Spy Optic’s Sam Hill (Monster/Iron Horse) stepped up and took it to the world’s best downhill mountain bike racers this past weekend in Slovenia, winning the Nissan UCI World Cup DH season opener at Maribor.
Hill, the defending World Cup downhill champ, tuned up for the Maribor opener by thoroughly dominating a UCI mandated test event in Val Di Sole (Italy) in the days leading up to the World Cup DH opener. Hill’s five-second win over rival Steve Peat at Val Di Sole definitely set the tone for what was going down last weekend in Slovenia.
Said Hill of his test run in Italy: “My run in the final was OK. The track has lots of line choices, it’s technical and a lot of fun, but this can make it really hard to get a perfect run on it. I thought it was cool to have this warm up race to see where my race speed is before heading into the first World Cup round.”
At Maribor, Hill was able to replicate that speed he found in Italy – but chose not to do so until his final run. Basically backing into the finals with what Hill felt was a sub-par run in the semis, the Aussie opened it up in the finals, putting his pro-level motocross skills to use on the technical Maribor course and bringing the gold home with a three-plus second cushion over the next closest competitor.
Impressive today was his younger team mate Brendan Fairclough who’s had mixed results this year so far, but a strong showing in 9th means he too is on target for a good year.
The semi finals this morning saw Sam finish 3rd, half a second behind Frenchman Julien Camellini who enjoys this track, and Brendan in 11th. Both moved up 2 spots in the final.
Comments:
Sam: “I was pretty upset with how I rode in qualifying….I felt tight and rode on the brakes too much. In the final I just wanted to have fun and ride like I know I can. My run went pretty well,” said a humble Hill, “but I definitely want to improve on putting together a better run in Andorra (Round 2). I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully I can get a few more wins.”
Brendan: “I felt good at the top prior to the start, relaxed and confident. I think with Sam being so relaxed it helped me stay more calm. I had a good run and didn’t make too many mistakes….I just need to open it up a bit more, but I feel my speed will progress throughout the season. I’m happy with my result and ready for the next one!”
Team Manager Sean Heimdal: “I’m super stoked with the results today…I just wanted both riders to come out of here with a safe solid run…It’s a long season this year, and I think it was important to come away within the top 15. We’re all looking forward to the next round.”
The trechorous rock garden in Maribor claimed quite a few riders today, and has a history of taking out some top contenders. The World Cup riders now have a couple of weeks to recovery from any injuries before round 2, which takes place at Vallnord, Andorra on June 1st on a track never before raced for a World Cup.
Next up for Sam is the second round of the 2008 UCI World Cup DH series scheduled for May 31 to June 1 in Vallnord, Andorra.
