2011 IXS Downhill Cup at Leogang (aka Mudfest) 4

After hosting the World Cup a week ago, Leogang was the venue for the third leg of the iXS European Downhill Cup. A total of 356 competitors from 26 countries lined up at the start, but it wasn’t the quantity, but rather the quality of the starting pack which attracted attention.



Just as at the World Cup the week before external conditions were not perfect. Rain turned the 2.3 km long course covering a vertical height of 480 metres into a sea of mud. The weather proceeded to turn totally crazy on Saturday, with high winds forcing the Elite Men class’ seeding run to be postponed until Sunday morning.



At the end of the day the podium belonged exclusively to the very young riders from Australia and New Zealand, with Junior World Champion Troy Brosnan recording the best time of 4:09 mins. Not even Brook MacDonald, the last rider to start, was able to push him off the Red Bull Hot Seat and had to settle for second place after coming in just 1.5 tenths of a second behind the winner. Third place was, surprisingly, taken by George Brannigan (NZL - Devinci Global Racing). MacDonald now leads the overall rankings, ahead of Joshua Button (AUS - SC-Intense) and Markus Pekoll (AUT - MS Evil).



Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI - Scott 11) again won the Elite Women category race, further extending her lead in the overall rankings. Seeding Run fastest Petra Bernhard (AUT - Alpine Commencal) proved that she’s certainly not past it yet, coming in second to push Miriam Ruchti (SUI - SC-Nukeproof) into third place.



Full results available here.

Credit: NOFXnMTB
4 comments

View replies to: 2011 IXS Downhill Cup at Leogang (aka Mudfest)

The Latest