1998 World Cup Mountain Biking
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Downhill #7 Downhill Racing Austrian Style
The cool mountain air, rushing Kapruner Ache river and high glacial walls of Austria stands in green contrast to the desert-like conditions of Espana and Provence. Weather was perfect for Saturday afternoon’s Dual, but rained the night before Sunday’s downhill runs. The course got a bit muddy, but not too slippery as the sun came out and the crowds returned for the spectacle of it all. The hoards of crowds in town for the dorffest were an added bonus as huge numbers took a break from beer drinking to watch the downhill action up the road. Kaprun is a beautiful village nestled in this mountain valley, looking like a live fairy tale. We kept expecting Hansel and Gretel to hop out of the woods. The course here is on the un-challenging side, a throwback to the old-school days before super-long travel bikes. The riders want more technical challenges, believing this track too easy with too much pedaling. Organizers did improve the course this season, with promises of more challenges in the future. Another point of contention is the lack of ski lift, forcing the use of shuttle vans to transport riders to the start. That said, the course is 4km long, dropping 600 meters and composed mostly of grassy open riding and a couple rough bits. With practice over and bikes dialed in, it was time for the weekend’s two big races, the Dual and Downhill. Here’s how it went down.
Dual Slalom
Lopes was bummed, as he was looking to overtake Cully in the points race. No such luck - Cully took third for the day and still leads Lopes by 10 points with Mike King and Eric Carter a hundred points back. Arai City will no doubt be an exciting dual for the championship. Katrina Miller (AUS, Jamis) won the women’s event again as she schooled Sari Jorgenson (SUI, Yeti) in the finals. We were missing the sport’s other great dualist in Sabrina Jonnier (FRA, Sintesi Verlicchi) who crashed last week. So Miller remains in the Swatch leader’s jersey, well on her way to the first Dual world cup title. She’s 80 points ahead of Jonnier and, with her two low scores thrown out, has a perfect record in the sport.
Women's Downhill
Nolvenn LeCaer (FRA, GT) has one world cup win under her belt; three years ago in Mont Ste-Anne (remember that). She got second today - an awesome result as she gears up for the end of the season and her second World’s as a senior racer.
Men's Downhill
David Vazquez (ESP, Volvo-Cannondale) finally succeeded with only eleven riders left, the number-two rider stoked to have a mechanical-free run. Other tried, but no one unseated Vazquez... until Nico came flying down the hill six seconds faster still.
After a quick BBQ at Swatch and some beers, everyone heads either for a break until Japan or to the US for next week’s NORBA finals in Mt. Snow, Vermont. Mountain Zone will be in full effect, doing the live cybercast thang... so don’t miss it. Rich Neare, Shopping for Lederhosen in The Mountain Zone.
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