No Chain, No Problem: Windham World Cup Downhill Qualifying Action

No chain, no problem. Gwin basically went 2/3 of the track without pedaling and still ended up first. -Matt Delorme

You might wonder why John Reynolds (a video jock) is dirtier than all the racers... -Sven Martin

...this is why... -Jake Lucas

And it's all because of Eliot Jackson. You know he's just waiting to roost Reynolds as payback for all those push ups while filming for the Yeti lensmeister. -Duncan Philpott

Back to racing...Stevie Smith failed to perform to his satisfaction last week in Canada. He is out to redeem some pride. 2nd today only .59 back. -Sven Martin

97.5 degrees at 2:04pm. It's damn hot here and it's only going to be hotter tomorrow. -Matt Delorme

Acupuncture treatment for Peaty's leg he injured in Ft William. This DH is the real deal folks. No half measures. -Joe Bowman

Damien Spagnolo turned on the gas and backed up his 2nd place World Champs result from 2011 with a 3rd place run in qualis today. Let's see if it'll stick on Sunday. -Matt Delorme

Andrew Neethling qualified 4th despite not having the best of runs. Proving further that the South African is perfectly at home in the dry and dusty conditions. We're rooting for a dry finals to see what he can do! -Duncan Philpott

A CG tribute, Bernard Kerr makes the final jump look easy, clearing it with style. Won't be seeing him in a proper jersey any more though! -Duncan Philpott

Rachel Atherton blasts past Sven's remote camera and into 1st place. -Matt Delorme

Wow. This girl can take a punch. A massive crash in her quail run and she is still all smiles and in good spirits. Myriam Nicole. -Sven Martin

Devinci's Georgie Brannigan had an impressive result for qualifying, 7th place at 2:32.590 -Matt Delorme

Ratboy has been rehabbing his shoulder since Val Di Sole. Second fastest at first split today, let us not forget that come Sunday. -Sven Martin

Bryceland with his *rehab*- Joe Bowman

Conditions are so dry that roost is pretty much the standard. Everywhere! -Matt Delorme

Geoff Ulmer showing his love for Richie Rude, America and a few other friends. -Matt Delorme

Richie Rude doing USA proud, with another solid qualifier with in 17th...and he is still a first year junior. -Sven Martin

While a broken chain would force most riders to slam the brakes and roll the finish line jump, Japan's Takuya Aoki decided to take flight with a Kamikaze approach. -Dave Trumpore

Sam Hill has some sneaky and fast lines that have him riding through everybody else's roost. -Dave Trumpore

Classic Danny Hart. Going big, going sideways. A big crash earned him 47th and some stitches. -Matt Delorme

Thank you sir, may I have another! The Danny abides. -Sven Martin

Greg's qualifying result today was surprising, his mechanic Marshy fills us in with the perfectly legitimate details. -Duncan Philpott

OK, here's the real truth. Greg smashed his derailleur on a rock during qualifying and he had problems shifting. The track is brutal in a completely different way to MSA or Fort William. Flats and mechanicals galore today. -Sven Martin

Jill Kintner gets some suspension adjustment from Fox's Justin Frey, before practice today. The tweak did the trick as Jill qualified 4th -Matt Delorme

Fairclough doing it wrong during quali's today. -MTBCUT

Leif Lorenzen, East Coast powerhouse. He may not have made the World Cup show, but he made the Vital slideshow. -Ian Collins

The DIY iced race jersey, essential for keeping a cool head on that all important run. Top tip for privateers from media central's own Rich Tea. -Duncan Philpott

Giant is running the new Crank Brothers Mallet DH pedals on Danny and Andrew's bikes. Joe Staub switches Andrew's to a heavier spring -Matt Delorme

Emilie Siegenthaler of Scott 11 was the only girl to hit the big finish line booter in her final run...the same one that many of the men struggled or failed to clear. Today she earned the title of the Flying Banana 2™ -Sven Martin

Mathias Haas of Alpine Commencal looking as good as it gets. -Sven Martin

Bubba Warren had a busy day today...listen to find out why. -Sven Martin

Jaycee and Sean from Monster Energy Specialized reading between the lines from the action between the tape this afternoon. -Sven Martin

Gwin double checking qualifying times. Yup, still .59 up, AG. -Matt Delorme

Sunset over Windham and the lights are still on at the SRAM truck. With XC and DH riders to cater to, their long hours stray into the night. -Duncan Philpott