World Cup 2 - Val di Sole

Who would have known walking around in the pits earlier in the day what was going to unfold on this legendary mountain in Italy?

In many cases Val di Sole was a weekend of; what ifs, crashes, new names, stunning riding and everything that is quintessential downhill at its best! A hot day dawned, rain whilst possible didn’t factor into racing, what if it had? Let’s kick off the proceedings withA�the junior females,A�Danielle Beecroft claimed second place and Tegan Molloy fourthA�in hot conditions. In the Elite Women’s race Tracey Hannah just missed the top ten in eleventh place.

Tracey Hannah is always a threat but didn't trouble the top 5 today. — Tracey Hannah is always a threat but didn’t trouble the top 5 today.

The French ladies did well but again Rachel Atherton shows she is the rider to beat.

Junior Men, one of the highlights of the season so far! Despite the lack of online coverage, we are sure many Aussies were tuned in to the live timing to watch Dean Luca claim his first World Cup victory. Simply amazing, in Dean’s words “Last year I came to Val Di Sole to race my first World Cup, I ended up crashing out on the first day and sat on the sidelines watching all my hard work go down the drain, this year it all changed a bit and I ended up the fastest Junior and 22nd out right!” Fair to say Dean is a happy guy right now!

Large and in charge! All we need now is for Dean to continue his winning ways for the rest of the season.

Kudos to Dean on a calculated ride which saw him push it just enough.

There were strong results for the other juniors too, Luke Ellison showed his fifth placed qualifying time was no fluke in 9th place, Peter Knott came 31st on his birthday, Ben Hill 35th in his first World Cup, Aiden Varley 37th and Thomas Crimmins 52nd.

After an epic junior competition hopes were high for an Aussie double when the big boys set off down the hill on their way for victory. Mixed finishes sums up the results, 61st for Jack Moir who had some issues in his run, 56th for Sam Hill was definitely not what he was hoping for. Furthermore, he was fastest at split 1 and his time indicated he was on for a top 3 spot.

What could have been...? A line that rings true to Sam Hill at Val di Sole more than many other places! Fastest at the first split before it all went wrong. — What could have been…? A line that rings true to Sam Hill at Val di Sole more than many other places! Fastest at the first split before it all went wrong. Image: Friedrich Simon Kugi

The weekend wasn't all bad news for Sam though, his distinctive pink bike and kit are being sold to the public to raise money for charity. — The weekend wasn’t all bad news for Sam though, his distinctive pink bike and kit are being sold to the public to raise money for charity. Image: Friedrich Simon Kugi

Connor Fearon brought home 31st, a solid result but not to what he was hoping for, a few mistakes and an off the track excursion ruining a possible top 20. Mic Hannah in 9th was one of the two Aussies in the top 10 and stoked on is result, this year being consistent is going to be critical for the overall series.

9th place and more points for the overall, a good day in the office for Mic Hannah.

In another highlight for the weekend Troy Brosnan showed he’s back and grabbed a spot on the podium in fifth!A�After a disastrous season (if you could call it that) last year this shows Troy is winding up to full speed, he was successful here in 2011 with another fifth pacing so odds were he would do well, still a sigh of relief that he did!

TB is back! One of the youngest riders n the field and fastest Australian, he is happy with that! Image: Friedrich Simon Kugi — TB is back! No longer is he ‘baby faced Brosnan’ sporting a nice beard for the occasion. One of the youngest riders in the field and fastest Australian on the day, he is happy with that! Image: Friedrich Simon Kugi

It was a dominant Gee Atherton taking the win by over a second from Stevie Smith, Greg Minnaar put Fort William behind him and claimed third. Loic Bruni showed he has made the transition from the junior ranks with ease in fourth and just behind Troy was his team mate Aaron Gwin in 6th. A few big crashes took out other possible contenders, namely Brook MacDonald and Danny Hart. All in all the weekend delivered another memorable race.

From day one practice Gee looked good, victory by a second proved this.

Two from two for Gee Atherton and with that he rounded out the Atherton Double-Double! Talk about race proven for GT and their new bike!

Next stop for the World Cup circuitA�is Andorra but that’s not for a few weeks yet, we have plenty of coverage from the race still to come before then though.