Aaron Gwin was his usual consistent top of the world performer on Saturday at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec but when Great Britain’s Danny Hart crossed the line with a time 0.669 seconds better than him it meant that Gwin was not able to lock up the series title this weekend. Gwin had a 218 point lead but the second place finish here drops that lead to 178, nothing he’ll be worried about losing but still not enough to clinch it.

Luca Shaw had a season best performance finishing fifth, his third top seven finish. Also finishing in season best spots were Charlie Harrison in 23rd, Kiran Mackinnon in 27th, and Jason Schroeder in 30th. Eilot Jackson had his third top 30 finish in 26th.

On Sunday will be the cross-country final there are nine women in the field led by Lea Davison who had an eighth place finish in Albstadt, Chloe Woodruff who was 13th in Cairns, and Erin Huck and Georgia Gould who each have three top 32 finishes. On the men’s side there hasn’t been as much success this year but both Stephen Ettinger and Howard Grotts have a pair of top 32 finishes. Perhaps the most interesting note is that Grotts, Davison, and Woodruff will also be competing in the Olympics in two weeks but are competing here first. Prayers for safety probably desired.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Mont-Sainte-Anne Preview
Friday Update

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Cross-Country Coverage:
Lenzerheide Recap

Aaron Gwin won qualifying by 3.603 seconds over Great Britain’s Danny Hart at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in Mont-Sanite-Anne, Quebec on Friday. The top finish gave Gwin 50 more points in the overall standings and despite Hart finishing second Gwin’s lead grew to 218 points in the season standings. If Gwin wins the final tomorrow he will move 258 points in front of Gwin and won’t even need to score points in the final event of the season to win the season title. It’s hard to see a scenario at this point where he doesn’t end up on top for the second straight year and fourth time in his career.

14 of the US riders reached the final with Luca Shaw in seventh and Charlie Harrison in 19th the most noteworthy finishers. None of the three US riders who missed the final had participated in a race earlier this year. Also all that talk of there finally being a US woman in the field and Amanda Batty did not start qualifying so there won’t be any US women competing on Saturday. The downhill final is on Saturday with a cross-country event on Sunday.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Mont-Sainte-Anne Preview

Aaron Gwin holds a 208 point lead over Great Britain’s Danny Hart as the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup heads to Mont-Sanite-Anne, Quebec for the second to last event of the year. With 250 points available each event Gwin could win the overall title this weekend with the right results. There is a large crowd of 17 American men in the field this weekend, ten more than other other stop this year and no surprise for the only North American event. Luca Shaw is again in the field with two top seven finishes in the last there events as is Eliot Jackson, who finished 30th in Lenzerheide. Back for the first time since Cairns is Neko Mulally who was 23rd in that event.

For the first time this year there is a US woman competing in the downhill as Amanda Batty is in the starting list for the women’s event. The qualifying rounds for the men and women will be on Friday with the final on Saturday. Sunday will be a cross-country event.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Lenzerheide Recap

Lea Davison made it four straight top 20 finishes with a 13th place finish at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country event in Lenzerheide, Switerzland on Sunday. Davison was in the top 20 throughout the day but came on strong at the end with the ninth best time on the sixth lap and the fourth best time on the final lap to move up to 13th. Chloe Woodruff finished 20th, the third time in three races that the US had two in the top 20. Woodruff had been in the top 20 throughout the race but was 24th fastest on the last two laps as she slipped from 16th to 20th. Georgia Gould was the third American to finish in the top 25 as she moved up from 36th after the first lap to place 24th overall.

The next UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event is in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec right at the start of the Olympics on August 6th and 7th. Like the event here in Lenzerheide it will feature both cross-country and downhill races.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Coverage:
Lenzerheide Preview
Friday Update
Saturday Update

Aaron Gwin delivered when it counted on Saturday finishing second in the downhill event by less than a tenth of a second. Gwin’s finish means he now leads by 208 points over the winner on Saturday, Great Britain’s Danny Hart. With just two races remaining on the season series Gwin can lock up the title with a strong finish in the next event in Mont-Sanite-Anne, Quebec at the start of the Olympics on August 6th and 7th.

Luca Shaw also had his best finish in a while as he was 7th, about five seconds back. Shaw jumped up a spot to 11th in  the season standings. Other finalists for the US were Eliot Jackson in 30th, Charlie Harrison in 45th, Max Morgan in 64th, and Luca Cometti in 77th.

On Sunday Lea Davison will lead a group of four American women into the cross-country event. Davison has finished in the top 20 at all three stops so far this year including the only top 10 finish by an American when she was eighth in Albstadt, Germany. Chloe Woodruff is the only other American to notch a top 15 finish when she was 13th in Cairns, Australia but she was 35th in the most recent race in La Bresse, France. Georgia Gould is also in the field coming off her second top 20 finish of the year when she was 19th in La Bresse. No American men will be competing on Sunday in Lenzerheide.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Lenzerheide Preview
Friday Update

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Cross-Country Coverage:
La Bresse Recap

Luca Shaw was the top American in qualifying finishing just under five seconds behind the leader in 12th place as a nice contingent of six Americans advanced to the final. Aaron Gwin was an unspectacular 19th but did pick up six points for the season standings. The other Americans advancing to the final were Eliot Jackson in 43rd, Max Morgan in 51st, Luca Cometti in 61st, and Charlie Harrison in 77th.

Gwin has finished in the top five of all four events so far this year and has a big lead in the overall series but a finish in the final like he had on Friday would open the door for others to cut into that lead. In addition to the downhill event Saturday there will be a cross-country event on Sunday.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Lenzerheide Preview

Aaron Gwin goes for his second straight win on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup tour when the downhill portion begins on Friday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Gwin opened the season with a win and hasn’t looked back en route to a 160 point lead over Troy Brosnan of Australia going into the fifth of seven races. Gwin won his second race of the year last month in Leogang, Austria and will be going for two straight this weekend. No other Americans were in the top 30 in Leogang but Luca Shaw finished 6th in Fort William, Scotland and Eliot Jackson was 14th in Cairns, Australia.

In addition to the downhill event Friday and Saturday there will be a cross-country event on Sunday.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Leogang Recap

Aaron Gwin was dominant on Sunday winning the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event in Leogang, Austria by over three seconds. Gwin needed a couple minutes to take the lead on the clock but really pulled away down the stretch. With the win Gwin has a commanding lead over Troy Brosnan of Australia who finished in third. Gwin leads Brosnan by 160 points with only 200 points being awarded to the winner each week.

Things didn’t go as well for the other two Americans as Luca Shaw finished 36th and Eliot Jackson was 50th. Shaw is still 12th in the season standings.

The next UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event will be in Lenzerheide, Switzerland on July 9th and 10th as part of a combined stop with the cross-country events.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Leogang Preview
Saturday Update

Aaron Gwin was the top finisher in the qualifying round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event in Leogang, Austria on Saturday but overall it was not a particularly bright day for the American riders. Gwin was the only American to finish in the top 20 though both Luca Shaw in 25th and Eliot Jackson in 72nd did reach the final. For the other six Americans it was a finish outside the top 100, over 30 seconds back, and a one day event in Leogang. Gwill will look to build on his series lead over Troy Brosnan of Australia on Sunday in the final as the world cup crosses the halfway point.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Leogang Preview

Aaron Gwin will look to build on his series lead over Troy Brosnan of Australia when he competes in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event in Leogang, Austria this weekend. Gwin won the season opening event in Lourdes, France and has followed it up with a fourth place finish in Cairns, Australia and a second place finish last week in Fort William, Scotland. The nine Americans that will compete in the qualifying round on Saturday also includes Luca Shaw, who has two top twenty finishes this year including a sixth place finish last year, and Eliot Jackson, who finished 14th in Cairns but did not qualify for the final last week.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Fort William Recap