Sabrina Jonnier Wins, Cameron Cole Fifth at Leogang World Cup
Two weeks had passed since Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain had its best ever weekend at a downhill World Cup with Sabrina Jonnier’s win and Cameron Cole’s career best second place at Fort William.
Sabrina Jonnier
Leogang was a last minute addition to the 2010 schedule, filling in for Schladming, Austria, a longtime World Cup venue which ran into financial difficulties this Spring. Similar to Schladming, Leogang promised a long and very technical track, but without the refinement that comes with hosting an event year after year. In the week leading up to Leogang, it was clear that the race would be a wet and cold one and that the race would be won by whoever would crash the least.
Sabrina Jonnier, fresh off her win in Fort William and leading the World Cup overall, had a disappointing qualifying run, finishing in fourth spot behind top qualifier Rachel Atherton of the UK who was followed by Emmeline Ragot and Floriane Pugin of France. In the finals, Jonnier rode much smoother and came down the course with the fastest time of 4:52:70. Neither Ragot or Pugin could match her time, both over three seconds back. Rachel Atherton was the last to go, but halfway down, she crashed heavily and did not finish the race.
"It is a really hard course, as hard as Maribor,maybe harder," explained Jonnier. "It is just not the conditions I like at all. I like dry, sunny tracks, not this .... wet, muddy and yucky. The hardest part for me was the big drops, you can't go too fast or you end up missing the turn, and too slow you go over the bars. I tried to be fast enough and safe at the same time, just stay on my bike. It was good enough to take the win."
In the mens race, it was clear that those comfortable in the mud would be the ones on the podium. Usual suspects Sam Blenkinsop (NZL), Greg Minnaar (RSA), Aaron Gwin (USA), Matti Lehikoinen (FIN), and Gee Atherton (GBR) were the top five qualifiers with Maxxis-Rocky Mountain's Cameron Cole crashing in his qualifying run, ending up 12th.
In the finals, the times were much slower than those in qualifying, showing just how much the track had deteriorated overnight. Current World Champion Steve Peat set the first time under 4:12, but was bumped by Cameron Cole who had a consistent and clean run the whole way down. Gee Atherton was the fifth from last starter and he scorched the course to take the hot seat, but he was displaced shortly thereafter by Minnaar who beat him by three quarters of a second. Blenkinsop took third place, Gwin took fourth and Cam Cole rounded out the top five for his second podium placing in as many races.
