Cairns World Cup Wrap-Up

Gee Atherton on his way to the gold and the glory. Photo by Michael Cerveny, labeled for reuse.

What a weekend of wet, wild racing that was! In case you missed it, Australia held its first World Cup round in 6 years and the first international event at Cairns since 1996. And it sure wasn't what many expected.
Riders were undoubtedly looking forward to the chance of racing in the tropics of Australia, with the warm sunshine and lovely beaches the area is famed for. However, a deluge of rain continuing over the course of the multi-day event made the world cup a slop-fest. Josh Bryceland (eventual 2nd place getter) exclaimed that it was the toughest downhill world cup he's ever competed in. The combination of corn-flour like soil and rain made for a race track many likened to 'riding through peanut butter'. With such a slippery track, crashes were bound to occur and the anticipation for finals was building.

Crowd favourite Sam Hill looking at home in the mud and blasting onto the podium.
Photo by Tim Bardsley-Smith, labeled for reuse.

The finals ended up being an interesting affair, with many big names crashing out of contention. Notably, young Frenchmen Loic Bruni crashed while on a race-winning run, local favourite Mick Hannah barely got started before crashing out of contention, Greg Minnaar was disqualified after a run off the course and Danny Hart binned a run that had the potential to land him on the podium. It was a great day out for the Brits, with Gee Atherton conquering the conditions and landing himself his first win of the season. Josh Bryceland put in a mature, controlled run for 2nd and is showing great promise of what's to come later this season. Neko Mulally had an absolute stormer of a run to finish in 3rd, making his first ever world cup podium, complete with a crash on the way down! Aaron Gwin came down the hill in a solid 4th, maybe not what he's aiming for but a good result considering the conditions. Aussie legend Sam Hill stringed together a masterful run to land 5th on a track that doesn't play to his strengths, showing the strong form he's currently building. Our other Aussie ripper, Troy Brosnan made it down in 9th after a few major mistakes. I'm sure we'll see him back on the podium soon. It was a purple day for young Jack Moir, who in his first season on a factory team, held the hotseat for an eternity and ended up in 11th place. Overall the Aussies did well on home soil, and I'm sure Mick and company will have a point to prove come the 2016 World Cup and the 2017 World Championships! Until then, we'll bid Cairns a farewell. And fingers crossed for less rain next time!