Vigo in Spain saw the opening rounds of the 4X and Downhill Nissan UCI World Cup series, and it was a fantastic weekend for the Brits with victories in the men’s competitions of both disciplines.

4X

Victory for Anneke Beerten and Gee Atherton in Four Cross
Anneke Beerten and Gee Atherton win in Vigo in front of an excellent huge crowd and on a super new Four Cross track
All best riders were present at this first Four Cross. Anneke Beerten takes an excellent start in front of the current Worldchampion Jill Kintner (USA), after she has already won the semi-final. Jill tries several times to pass Anneke, but she can avoid all the attacks and Jill commits a mistake, while she was trying to pass Anneke for a last time. Nothing could stop Anneke and the track was open for a wonderful victory for her. It has been the second victory after Schladming in 2005. The men’s race was excellent. The final was very exciting and open until to the finish line. The attacks in the first corner were aggressive and Gee Atherton takes a big risk, which was worth it and found himself in front of multiple Worldchampion Brian Lopes (USA) and current Worldchampion Michal Prokop (CZE). Gee Atherton closed the door and rides to a wonderful victory. Next meeting on 9-10 June in Champéry BikePark.ch for the 2nd round of the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, presented by Shimano.

DH

Britain’s Marc Beaumont took his first-ever World Cup win in Vigo, beating local favourite David Vazquez Lopez by just over a second. Things didn’t look good for Beaumont after qualifying, when a big crash left him with deep cuts and 77th spot. But that misfortune came out for the best – that position gave him an early run on a dry course, while a lot of later riders had to contend with rain. That’s not to diminish Marc’s achievement, though – he’s been near the top of the podium plenty of times, and putting a good run together with fresh injuries is no mean feat.

Greg Minnaar was third, with defending champion Steve Peat just off the top tier of the podium in fourth and Sam Hill in fifth.

In the women’s race, World Champion Sabrina Jonnier took the win ahead of Britain’s Tracy Moseley.

4X

Dan Atherton was the fastest qualifier in the men’s 4X event, but it was brother Gee who came out on top in the finals. Gee beat a strong line-up of Brian Lopes, Michal Prokop and Joost Wichman by the time-honoured technique of not crashing – no mean feat on Vigo’s fast new 4X track.

In the women’s event, a close head-to-head between Jill Kintner and Anneke Beerten ended with the Dutch rider crossing the line first.

Results

4X – Women

4X – Men

DH – Women

Other British

DH – Men

Other British