Brazil WC - DH finals

CAMBORIU, Brazil (transcendmagazine.com) -- The rain has held off and weather is perfect for a race we are being told. Rachel Atherton just took her first World Cup win, the men are now on course. Matti Lehikoinen makes his first trip to a world cup podium's top step as well for the men over Camboriu beach's 1.4km downhill track through tropical rainforest.

Rachel Atherton:
"As I went up in the gondola I just pictured myself beating Sabrina's (Jonnier) time and taking the hot seat. I had a perfect run, except for the last jump where I bobbled a bit. When Tracy came down I really didn't think I had it, then the clock stopped with her time slower. I'm so happy to win here. Brazil is such a cool country and apart from winning in Fort William, this is where I wanted to win. The course is awesome, it really suits me, and my Giant was always feeling good here. Thanks to Bob our mechanic for making the bike super reliable."

Men's favorite, Greg Minnaar, had his first flat in World Cup finals ever, on what could possibly be the most important race of the year points wise. It lead to a crash not far from the finish. Sam Hill also crashed in view of the finish line.

#11 Matti Lehikoinen (1st Place)
"I really can't believe this, it's like a dream. I had a great run, I really lifted my speed, and I thought I'd done enough to get on the podium. I honestly didn't imagine this, I am so stoked. This is my 31st World Cup and I have been trying for so long. I'm not slow, I know I can do this, and today it all just came together. It's an amazing feeling and I'm very happy for my team, my mechanic Mark, and the whole Honda Racing crew. To win in Brazil is perfect, it's the next best thing to a home win because the people here are so supportive, that's why I took the Brazilian flag to the podium, to say thanks for all the support."

Every world cup for the men so far has had a different winner, this makes the title chase extremely interesting with only 178 points seperating the top 2 and anothe 26 or so back to 3rd. You get 200 points for the win, and 50 points for top qualifying spot - it is anyone's game going into the last round. Bring on Austria!

Thanks to Martin Whiteley, 23 Degrees, for the quotes.

Men
1. 11 FIN19840419 LEHIKOINEN Matti FIN TEAM G-CROSS HONDA 1:43.05 2:19.31 200.0
Course length : 1410 m / 0.88 Mile - Average Speed : 36.44 Kmh / 22.64 Mph
2. 12 GBR19740617 PEAT Steve GBR 1:42.82 2:19.40 +0.09160.0
3. 17 AUS19831121 HANNAH Michael AUSCANNONDALE/THE CUT 1:44.22 2:20.69 +1.38140.0
4. 5 GBR19850226 ATHERTON Gee GBRTEAM ANIMAL / GIANT 1:45.54 2:22.12 +2.81125.0
5. 9 GBR19840925 BEAUMONT Marc GBRTEAM MBUK SANTACRUZ 1:45.35 2:22.14 +2.83110.0
6. 85 BRA19800209 BERCHTOLD Markolf BRAMAXXIS-MSC 1:45.47 2:22.27 +2.96 95.0
7. 19 AUS19821209 ATKINSON Bryn AUS 1:44.58 2:22.56 +3.25 90.0
8. 4 FRA19780323 GRACIA Cédric FRA 1:45.40 2:22.59 +3.28 85.0
9. 16 FRA19840107 CAMELLINI Julien FRA 1:45.77 2:22.79 +3.48 80.0
10. 18 RSA19840805 NEETHLING Andrew RSA 1:46.04 2:23.17 +3.86 75.0

12. Hill +4.23
23. Minnaar +6.61

Women
1 GBR19871206 ATHERTON Rachel TEAM ANIMAL / GIANT 2:38.25
2 1 FRA19810819 JONNIER Sabrina 2:38.97
3 2 GBR19790412 MOSELEY Tracy KONA LES GETS FACTORY TEAM 2:40.87
4 6 GBR19830116 GASKELL Helen 2:41.27
5 10 FRA19860527 RAGOT Emmeline QBIKES 2:41.91
6 11 CHI19851019 PIZARRO BERNARDITA Pizarro Bernardita 2:45.31
7 26 FRA19830128 GROS Céline ALVAREZ RACING 2:47.68
8 17 USA19820125 BUHL Melissa 2:48.71
9 13 JPN19830401 SUEMASA Mio 2:49.76
10 16 AUT19801112 MOLCIK Anita ARBÖ RSP DOWNHILL RACING TEAM 2:53.20

Men's Overall
PEAT Steve GBR 180 150 250 118 200 898
2. MINNAAR Greg RSA TEAM G-CROSS HONDA 58 190 200 210 62 720
3. HILL Samuel AUS 112 240 70 157 117 696
4. ATHERTON Gee GBRTEAM ANIMAL / GIANT 123 130 150 105 145 653
5. HANNAH Michael AUS CANNONDALE/THE CUT 250 24 81 83 165 603
6. RENNIE Nathan AUS 180 86 155 125 53 599
7. GRACIA Cédric FRA 115 177 110 101 86 589
8. BEAUMONT Marc GBRTEAM MBUK SANTACRUZ 135 110 65 155 121 586
9. LEHIKOINEN Matti FIN TEAM G-CROSS HONDA 52 88 92 110 217 559
10. KOVARIK Chris AUS MS-INTENSE FACTORY-RACING 85 50 130 220 58 543

Matti L - one of the nicest guys on the circuit. Congrats.

Posted on Jul. 02 06, 14:41