Tag: Val Di Sole

World Cup 2 – Val di Sole – Finals

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

A handy 9th place for Luke Ellison.
A handy 9th place for Luke Ellison.

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.
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.
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!
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.

World Cup 2 – Val di Sole – Practice & Qualifying

We are still getting use to some of the new kits getting around, no missing Pom Pom and her Fox/Commencal set up!
We are still getting use to some of the new kits getting around, no missing Pom Pom and her Fox/Commencal set up!
Val di Sole is a totally different race/track location/everything, pretty much you name it and it is different from last week’s race at Fort William. One of the biggest changes was the practice time and qualifying times, qualifying occurred on Friday. If you didn’t get a ticket to the big show then you sit out Saturday and Sunday, essentially group B riders got 4.5 hours of practice over 2 days, tough gig on the beast of the track that is Val di Sole! Lighting was tough on the riders as they would change from bright sunny into the shaded dark areas of the track at warp speed (and any one who is trying to get photos of this!). As you can imagine the first couple of runs saw riders trying to get their feet before getting up to pace. This course is very rough, there areA�roots, rocks, no berms and some corners already shot after practice because the ground is very soft and loose in bits.A�With all that in mind the juniors did well and the results looked like so; Luke Ellison 5th, Dean Lucas 9th, Aiden Varley 18th, Peter Knott 23rd, Ben Hill 53rd andA�Thomas Crimmins 55th.
Ben Hill had a nice trip over the bars at Val di Sole it didn't stop him from riding though, 53rd in qualifying something he can easily improve on come finals.
Ben Hill had a nice trip over the bars at Val di Sole it didn’t stop him from riding though, 53rd in qualifying something he can easily improve on come finals.
Fastest Aussie junior during qualifying, Luke Ellison in 5th place!
Fastest Aussie junior during qualifying, Luke Ellison in 5th place!
Braaappp! 9th for Dean Lucas.
Braaappp! 9th for Dean Lucas.
Moving our attention onto the females and Tracey Hannah came in 7th, she will be wanting at least a top 5 this weekend! Our junior girls, Danielle Beecroft and Tegan Molloy came in 36th and 37th respectively.
Qualifying yielded 7th for Tracey Hannah.
Qualifying yielded 7th for Tracey Hannah.

Finally a huge field of Elite men tried their hand at qualifying, Gee Atherton showed he is the man to beat again this weekend in first, in second place back from the nether regions and with a larger bike, was Aaron Gwin. The next three riders, Smith, MacDonald and HillA�all looked capable of a victory here, it is going to be a good race.

Elite Men:

1. ATHERTON Gee 3:15.475

2. GWIN Aaron 3:16.837 + 1.362

3. SMITH Steve 3:17.482 + 2.007

4. MACDONALD Brook 3:18.741 + 3.266

5. HILL Samuel 3:19.406 + 3.931

a��

12. HANNAH Michael 3:23.850 + 8.375

19. BROSNAN Troy 3:25.370 + 9.895

36. FEARON Connor 3:29.021 + 13.546

54. MOIR Jack 3:33.139 + 17.664

83. VEJVODA Joe 3:38.046 + 22.571

84. McMILLAN 3:38.233 + 22.758

93. DELFS Mitchell 3:39.859 + 24.384

123. ATKINSON Rhys 3:46.545 + 31.070

143. McKILLOP 3:55.167 + 39.692

148. McCARROLL Sean 3:56.272 + 40.797

152. BARLIN Chris 3:58.731 + 43.256

ATKINSON Bryn DNS

GRAVES Jared DNS

Gee Atherton, he is no stranger to victory here having taken out the World Champs here back in 08, with the fastest qualifying time he increased those credentials to take the win again.
Gee Atherton, he is no stranger to victory here having taken out the World Champs here back in 08, with the fastest qualifying time he increased those credentials to take the win again.
Second and with a point to prove Aaron Gwin.
Second and with a point to prove Aaron Gwin.
Sam Hill charged into 5th on a track we know he enjoys!
Sam Hill charged into 5th on a track we know he enjoys!
Mic Hannah will be the first to admit this course isn't his most successful but after qualifying 12th it looks like a change might be on the way.
Mic Hannah will be the first to admit this course isn’t his most successful but after qualifying 12th it looks like a change might be on the way.
Connor Fearon felt he was going faster than his 36th position in qualifying indicated but so long as he is going fast for the run that counts!
Connor Fearon felt he was going faster than his 36th position in qualifying indicated but so long as he is going fast for the run that counts!
Mitch Delfs describes this track as his nemesis track.. After 19th last weekend he was relived to think he would be protected come qualifying but the UCI had something to say about that. He missed the cut and continues his battle racing here at VDS!
Mitch Delfs describes this track as his nemesis track.. After 19th last weekend he was relived to think he would be protected come qualifying but the UCI had something to say about that. He missed the cut and continues his battle racing here at VDS!
Bryn Atkinson had a nasty crash in practice, he is okay but decided to sit out this weekend.
Bryn Atkinson had a nasty crash in practice, he is okay but decided to sit out this weekend.
Rachel Atherton is the girl to beat, we must admit her colour scheme ties in well with our own here at downhill247.com!
Rachel Atherton is the girl to beat, we must admit her colour scheme ties in well with our own here at downhill247.com!
Phil Atwill was the fastest male junior, it is hard to know when these guys are on track because you are not as familiar with them as the elite riders.
Phil Atwill was the fastest male junior, it is hard to know who is fast when these guys are on track because you are not as familiar with them as the elite riders.
More practice is on the cards before Sunday’s finals, check back soon!
Images: Phunkt.

Qualifying – WC#2 – Val di Sole

JB you've done it again! Josh Button qualified seventeenth at his first World Cup of the year. Josh is on the comeback from a knee injury he sustained at last years World Champs. If you remember though Josh flatted here in his race run last year and still managed to come home in 33rd place! Lets see what JB can do come race day! Photo: Jacob Gibbins

Wow! Qualifying in Val di Sole has brought a few surprises, the top men and woman qualifiers both put over seven seconds into the field!

Continue reading “Qualifying – WC#2 – Val di Sole” →

Val Di Sole 18th August – Practice

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The weather for the final World Cup round is excellent, lets hope it stays that way!

Downhill247.com has hit the ground here in Val Di Sole and after spending 4 hours walking down the track, we can confirm it is a proper downhilll track! No photos or videos can do the track justice, it’s steep rocky and fast. The downhill is 2.2km long andA�has a vertical elevation change of 560m (thats an averageA�gradient of ~ 30%!).
Continue reading “Val Di Sole 18th August – Practice” →

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