed down by the conditions.
"It was probably one of the toughest conditions and tracks I've had to race for many, many years," said Tracy Moseley, veteran downhill racer for Trek World Racing. "I found it hard to more than just get down the course and never felt like I was really racing, just surviving. I lost time with my crash and I'm disappointed but also relieved not to crash out completely. I look forward to Val di Sole, where hopefully conditions will make it more of a race!"
Sunday’s cross country event was held in better conditions, but some sections of the course were rendered nearly impossible to ride.
"The course was muddy and rooty, very challenging. It was hard for riders to find a clear line in many sections. Top calibre riders were forced to run many sections of the course, which created a lot of traffic," said Dan Proulx, the coach of the Canadian team.
Last weekend in Switzerland was the fourth race of six in the World Cup. The fifth will take place next weekend in Val di Sole, Italy, followed by a three weekend break before the sixth weekend, held in Windham, New York. The championships in downhill and cross country will be held in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, Canada, from August 31 to September 5th.
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