Aaron Gwin Wins US Open, Mathias Flueckiger Fights Back In Offenburg
29.5.2011
Today saw Trek World Racing once again competing on two continents, and this time in 3 different countries. The Flueckiger brothers were racing World Cup XC #3 in Offenburg (GER), the three Downhill men racing the prestigious US Open in Vernon, NJ (USA), and Tracy Moseley at a National Downhill in Scotland (which was cancelled today due to poor weather). The Downhill men scored another strong result with Aaron Gwin (USA) winning the US Open ahead of a world class field, with team mate Justin Leov taking an impressive 3rd place, as he did in 2010. Unfortunately Neko Mulally punctured in the qualifier and didn't pass to the final.
With the added competition from world class riders like Gee Atherton (GBR), Mick Hannah (AUS) and Stevie Smith (CAN), qualifying was a very tight affair. There is also the added note of caution for the top riders because unlike the World Cups, there are no protected riders at the US Open, so any mechanical or large crash will put you out of the final, as Neko learned. Fastest qualifier was Andrew Neethling, with Aaron in 2nd and Justin 4th behind Gee Atherton. On finals day the times dropped by a dramatic 6 seconds, and it was Aaron Gwin who not only won the event for the first time, but becomes the first American to win the US Open in its 9 year history. Stevie Smith was less than a second behind in 2nd, and Justin beat Gee Atherton into 4th, and took home the prize money for 3rd place, yet again.
Meanwhile, in the warm conditions in Offenburg, Germany, Lukas Flueckiger had another race where he hovered around 20th place, eventually finishing 21st. While younger brother Math overcame the obstacles from last week and despite dropping to around 40th early in the race, fought back to meet up with his brother and take 22nd, thus moving his World Cup ranking up 4 places for the next race.
Mathias Flueckiger said: "I feel like I'm coming out of a hole, so today was a big step in the right direction. I'm going to take some time to get some altitude training in before the next World Cup race and find my base again. I know I can go a lot faster, and I'm happy with this result after such a tough experience in Dalby Forest."
Results for World Cup XC #3 are here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1
Full results from the US Open are here: http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2011-US-Open-DH-Final-Results,294
Next week sees World Cup DH #2 in Fort William, Scotland for all 4 Downhill riders.
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.
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