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

Aaron Gwin made it three top five finishes in three tries on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill tour but was unable to capture the title for the second time this season. Gwin was a bit slow out of the gate as he was tenth at the first split but picked it up over the next couple minutes to move into the top five and finished strong to beat the third and fourth place riders by less than a second. The second place finish gave Gwin 160 points as he grew his lead over Troy Brosnan of Australia who finished fifth.

Gwin wasn’t the only American to find success as Luca Shaw had his best finish of the year in sixth place. Shaw is now 12th in the overall standings. The other three Americans in the final didn’t fare as well with Mitch Ropelato in 55th, Shane Leslie in 60th, and Dakotah Norton in 83rd. All three were over 20 seconds behind the winner.

The next UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event will be in Leogang, Austria next weekend on June 11th and 12th.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Fort William Preview
Saturday Update

Aaron Gwin was third fastest in the qualifying round on Saturday at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event in Fort William, Scotland, leading a group of five Americans who will take part in Sunday’s final. Gwin was joined in the top 10 by Luca Shaw who finished sixth. The other three Americans to make the final were Mitch Ropelato (26th), Dakotah Norton (44th), and Shane Leslie (72nd).  Notably missing the final were Cole Picchiottino who finished 82nd and missed the final by less than a second and Eliot Jackson who has a top 15 finish this year and was less than a second and a half from qualifying as he finished 85th.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Fort William Preview

Aaron Gwin will go for his third straight top five finish in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill events this weekend in Fort William, Scotland. Gwin won the season opening event in Lourdes, France but came up fourth in Cairns, Australia. Gwin is joined this weekend by six Americans who did not take part in either of the opening events as well as two who finished in the top 15 in Cairns, Luca Shaw who was 13th and Eliot Jackson who was 14th. Saturday will be the qualifying round for Sunday’s final.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Cairns Recap

For the first time this year no Americans finished in the top 15 at a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country event. The top finishers from the US were Lea Davison and Howard Grotts, both in 18th. Davison was fifth after the first lap and still in the top six after the third lap but fell behind in lap four to drop out of the top 15. She was just 11 seconds ahead of fellow American Georgia Gould who took the opposite path, 43rd after the first lap and slowly moving up the standings. Erin Huck was twenty seconds further back in 23rd after spending the whole race in the top 25.

On the men’s side Grotts started off 41st after the opening lap but moved up steadily to reach 18th before the end where he was 5:06 behind the leader. Stephen Ettinger made it two Americans in the top 30 when he finished 26th, 6:43 back. Ettinger was in the top 30 throughout the race.

The next UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country event, the fourth of six, is in Lenzerheide, Switzerland on July 10th. In the mean-time the Mountain Bike World Cup will return to the downhill events with a stop in Fort William, Scotland on June 4th and 5th.

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

13 Americans will compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country event in La Bresse, France on Sunday in the third of six events on this year’s schedule. Through two events Lea Davison has been the most successful American with an eighth place finish last week in Albstadt, Germany. Davison was also in the top 20 in Cairns, Australia earlier this year. She’s joined by six other women in the start list including Chloe Woodruff, the top American in Cairns with a 13th place finish. On the men’s side Stephen Ettinger was the top American in Cairns when he finished 20th while Howard Grotts was 31st in Albstadt. There have been no other top 40 finishes by American men this year.

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

While the US still doesn’t have a medalist in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country events this year Lea Davison was able to post the best American finish of the year. Davison was 16th after the first lap but steadily improved on that position throughout the race eventually reaching eighth and finishing 3:15 behind the winner. Davison was the only top 20 finisher from the US. Chloe Woodruff wasn’t higher than 20 after any laps and finished 22nd while Erin Huck finished 24th. On the men’s side Howard Grotts was the top finisher in 31st, 5:55 behind the winner, which was actually pretty impressive after he found himself 64th after the second lap. He posted top 12 times in each of the final three laps.

The next chance for the US to go after a medal in the cross-country event is in La Bresse, France on May 28th and 29th.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Cross-Country Coverage:
Albstadt Preview