The first points of the 2018 UCI Downhill World Cup season went to Brook MacDonald and Rachel Atherton as they both win qualifying in Croatia.
Both riders will be happy to be back on form after last season. A brand new track levelled the field in Croatia, so props to both riders for raising their game when it counted. Both now lead their respective categories.
Brook MacDonald’s winning qualifying run.
It’s been a long time coming but I don’t think you’ll find anyone who isn’t happy to see The Bulldog back charging hard on a Mondraker. Brook MacDonald would put 1.169 seconds into a flying Dean Lucas, with Gwin a second back on Lucas in third.
The usual suspects make up the top 20, but it was the flying Kiwi that would start to banish the daemons that have seen him shy of the podium in the last few years.
Rachel Atherton’s winning qualifying run.
Rachel Atherton’s 2017 was marred by a dislocated shoulder but seems to be right back where she belongs, although without her monstrous margins of old. She’d land 1.490 seconds ahead of Tracey Hannah, with last year’s series winner Myriam Nicole just under half a second adrift of Hannah in 3rd.
Big shout out to overall MTB legend Cecile Ravanel who was only 3.6 seconds off the win in 5th, one place ahead of Tahnee Seagrave.
