Danny Hart Podiums at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup!

Giant Factory Off-Road Team rider Danny Hart of Great Britain scored his second World Cup podium of the season Saturday, finishing third at Mont-Sainte-Anne on a prototype Giant Glory 27.5 team bike.

Hart, the 2011 downhill world champion, qualified with the seventh fastest time on a tough, physical course at the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski area near Quebec City, in eastern Canada. His teammate Andrew Neethling of South Africa, also riding the Glory 27.5, had a super strong run to qualify third.

In the finals on Saturday, Hart put in a near flawless run, taking the leader’s position from Sam Blenkinsop with a time of 4:12.205. In the end, Hart was edged out by Australian winner Sam Hill and fellow Brit Josh Bryceland in second.

Neethling was unable to match his stellar qualifying run, and finished 14th in the finals. The team’s third rider, Colombian Marcelo Gutierrez, crashed in his finals run and finished 47th. Gutierrez is now 18th overall in the standings.

Hart’s podium finish allowed him to retain his seventh place overall standing in the World Cup, with two rounds left to go. Round 6 takes place next weekend in Windham, New York.

Neko Mulally and Laurie Greenland Maintain Top 10 Standings in UCI World Cup

The venue for round 5 of the World Cup Downhill, Mont-Sainte-Anne, never provides a dull day of racing, and yesterday was no exception. Unfortunately for Trek World Racing the solid preparation and fast pace in practice didn’t translate into the results the riders deserved, but nevertheless there were some positive highlights to a tricky day.

George Brannigan’s best ever result at Mont-Sainte-Anne over the years he’s been racing here was a 17th, so his improvement from 26th in qualifying up to a new personal best of 15th was a solid result.

Laurie Greenland’s first visit to the mythical Quebec track had the junior wide eyed and impressed to finally see and ride the track he’s watched for years on screen. To finished 8th in his first race here, and maintain his top 10 in the overall, was another solid ride all part of the learning process. Mont-Sainte-Anne is a track mastered over time.

Neko Mulally had yet another top 10 qualifier but in the race got a little messy on a track that had rapidly dried out in the first day of full sunshine for the week. Finishing 17th Neko managed to remain in the top 10 in the overall, where he’s been all season.

Brook MacDonald saw crashes affect both his qualifier and final, despite being on pace all week. Two and half seconds up at split one in the final only to crash before split 2, Brook was on for high top 10 placing, and was clearly dejected by the a flying run spoiled by a front wheel wash out in changed conditions, finishing 16th.

George said: “Of course it’s great to have my best ever result here but after thinking of what could have been, because I made some silly errors up top, I know they cost me a top 10 here. Pace is good and that’s what matters.”

Laurie said: “It’s a long track here and I was surprised that in my race run I didn’t feel anywhere near as tired as I did in practice. I’ve learned a lot here especially about how to prepare for a track like this compared to some of the shorter ones”.

Greg Williamson had a huge crash on his final practice run where he hit his hip square onto a tree stump at high speed and later had trouble walking. He opted wisely not to race and instead focus his attention on recovery before next week’s round 6 in Windham, US.

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Downhill Final Results

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Men

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Women

2014 Mont Sainte Anne Final Results Junior Men