6-12-07 // Online Exclusive: The Champery WC Downhill Report

Steve Peat making a break for the hot seat. Colin Meagher

The Men’s DH

The course continued to dry out, so the top men were taking the log drop with speed and confidence. But that was in the sun. Anything in the woods was still questionable traction at best. Roots, off camber turns, G-outs into turns, and “just hang on” chutes were the order of the day.

Qualifying was routine for the most part; meaning nearly everyone fell at least once, some more. The field was huge, too, with over 180 men looking for the win—including Nicolas Vouilloz. Again, talent will tell: top qualifying went to Sam Hill—man that kid is fast! Other top qualifiers included, the Athertons, anyone on a Honda (Minnaar, Lehikoinen, and Fairclough), and—you guessed it—Nicolas Vouilloz.

With the qualifying over, the riders who had made it into the finals were all business. Racers on course were quite obviously putting it all on the line now. Steve Peat had suffered numerous crashes during qualifying, relegating him to an early starting position for the final, and he passed me going like a bat out hell to seize the hot seat with a time of 4:11:81; only to be unseated shortly afterwards by Matti Lehikoinen with a time of 4:10:21.

But with about 30 qualifiers remaining for the final, the skies opened up with a fury unseen since the Grouse Mountain World Cup DH race of 2003, and in minutes the semi-reasonable traction had vanished. My position on the inside of a sweeping right hander to a G-out sharp right-hander became the gong show with racer after racer going into the safety net, unable to scrub any speed as they entered the G-out. The elites were all getting shut down hard: Nico dropped to 63rd position. Minnaar to 74th.

But Sam Hill came out swinging. The Aussie excels in the wet, and this race was no exception. His only fall came at the bottom of the g-out I was shooting (sorry, no pics; my flash equipment shorted out). In a frantic bid to get remounted, I’d estimate he lost at least 5-6 seconds, plus getting back up to speed. Amazingly, he finished 3rd, a mere three one-hundredths of a second behind Peaty’s “dry” run! And only +01:63 behind eventual winner Matti Lehikoinen! Simply insane. Even Nico was in awe of Sam’s run.

The shake out: Matti Lehikoinen, 4:10:21; Steve Peat, 4:11:81; Sam Hill 4:11:84; Fabian Barel, 4:14:91; Mick Hannah, 4:21:52

Matti Lehikoinen charging into the win. Colin Meagher

Downhill racing legend Nicolas Vouilloz en route to a return to form during qualifying. Colin Meagher