1st Nicolas Vouilloz

First words after finishing and seeing his time: "It’s incredible!"

Asked if had a perfect run "No. Here it is hard to ride perfect. On the top
it was very slow and the track is very bad… I was just happy to stay on the bike…
On the top section I was very nervous, I knew that some could beat me – well Mickael
(Pascal)… In the world championships I feel that I have to win, I want to win…"





2nd Mickael Pascal

"I crashed into a tree just before the speed trap section. Almost right in the
middle of my handlebars…. My mind was elsewhere and I just went into the tree…
I like the mud and I like this course…

Comparing notes with Vouilloz NV – "I had a slow start but then I got quicker."
MP – "I started fast but then I hit a tree."

"I hoped for a medal, and I’m very satisfied with silver."





3rd Eric Carter

"I made some mistakes, but then I think everybody was making mistakes today…
The crowd was amazing. Everybody standing out there in the rain and fog: Thanks a
lot to a wonderful crowd. They made so much noise as I rode past that I couldn’t
hear anything else… My teammate Steve Peat really helped me out this year: with
my technique, getting my head screwed on straight… I ride a lot more aggressive
now, I trust my suspension and my tyres… The new bike suits my style better. It
has a lower centre of gravity: lower bottom bracket. I think it has played a big
part in our results – just look at Steve Peat."



On the apparent invincibility of Vouilloz

"Really, hats of to Nicolas Vouilloz. I thought this year he’d go down. He was
getting so tense and so tight, but what he has done here is unbelievable. I’m going
to go home to study film from the race. One of these days I’m going to beat him…
To beat Vouilloz you can’t just turn your brain off and rip down the hill. If you
watch film of him, he is always in the right gear, brakes just the right amount at
the right places, his body is always centred on his bike."

ELITE WOMEN



1st Anne-Caroline Chausson

"For sure I did not win this in the pedalling section I had big legs, for sure
I was tired I had a good run in the technical section. It was not so fast, there
was no time to lose, because with a crash you cannot win here I am impressed by (Katja
Repos) seeding run I had not ridden my downhill bike since the world cup final in
Kaprun, so I was feeling a bit scared to crash (asked if the relatively flat profile
of this course had given her cause for nervousness) Before each race I am nervous,
here I just had to keep on concentrating."



2nd Katja Repo

"Im very happy. I was nervous before the start, but there were many Finnish
people along the course and that helped me There was more mud than in the seeding
run, so I had to ride a lot more carefully. I had a crash on the first technical
section, two turns before the big drop-off I thought then that I couldnt get a top-three
placing, so Im really happy now. My goal was for a top-five result.

(Asked about her mental preparation before the start) I tried to breathe easily
and just think about something. But I was very nervous at the beginning, maybe this
is why I crashed."



3rd Sari Joergensen

"I just tried to go hard. Whew!.(asked about the conditions) Its bad For me
the race was over the first section If you crash hard you will just have to get back
on the bike again. I wanted to get through it without crashing My feet were all over
the place like usual."