Lene, Kyle and two more world titles at worlds ....

Men’s Downhill, Saturday June 21st

The downhill ski jump

What a course and what a race – “a rowdy course” to be more accurate. On finals day, Frank Stacy, Specialized’s tire consultant and I walked the course in awe of the riders and what they were tackling. It was simply unreal to watch.

Steve Peat much like Susi has been at the top for so long, but that world championship jersey has always been that one position out of reach. God he came close today. With Sam Hill falling in the last corner, Steve Peat was on top with only Gee Atherton left. But Peat’s team mate Atherton stole the show to take a well deserved victory.

Kyle had a challenging week, where in practice there was one fall after another. Race day and despite a limp owing to a pretty sore foot, Kyle tackled the course. Another fall was something Kyle did not need, but early on he crashed, broke his chain and from there it was just a matter of crossing the finish line.

Specialized Decline Team American boys were also in action. Like Kyle, Cody was plagued with crashes and minor injuries throughout the week, so to finish was a feat in itself. Cole rode so well to place a very respected 24th overall and top USA finisher. He had reason to be very pleased.

Crowds at the downhill finish

Men's DH Results:

1 Gee Atherton (Great Britain)                      3.12.12
2 Steve Peat (Great Britain)                        0.02.62
3 Samuel Hill (Australia)                           0.03.15
4 Greg Minnaar (South Africa)                       0.05.22
5 Fabien Barel (France)                             0.05.80
6 Justin Leov (New Zealand)                         0.05.84
7 Mickael Pascal (France)                           0.08.00
8 Julien Camellini (France)                         0.09.19
9 Fabien Pedemanaud (France)                        0.09.34
10 Ivan Oulego Moreno (Spain)                       0.14.74

24 Cole Bangert (United States Of America)          0.20.50

53 Cody Warren (United States Of America) 0.35.10

72 Kyle Strait (United States Of America) 0.46.71

Women’s cross-country Sunday June 22nd

Benno on final adjustments to Lene's bike

The final warmup

It was early in the week, when I spotted it …. Lene look a little stiff. Since last Friday, so a little over a week out from worlds, Lene’s hamstring was acting up. Great work from Claire, kept Lene’s leg supple, but her leg was not perfect on race morning. But as always Lene was super positive and motivated for a good result, so taking all factors into consideration 13th at the finish was commendable. The fact that she fell off the bike at the finish and the fact that her leg was pretty sore, just showed how hard Lene pushed herself. Now it’s time for the treatment table, so Lene is ready for action over the coming weeks and her preparations for the Olympic Games.

Courtesy Gary Perkin

Lene pushing all the way to the finish (courtesy Gary Perkin)

At the front former Specialized girl Sabine Spitz had a battle with Fullana and Kalentieva. Sabine came close but Fullana proved to be too strong. Fullana took her third world title, Sabine silver and the Russian Kalentieva bronze.

Women's Results:

1 Margarita Fullana (Spain)                      1.39.01 (17.66 km/h)
2 Sabine Spitz (Germany)                            1.43
3 Irina Kalentieva (Russian Federation)             2.20
4 Mariehelene Premont (Canada)                      2.52
5 Maja Wloszczowska (Poland)                        3.46
6 Catherine Pendrel (Canada)                        4.51
7 Gunnrita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway)                   5.16
8 Elisabeth Osl (Austria)                           5.29
9 Georgia Gould (United States Of America)          6.18
10 Blaza Klemencic (Slovenia)                       6.38

13 Lene Byberg (Norway)                             7.50

Some other Specialized highlights from the weekend

There were two more Specialized World Champions this weekend: Peter Sagan (Slovakia) in the Men’s Junior XC and Rafa Alvarez in the Men’s 4X.