SLIDESHOW: Wildest World Champs Ever? Victory and Carnage in Hafjell, Norway

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<b>They almost look like a couple. These two rainbow-clad warriors emerged from the flames that forged one of the wildest World Championship mountain bike races in history. Let's see how they earned their stripes...</b> -Sven Martin
<b>The untold story. Want to see what it takes to win World Champs? Or more specifically, what it doesn't take? Gee's bike running on fumes to make it as light and as fast as possible for a single, solitary run. #gamblingman</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Gee Atherton on the last turn on the home straight. He almost detonated at the stream gap as his feet came off the pedals and he tripoded out of the section. He forged on and managed to keep it together, earning every inch of his World Championship gold medal today in Hafjell.</b> @maddogboris
<b>Before Gee came down, Neko Mulally put down the most ludicrous run...chainless! He snapped his chain literally 15 feet out of the start gate, looked down, saw the chain fly off and screamed in disgust. He never gave up and had a pressure-less run which landed him in the hotseat for a LONG time, against some heavy favorites. He ended up 4th, but his legendary run will be the talk of the pits and forums for years to come. HECK YEAH, NEKO!</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Mind eraser. Neko's secret to a run without pressure or distraction...no chain.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Spot the flying rat. Gee had gone faster than Neko, so the chainless gold medal was out of question and Josh was the last rider down the mountain. Over-amped, Josh jumped the ENTIRE wood structure, straight to flat. His foot blew off, ending Josh's almost-certainly-winning run within sight of the finish line. He was able to stay inside the tape and navigate across the line, missing gold by just .407-seconds.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>A severely broken foot was the result of Josh's landing. As he rolled into the finish corral, clearly hurt, the atmosphere went from excitement for Gee's victory to concern and uncertainty for Josh as his teammates carried him to medical attention. It was not a typical to end World Champs.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Josh props up the international symbol for "I'll be back, bitches." We're happy to report Josh's surgery went well. We're not sure what he will be most upset about; missing the win or missing the party that would have followed. Heal up Josh!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>In between Neko's chainless insanity and Ratboy's bone shattering, Troy Brosnan managed to seriously throw down, earning the bronze medal, only .56 off the gold medal time and .16-seconds behind Bryceland. It was THAT close.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>The Women provided incredible drama in their race, too. Manon Carpenter powered hard on the lower sector of the track to snatch the win from Rachel by .088-seconds. Who knew such a small fraction of time could mean so much.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Manon Carpenter, worthy champion after a long fought battle with Rachel all year long. She doubled down on her World Cup overall with a World Championship gold medal.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Seeing green at the finish only to fall short by .08 (much like in Mont Sainte Anne). Rachel will have to start next season as the #2 and work her way up to the top.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Tony Seagrave's unique stickers for Tahnee's bike make it feel all the more special. Bronze medal for the young woman.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>British racing is on a wave right now. Complete Elite Women's podium takeover and Top 2 steps of the Men's. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Loris Vergier never set a foot wrong this year here in Hafjell. He kept it tidy when most of the Junior hopefuls went down in a dusty blaze. French focus and a Junior win by nearly 5-seconds.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Tegan Molloy took the win today in the Junior ladies. We need more young women to step up to the plate next year as there were only 3 competitors in the final today. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>It was a sad day for Sam Hill. Fastest at both splits as he ran, he clipped a rock in the final technical section and scorpioned into sharp boulders. It was not pretty. He got up and finished, but his dreams were dashed. It's been a treat watching him ride back into form this year. YEW!</b> -Sven Martin
<b>A time to reflect. This wasn't the first time Sam looked capable of winning a World Champs and lost it in a crash, giving it up to Gee.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>#worldchampstucktactics</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>A crash, a bobble, then a flat tire for Greg Minnaar means he won't be running the #1 plate next year.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Jack Moir had his best result here last season with a top 30. This time he's cracking the Top 10!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Niclas Andersen does the big step down road gap in front of his home crowd. Loud cheers, chainsaws buzzing and a good vibe out on the hill today.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Brook MacDonald gives it a good pull up. He just missed the podium today but turned in a solid performance for 5th. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>Ben Reid's got a keen eye for talent and it's great to see him bringing fellow Irishman Jacob Dickinson up through the ranks. 3rd place today for a Junior's first year is an excellent start.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Remi's technical mastery earned him a 6th place today. A bit more gradient and I'd bet you'd see him crawling further up the ranks.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>In the past Gary Perkin has had his beard shaved. This time Boris got a makeshift "inverted mohawk." Will he do anything for attention? @maddogbozo</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Yes, he rode it out. #liftluckmoments</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Sleeves up and never any gloves. Classic Blenki style into 7th place.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Crashes ruined many runs today and Luca Shaw's run was one of the casualties. 1st at the top of the track, it was looking promising until he went down.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Laurie's lunge lasted long enough to carry him the extra 20m he still had to make to the line. #eager.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>It was a tough day today for Connor Fearon. A gnarly crash in the big rock garden led to a broken jaw and nose in practice. Here's to a fast and full recovery. Yeeuh Connuh!</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Vaea Verbeeck put in a solid performance, matching her prevoius best of 6th at MSA.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Loic Bruni finished 8th today, only 3.3-seconds off the winning pace. This young Frenchman is driven and has some high goals with plenty of years left for domination. Maybe our Power Ranking was too much pressure...this year.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Fastest speed trap for Bryn Atkinson who looked good all weekend long. He kept it low, kept it fast and was loving the proper, technical course.</b> @maddogboris
<b>Niklas Walner during his final run. The track was literally lined both sides, top to bottom. Thanks Hafjell.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Markus Pekoll seems to do well in the big races on the tough courses. A respectable 12th place finish today for the Austrian.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>What would a World Champs slideshow be without Steve Peat? We love you Steve. #legendofalllegends</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Gee comes down green after a fast run, but not without out a few sketchy moments. The healthy crowd was spread out along the whole length of the track. A good day of racing here in Hafjell.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Josh Bryceland earlier in the day, gapping the bridge. He was looking so casual and comfortable during his race run that webcast commentator Nigel Page wondered if Josh remembered this was his World Champs run.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Not the sight you ever want to see. An injured Josh Brycleand being whisked away for medical care after his massive over-shoot.</b> -Duncan Philpott
<b>Though the champagne bottle was full, the step was empty. Bryceland's 2nd place podium step.</b> @maddogboris
<b>Champagne showers. </b> -Sven Martin
<b>A bit of a bonus for Gee after his win? Team manager, Dan Brown in audio.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Your World Cup media nerds in their uber-dork cave, comparing sensor size and pixel count. I wonder how many of them know what JPEG stands for without googling it? #sliderpushers</b> -Paris Gore
<b>That's all folks. GT's Marc Maurissen tearing down and packing up the traveling circus until 2015.</b> -Sven Martin
<b>Oops. <i>Now</i> that's all folks. Thanks for watching all season long. Duncan and I signing off...for now. </b> -Sven Martin<br><br>Vital can not thank Sven, Duncan, Joe, Boris and everyone else who contributed to the 2014 DH season slideshows enough. You are truly the reason our sport looks so damn good. We are honored to have your work shared on Vital MTB! -gordo
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There aren't enough words, photos or videos to describe the 2014 World Championship DH race in Hafjell, Norway, today. It was truly a battle for the ages as bodies and bikes were beaten in the quest for gold. Sven Martin, Duncan Philpott and @maddogboris dodged the boulders and bikes to tell us the tale...one we won't soon forget.

WHAT? An image of Bryceland's huck to flat that's been floating around the web


Gee Atherton's Winning Bike



World Champs XC Race Slideshow


World Champs DH Race Results and Report



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