Britain’s Tracy Moseley has won the women’s DH at the opening round of the 2009 Nissan UCI MTB World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, while local Greg Minnaar (Pietermaritzburg is his home town) won the men’s race.

The largely wooded 3km course dropped from 1100m to 700m but packed significant pedalling sections as well as the usual drops and jumps. The presence of Minnaar almost certainly contributed to the impressive crowd of around 16,000 spectators.

Moseley, in her first World Cup outing for the Trek World Team, had qualified first giving her the last run in the finals, which took place on her 30th birthday. She’d been in Pietermaritzburg for a fortnight already, training on the course and racing (and winning) the South African National race on the same course the previous weekend. Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) set the pace early on with a 4:28.61, a time that lasted until second qualifier Emmeline Ragot (Suspension) took another two seconds off. She was no match for Moseley, though, who hacked another six seconds off to win with 4:20.15.

Racing in the men’s field was fiercely competitive, with many riders pulling something extra out of the bag between the qualifying and final runs. The first rider to go under four minutes in the final was Brit Ruaridh Cunningham (Chain Reaction-Intense) with a 3:59.12, a time that stood for a while. Aaron Holmes shaved three seconds off it, but then the big guns came out – with seven riders to go, Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized) moved the bar to 3:50.18.

Next in the hot seat was none other than Steve Peat, with a 3:49.25. Chris Kovarik crashed out, and then Minnaar took to the course, propelled by the cheering of 16,000 spectators. Crossing the line, he’d taken the best part of six seconds out of Peat. He wasn’t the last rider down – Mick Hannah (GT) was fastest qualifier, but in the final he couldn’t match Minnaar’s time, although his 3:45.69 was enough for second.

Results – DH

Men

1. Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 3:43.44
2. Mick Hannah (GT Bicycles) 3:45.69
3. Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 3:49.25
4. Sam Hill (Monster Energy/Specialized) 3:50.18
5. Gee Atherton (Animal Commencal) 3:52.01

Other British

• 9 Marc Beaumont
• 13 Dan Atherton
• 26 Ruraidh Cunningham
• 32 Brendan Fairclough
• 36 Thomas Braithwaite
• 39 Josh Bryceland
• 40 Sam Dale
• 50 Joseph Smith
• 51 Matthew Simmonds
• 52 Neil Donoghue
• 53 Rowan Sorrell
• 54 Dan Stanbridge
• 57 Tom Deacon
• 58 Danny Hart
• 60 Adam Brayton
• 68 Scott Mears
• 74 James Hughes
• 76 Emyr Davies
• 78 Daniel Critchlow

Women

1. Tracy Moseley (Trek World Team) 4:20.15
2. Emmeline Ragot (Suspension) 4:26.53
3. Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) 4:28.61
4. Fionn Griffiths (Norco) 4:32.93
5. Clair Buchar (Chain Reaction-Intense) 4:34.20

Other British

• 11 Helen Gaskell
• 12 Sarah Newman