Melissa Buhl Wins 4X World Championship

Yeah, Melissa! She made sure the USA kept the rainbow mountaincross jersey by besting Anneke Beerten, the number one qualifier, and former World Champ Jana Horakova. Apparently Anneke and Romana Labounkova made some contact and Melissa was able to leave them behind. Earlier today, Melissa took 10th in downhill, and she was the only woman in the Big Final to race both events.

Big Final
1. Melissa Buhl (United States Of America)
2. Jana Horakova (Czech Republic)
3. Romana Labounkova (Czech Republic)
4. Anneke Beerten (Netherlands)
Small Final
5. Caroline Buchanan (Australia)
6. Lucia Oetjen (Switzerland)
7. Anita Molcik (Austria)
8. Mio Suemasa (Japan)
1/4 Finals
9. Sabrina Jonnier (France)
10. Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain)
11. Céline Gros (France)
12. Joanna Petterson (South Africa)
13. Sarsha Huntington (Australia)
14. Helene Valerie Fruhwirth (Austria)
15. Diana Marggraff (Ecuador)
16. Eva Castro Fernandez (Spain)
Qualifications
17. Steffi Marth (Germany)
18. Angelika Hohenwarter (Austria)
19. Elisa Canepa (Italy)
20. Neven Steinmetz (United States Of America)
21. Rachel Seydoux (Switzerland)
22. Jessica Vogt (United States Of America)

Rachel Atherton Is the New Downhill World Champion

Rachel Atherton broke Sabrina Jonnier's streak as the downhill World Champion today. Rachel was the only girl to break 4 minutes on the course, and she bested Sabrina, who took second, by about 12 seconds. Kathy Pruitt was the top-placing North American in 7th.

1. Rachel Atherton (Great Britain) 3.49.92 (54.02 km/h)
2. Sabrina Jonnier (France) 4.01.91
3. Emmeline Ragot (France) 4.07.03
4. Floriane Pugin (France) 4.10.25
5. Mio Suemasa (Japan) 4.11.68
6. Tracy Moseley (Great Britain) 4.12.30
7. Kathleen Pruitt (United States Of America) 4.19.66
8. Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain) 4.20.10
9. Scarlett Hagen (New Zealand) 4.20.14
10. Melissa Buhl (United States Of America) 4.20.38
11. Petra Bernhard (Austria) 4.34.31
12. Micayla Gatto (Canada) 4.36.08
13. Helene Valer Fruhwirth (Austria) 4.37.04
14. Claire Buchar (Canada) 4.37.42
15. Danice Uyesugi (Canada) 4.37.71
16. Amy Laird (New Zealand) 4.44.44
17. Diana Marggraff (Ecuador) 4.45.40
18. Elisa Canepa (Italy) 4.49.52
19. Victoria Hernandez Molinas (Spain) 4.51.39
20. Kim Huard (Canada) 4.51.74
21. Katarina Tothova (Czech Republic) 5.58.91
22. Katarina Pialova (Slovakia) 6.07.15
23. Céline Gros (France) 6.16.49
24. Helena Boskova (Slovakia) 7.11.25

Anais Pajot Wins the Junior Women's Downhill World Champion Jersey

France took the top three places in the 2008 Junior Women's Downhill World Championships. Anais Pajot won the jersey by about 6 seconds over fellow countrywoman Myriam Nicole.

1. Anais Pajot (France)
2. Myriam Nicole (France)
3. Mélanie Pugin (France)
4. Miranda Miller (Canada)
5. Caroline Buchanan (Australia)
6. Aurea Agostinho (Portugal)
7. Diana Lorena Dromundo (Mexico)
8. Leoni-Caro. Dickerhoff (Germany)

4X Qualifiers at the World Championships

Racers took their mountain qualifying runs last night at Val di Sole, Italy. The finals are tonight. Anneke Beerten, who is favored to win the stripes qualified with the fastest time. The USA's Melissa Buhl also put in a strong run, qualifying third.

1. Anneke Beerten (Netherlands)
2. Jana Horakova (Czech Republic)
3. Melissa Buhl (United States Of America)
4. Romana Labounkova (Czech Republic)
5. Anita Molcik (Austria)
6. Sabrina Jonnier (France)
7. Mio Suemasa (Japan)
8. Caroline Buchanan (Australia)
9. Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain)
10. Céline Gros (France)
11. Lucia Oetjen (Switzerland)
12. Sarsha Huntington (Australia)
13. Joanna Petterson (South Africa)
14. Helene Valer Fruhwirth (Austria)
15. Diana Marggraff (Ecuador)
16. Eva Castro Fernandez (Spain)
17. Steffi Marth (Germany)
18. Angelika Hohenwarter (Austria)
19. Elisa Canepa (Italy)
20. Neven Steinmetz (United States Of America)
21. Rachel Seydoux (Switzerland)
22. Jessica Vogt (United States Of America)

Junior Women's Seeding at the World Championships

The junior women also took their downhill seeding runs at Val di Sole, Italy yesterday. France is dominating so far, taking 3 out of the top 4 spots. These girls will also take their final runs on Saturday.

1. Anais Pajot (France)
2. Mélanie Pugin (France)
3. Caroline Buchanan (Australia)
4. Myriam Nicole (France)
5. Diana Lorena Dromundo (Mexico)
6 .Aurea Agostinho (Portugal)
7. Miranda Miller (Canada)
8. Leoni-Caro. Dickerhoff (Germany)

Downhill World Championships Seeding Results

Apparently things are drying out in Val di Sole, Italy at the World Championship venue. Rachel Atherton, who's coming off a win at the Fort William, Scotland World Cup set a blazing pace for the women. She finished 11 seconds ahead of second place rider Emmeline Ragot. Sabrina Jonnier, the reigning World Champion was third. The girls race for the stripes on Saturday.

1. Rachel Atherton GBR 4:05.72
2. Emmeline Ragot FRA 4:16.14
3. Sabrina Jonnier FRA 4:22.16
4. Floriane Pugin FRA
5. Scarlet Hagen NZL
6. Tracy Moseley GBR
7. Celine Gros FRA
8. Petra Bernhard AUT
9. Emilie Siegenthaler SUI
10. Kathy Pruitt USA
11. Claire Buchar CAN
12. Fionn Griffiths GBR
13. Diana Margraff ECU
14. Amy Laird NZL
15. Helene Fruhwirth AUT
16. Elisa Canepa ITA
17. Miriam Ruchti SUI
18. Mio Suemasa JPN
19. Danice Uyesugi CAN
20. Melissa Buhl USA
21. Micayla Gatto CAN
22. Victoria Hernandez Molinas ESP
23. Katarina Tothova CZE
24. Katarina Piolova SVK
25. Kim Haurd CAN
26. Helena Boskova SVK

USA Cycling Annouces Nominees for the 2008 World Championships

While our server issues are being resolved, I've had a lot of time to surf the web and find intriguing things to Blog. Here's a good one. Today USA Cycling announced the nominees for the World Championships that will take place next month in Val di Sole, Italy. There are only two women downhillers on the list, which is a bit surprising. Hopefully, this is just the list of riders who were nominated and not the final list of athletes who will be attending. It's a bit confusing because in the instructions for applying for the Worlds team on USAC's website, it says that today's date is the "Confirmation to Participate" and that the "Announcement of the Team" happens June 9, 2008. The write-up on USA Cycling's site doesn't imply that more riders will be named, though. As the top US rider in both mountaincross and downhill, Melissa Buhl will represent in both disciplines. Kathy Pruitt, who has been committed to the World Cup circuit this year will be the second downhiller, while mountaincross extraordinaire Neven Steinmetz will join Melissa in that discipline.

I understand that results and petitions rule the selection process, and the ability to pay one's own way determines whether or not a petition is submitted in the first place, but can we really only send two girls to Worlds? And that's two girls per discipline, which totals just three people. I hope that consideration was given to riders like Darian Harvey, Lisa Myklak, Abby Hippely, and Jackie Harmony, and that on June 9, we'll see a few more names on the list.

Elite Women’s Downhill
Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.)
Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif.)

Elite Women’s 4-Cross
Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.)
Neven Steinmetz (Boulder. Colo.)
Jessica Vogt (Boulder, Colo.)*
*Declined her nomination

To read the whole USAC article, click here.