The stars came out at the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in France and the Mountain Bike World Cup in Austria and there were familiar faces at the top of the podium.
At Saint Quentin (FRA) for the BMX Supercross, the reigning World Cup champions were in great form, especially Niek Kimmann (NED). Already the winner of both races in Papendal (NED) last week, he rolled to two more wins, winning on Saturday over Alfredo Campo (ECU) and France’s Joris Daudet, then edging Daudet on Sunday for his fourth straight win on the circuit. Kimmann now has an 800-680 seasonal lead on Daudet with four races remaining.
The women’s BMX World Cup has been owned for the last three years by Laura Smulders (NED) and she shows no interest in giving it up. She finished first and second at St. Quentin, and has four medals in six races in 2019. But she is in a tussle with American Alise Willoughby, who posted a 2-3 finish on the weekend and also has four medals in the six races. Smulders has a 670-665 lead, with Judy Baauw (NED) close behind at 600.
In the Mountain Bike Downhill in Leogang (AUT), France’s Loic Bruni won his second race of the season and closed up to within five points of seasonal leader Troy Brosnan (AUS): 520-515. Defending champ Amaury Pierron (FRA) has 450. Brosnan is the only rider to have won medals in all three races so far.
The same goes for fellow Aussie Tracey Hannah in the women’s race, where she won decisively over Germany’s Nina Hoffmann. Hannah has finished third in the seasonal standings the last three years, but now has a 650-500 points lead over Britain’s six-time champ, Rachel Atherton, who finished 10th in Leogang. Summaries:
BMX Supercross World Cup
Saint Quentin (FRA) ~ 8-9 June 2019
(Full results here)
Men I: 1. Niek Kimmann (NED), 32.647; 2. Alfredo Campo (ECU), 33.038; 3. Joris Daudet (FRA), 33.520; 4. Romain Mahieu (FRA), 33.887; 5. Jeremy Rencurrel (FRA), 33.986.
Men II: 1. Kimmann (NED), 32.353; 2. Daudet (FRA), 32.711; 3. David Graf (SUI), 33.185; 4. Rencurrel (FRA), 33.866; 5. Mahieu (FRA), 34.191.
Women I: 1. Laura Smulders (NED), 37.118; 2. Alise Willoughby (USA), 37.132; 3. Simone Christensen (DEN), 38.530; 4. Felicia Stancil (USA), 38.255; 5. Judy Baauw (NED), 38.417.
Women II: 1. Manon Valentino (FRA), 37.139; 2. Smulders (NED), 37.194; 3. Willoughby (USA), 37.241; 4. Jessie Smith (NZL), 37.596; 5. Saya Sakakibara (AUS), 37.653.
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Leogang (AUT) ~ 8-9 June 2019
(Full results here)
Men: 1. Loic Bruni (FRA), 3:16.132; 2. Greg Minnaar (RSA), 3:16.456; 3. Troy Brosnan (AUS), 3:16.878; 4. Danny Hart (GBR), 3:18.126; 5. Aaron Gwin (USA), 3:18.550. Also in the top 10: 7. Charlie Harrison (USA), 3:19.333; … 9. Luca Shaw (USA), 3:19.638.
Women: 1. Tracey Hannah (AUS), 3:42.107; 2. Nina Hoffmann (GER), 3:44.542; 3. Kate Weatherly (NZL), 3:51.467; 4. Marine Cabirou (FRA), 3:51.671; 5. Veronika Widmann (ITA), 3:54.192.
