2012 UCI WC 1 Monster Energy Specialized Recap

The Monster Energy Specialized, Australian dynamic duo of Sam Hill and Troy Brosnan returned to World Cup racing this week after domination the Australian national series over the winter. Brosnan finished in 8th place on a track that catered to his pedalling strength, just over 5 seconds back. Hill crossed the line in 11th place, .8 seconds behind his teammate.

Cloudy skies met racers on race day here in Pietermariztburg, South Africa for the first round of the 2012 UCI MTB World Cup. The track dried up from the previous night's deluge and was rock hard and as fast as it had been all week by the time the top 30 men dropped in. Both Monster Energy Specialized riders rode their Specialized Demos with dropper posts to allow for brief relief during the infamous 40 second pedal here in SA.

2012 UCI WC 1 Monster Energy Specialized Recap

Steve Smith Places 5th At Round 1 Of The 2012 UCI WC

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa—Devinci Global Racing’s Steve Smith rocketed to 5th place in the UCI World Cup opener, returning to the podium after clinching a string of hot results last season. Teammate Nick Beer finished 12th in his first ride under the DGR banner. 

“This is solid start to the year," said DGR Team Manager, Gabe Fox. "The team dynamic is proving tight, and I expect the momentum to build as the season progresses." 

The Pietermaritzburg course is known for grueling pedaling sections and this proved to be a challenge across the field. After Saturday qualifying, Smith sat in 3rd place—0.87 seconds behind eventual race winner and hometown hero, Greg Minnaar. Beer qualified 13th and George Brannigan in 32nd. 

Steve Smith Gets 5th At 2012 PMB World Cup

Aaron Gwin Takes 2nd At Pietermaritzburg World Cup

In a thrilling finish that had the thousands of fans here in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on the edge of their seats until the very last second, Aaron Gwin was narrowly defeated by local hero Greg Minnaar after setting a blistering time. Trek World Racing's youngest downhill rider Neko Mulally scored a career best 14th, while Justin Leov finished a solid 17th. All 3 riders are now top 20 'protected' heading into Round 2.
Aaron Gwin Takes 2nd At Pietermaritzburg World Cup

Tracey Hannah WIns WC 1 At Pietermaritzburg

"After qualifying the fastest, Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) won the Downhill World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on March 18, 2012 just ahead of Junior World champion Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) and 2.81 seconds ahead of World champion Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker). Former 4X World champion Jill Kintner (Norco Inernational) was fourth, while Swiss Miriam Ruchti (SC Intense) rounded out the top five.

After a long hiatus from downhill racing, Tracey Hannah opened her season with a win in Pietermaritzburg. “Motivation and determination is what kept pushing me forward. On a track like this you can train as much as you want, but in order to win you have to figure out how you will come down and what lines you will take. Compared to the tracks in Australia, this here is very fast, in Australia you have to pedal a lot.”

Tracey Hannah WIns WC 1 At Pietermaritzburg

Greg Minnaar Sets The Track Alight At The Pietermaritzburg WC Round 1

Hometown hero Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) started the 2012 RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup on just the note the local fans were asking for by posting the fastest time in qualifying for the season-opening downhill title decider in cool overcast conditions at the Cascades MTB Park.

Minnaar, who won here sensationally in 2009, and was narrowly edged off his throne by US star Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) in last year's World Cup, started second and posted 3:59.620 on the boldly reshaped downhill course. Together with Gwin, they were the only two riders to race in sub-four minutes.

“My run was pretty smooth. It was good, but I know technically I made a couple of mistakes. I didn't expect it to be so dry,” said Minnaar. “Unfortunately, there were a couple of corners where I came in and I ran a bit late, but it happens. It's a good start to the season; it shows my fitness is there. I know everyone is going for it. That's what downhill is and it's good to feel that I'm on pace, but I'll take a close look at the splits because I am pretty sure I lost a bit of time on top.”

The popular Pietermaritzburg star is racing on the encouragement of his ill father Jeff Minnaar, who is in intensive care in a city hospital. Defending champion Gwin was second fastest, setting the stage for a thrilling showdown in the downhill finals on Sunday afternoon. The field of 135 downhillers was cut to 80 for Sundays finals.

Greg Minnaar Sets The Track Alight At The 2012 Pietermaritzburg WC Round 1

2012 Uci World Cup Round 1 Pietermaritzburg

With a new Series sponsor, and a new television partner in the form of Red Bull Media House, it is only fitting that the 2012 RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano opens with totally redesigned courses in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, this coming weekend.  Both the Olympic cross-country and Downhill disciplines will be represented in Pietermaritzburg, and it will be the first chance this year to see all of the top international stars gathered in one place.

Now in it's third year on the World Cup circuit, Pietermaritzburg is even more critical than ever this year, because the event is a test run for the World Championships to be held here next year. It is also the start of the final crucial Olympic qualifying period for the London Olympic Games, with riders vying to gain important ranking points that will determine how many starting spots each nation will receive for the men's and women's cross-country races at the Games.

Pietermaritzburg has stepped up to the challenge, with courses that riders are saying are more physically demanding than ever.  In the women's cross-country, look for 2011 World Cup champion Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry) and reigning world champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) to resume the battle that resulted in one of the closest finishes in history for the World Cup title last season. Others to watch include Maja Wloszczowska (CC Polkowice) and Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon).  Another name to keep an eye on is Willow Koerber Rockwell (Trek World Racing), a top rider returning to competition ten weeks after giving birth to her daughter.

In the men's field, the big question is whether Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) can repeat his incredible performance of last year, when he won five World Cups, the World Cup title and became the world champion. After finishing second to Kulhavy multiple times last year, the defending Pietermaritzburg champion, Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) hopes to break that streak, as does Julien Absalon (Orbea).

After the cross-country, attention turns to the Downhill on Sunday. Tracy Moseley, the defending women's champion in Pietermaritzburg and 2011 World Cup champion, is the biggest name missing from the start list, but the 2011 World Cup runner up, Floriane Pugin (Scott 11), leads a strong field that includes Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Riding Addiction), Sabrina Jonnier (Labyrinth Shimano) and world champion Emmeline Ragot.

For the men, Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) is the defending Pietermaritzburg winner, and the World Cup champion, after dominating last season. However, he will go up against hometown favourite Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), who won here in 2010, and finished second last year. Also sure to be in the mix are Gee Atherton (GT Factory) and world champion Danny Hart (Giant Factory).

2012 Uci World Cup Round 1 Pietermaritzburg

2012 UCI World Cup Round 1 Pietermaritzburg

With a new Series sponsor, and a new television partner in the form of Red Bull Media House, it is only fitting that the 2012 RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano opens with totally redesigned courses in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, this coming weekend.  Both the Olympic cross-country and Downhill disciplines will be represented in Pietermaritzburg, and it will be the first chance this year to see all of the top international stars gathered in one place.

Now in it's third year on the World Cup circuit, Pietermaritzburg is even more critical than ever this year, because the event is a test run for the World Championships to be held here next year. It is also the start of the final crucial Olympic qualifying period for the London Olympic Games, with riders vying to gain important ranking points that will determine how many starting spots each nation will receive for the men's and women's cross-country races at the Games.

Pietermaritzburg has stepped up to the challenge, with courses that riders are saying are more physically demanding than ever.  In the women's cross-country, look for 2011 World Cup champion Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry) and reigning world champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) to resume the battle that resulted in one of the closest finishes in history for the World Cup title last season. Others to watch include Maja Wloszczowska (CC Polkowice) and Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon).  Another name to keep an eye on is Willow Koerber Rockwell (Trek World Racing), a top rider returning to competition ten weeks after giving birth to her daughter.

 

2012 UCI World Cup Round 1 Pietermaritzburg

Aaron Gwin Wins The 2012 Pietermaritzburg National

Aaron Gwin lead the way today for all three Trek World Racing riders who ended up on the podium at the South African national race held on the improved Pietermaritzburg course that will host next week's World Cup opener. With a scorching time of 4m 14secs, Aaron was 3 seconds ahead of last year’s fastest World Cup qualifier Mick Hannah (AUS).

Youngest team mate Neko Mulally (USA) showed that his specific preparation for this event was paying off. After qualifying 7th due to a puncture late in the run, Neko stormed the course in the final and had a super solid run finishing 3rd with 4m 25secs just ahead of Troy Brosnan (AUS) and one second ahead of team mate Justin Leov who rounded out the podium.

The course in Pietermaritzburg has been modified to deal with wet weather, yet despite this, overnight rain made some of the sections almost unrideable in the first training runs of the day. Fortunately the thunder storms that had threatened all day held off and the racing got under way in sunny, yet blustery conditions.

Aaron Gwin Wins The 2012 Pietermaritzburg National

Answer Negative One Stem Test

Answer has been producing Handlebars for a long time. We have been running their Dorado fork for well over a year now and it has been brilliant. Getting the chance to test their -One Direct Mount Stem was something we were looking forward to.

The Negative One stem showed up and proved to be a good piece. It has clean lines and the finish on it is better then some and not quite as nice as some high end options out there. We weighed the stem and our scale read 158GM so their claimed weight seems spot on. 

Having your weight more over the front wheel is all the rage these days. With slacked out head angles and LSC loaded forks body english is more important than ever. This stem is light weight with a simple design and does as it claims. 

Answer Negative One Review