Lukas Flueckiger Improves 3 Places In World Cup Overall, Aaron Gwin Wins Pro GRT
23.5.2011
Yesterday saw Trek World Racing competing on two continents. The Flueckiger brothers were racing World Cup XC #2 in Dalby Forest (GBR) and the three Downhill men were racing the Pro Gravity Tour DH #3 in Plattekill, NY (USA). The Downhill men scored another strong result after qualifying 1-2-3, it was Aaron Gwin (USA) who took the win with Justin Leov (NZL) in 2nd. A simple crash for Neko Mulally (USA) where a front wheel washed out cost him 9 seconds and he ended up 14th.
Scattered showers all weekend didn't dampen the mood in the team camp, and if anything the course held up extremely well to the conditions. In qualifying the team managed to hold down the top spots once again with last week’s winner Neko taking 3rd, Aaron holding down 2nd and Justin back on pace to take the top spot. Race day saw perfect timing with the weather; a near perfectly dry course, a good crowd and some very fast times. Aaron Gwin said: "I'm stoked on the weekend. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with my teammates and mechanics in such a relaxed atmosphere. Also cool to be racing in my home country, so I can't wait for next weekend’s race at the US Open!"
Justin Leov said: "It was a full-on track and to get down with little mistakes was great. Big lines were happening and it just goes to show how the sport keeps developing, and what we end up being able to do on these Session 88's. I've been coming up with my riding/racing these last few weeks so I'm excited to get on with the US Open next week and then back into the World Cups. I’m extremely happy with how my run went."
Meanwhile, in the cold and blustery conditions in North Yorkshire, the XC men had a difficult weekend with Mathias Flueckiger withdrawing after the 2nd time across the start/finish line, having dropped down from 15th to 83rd, suffering from a lack of power in the legs. Lukas rode steadily and made his way into the top 20 in the closing stages of the 1hr 45min race, scoring 19th and lifting his overall ranking in the World Cup series by 3 places to 19.
Lukas Flueckiger said: "I gave it my all today. This was a little frustrating because my speed in the 2nd half of the race was better, but I didn't seem to have the pace in the opening laps. I will be working on this in the coming week."
Worthy of special mention was the performance of World DH Champion Tracy Moseley (GBR) in the Women's XC World Cup. TMO finished an impressive 69th out of 83 elite XC women, and would have gone higher had she not suffered a puncture and got pulled with one lap to go. A great effort none the less!
Results for World Cup XC #2 are here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1
Full results from the Pro Gravity DH #3 are here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-pro-grt-3-plattekill-gravity-open-3/results
Next week sees World Cup XC #3 in Offenburg, Germany, for the Flueckiger brothers and the US Open for the DH Men in Vernon, New Jersey.
Media seeking hi-res images can visit our website for their login. Team website: http://www.trekworldracing.com
Thanks to Matt DeLorme for the Aaron Gwin photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment