Neko Mulally grabs silver on final day of Mountain Bike Worlds

Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec (September 5, 2010) – U.S. rider Neko Mulally (Reading, Pa./Trek World Racing)  descended his way onto the podium during the final day of competition at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, earning the silver medal in the junior men’s downhill contest. Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, Calif./Yeti Fox Shox) barely missed out on the podium when he clocked the fourth fastest time in the elite men’s race.  


Because he skipped much of the year’s competition with a broken arm, Mulally was seeded toward the beginning of the 49 junior men’s contestants. So his time of 4:50.77 kept him in the hot seat for quite some time.

“The morning was busy with practice and the race was shortly after, so I didn’t really have time to stop and think about the situation… I just kind of went with it,” Neko explained from the hot seat. "I had a solid run that didn’t really get too out of control… Felt good and was at the bottom before I knew it. I’m really happy with the way things went.”  

Check out the YouTube video of Neko talking from the hot seat...


It wasn’t until the second-to-last run that Mulally gave up his seat. The crowd went crazy as Aussie Troy Brosnan descended into the finish with a 4:50.71 to upset Mulally’s time by a mere 5/100ths of a second. Wrapping up the event was Great Britain’s Lewis Buchanan who clocked a 4:59.76 to earn the bronze medal.  

Mulally was joined by five other Americans on the course. Evan Powell (Boulder, Colo./Yeti Fox) was 22nd while Nate Furbee (Los Osos, Calif.) and Trevor Trinkino (Evergreen, Colo./Yeti RPM) posted the 30th and 31st fastest times. Sam Powers (Lyons, Colo./Redstone Cyclery) was 42nd and Mitch Ropelato (Ogden, Utah) was 45th.

In the elite men’s event, Gwin clocked a time of 4:42.01 compared to the 4:37.93 posted by new world champ Sam Hill of Australia.

“It was a bit of a struggle for me actually just with the weather, and I kind of have a bit of an injury,” Gwin explained after his run down the demanding course. “But I think top five at worlds is always a good race. I’ve been fourth a lot of times this year so I’m kind of over that. But I am happy.”

See below for a video of Aaron describing his race...


Collecting the silver and bronze in the elite men’s competition were Canadian Steve Smith and South African Greg Minnaar.

Joining Gwin in the U.S. team jerseys were Luke Strobel (Issaquah, Wash./Evil Bikes) in 16th, Duncan Riffle (Santa Barbara, Calif./Giant) in 29th, Brad Benedict (Auburn/Specialized) in 38th, Logan Binggeli (Saint George, Utah/KHS Bicycles) in 42nd, Tyler Immer (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) in 45th, and Kyle Strait (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in 57th.

Donning the red, white and blue in her very first world championships this morning was Kelsey Anderson (Novato, Calif.). The lone American in the junior women’s competition, Anderson posted a time of 7:14.67 on the slippery course to finish in seventh place.

Anderson, who doesn’t usually even ride downhill, said she really enjoyed the course.

“It was super slippery but fun. You could just push the back end out and slide around. It was super fun… Rough. I loved it,” she said.

“It was everything I wanted and more,” Anderson said about her first trip to the world championships. “It was so cool… It was the greatest experience of my entire life… Surrounded by great, amazing, motivated people, and there are tons of fun things to ride.”

Check out the video below to hear Kelsey's account of her first world championship experience...


The junior women’s world title went to Canada’s Lauren Rosser who, with a 5:59.55, was the only junior woman to break the six minute barrier. The silver and bronze medals went to French pair Fanny Lombard and Julie Berteaux.

In the elite women’s event, Leigh Donovan (Murietta, Calif./Intense Cycles)posted the fastest time for the U.S. contingent, earning eighth-place with a 5:34.05 compared to the 5:17.47 clocked by new world champ Tracy Moseley (Great Britain).

Also having an impressive run in the red, white and blue was 2008 BMX Olympian Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash./Transition Racing), who after just recently switching her focus to downhill, posted the tenth fastest time on Sunday with a 5:38.29.

Also representing the USA in the women’s downhill was Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS Bicycles) in 16th and Jacqueline Harmony (Sedona, Ariz./Vixen Racing) in 18th.

With Sunday’s downhill runs in the books, the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships have officially come to a close.
 
CLICK HERE for complete results on the UCI’s website.
 
CLICK HERE for USA Cycling’s photo gallery of the world championships.
 

2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
Sept. 1-5, 2010
Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec
 
Junior Women’s Downhill
1. Lauren Rosser (Canada)
2. Fanny Lombard (France)
3. Julie Berteaux (France)
9. Kelsey Anderson (Novato, Calif.)  
 
Junior Men’s Downhill
1. Troy Brosnan (Australia)
2. Neko Mulally (Reading, Pa./Trek World Racing)
3. Lewis Buchanan (Great Britain)
22. Evan Powell (Boulder, Colo./Yeti Fox)
30. Nate Furbee (Los Osos, Calif.)
31. Trevor Trinkino (Evergreen, Colo./Yeti RPM)
42. Sam Powers (Lyons, Colo./Redstone Cyclery)
45. Mitch Ropelato (Ogden, Utah)
 
Elite Women’s Downhill
1. Tracy Moseley (Great Britain)
2. Sabrina Jonnier (France)
3. Emmeline Ragot (France)
8. Leigh Donovan (Murietta, Calif./Intense Cycles)
10. Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash./Transition Racing)
16. Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS Bicycles)
18. Jacqueline Harmony (Sedona, Ariz./Vixen Racing)
 
Elite Men’s Downhill
1. Sam Hill (Australia)
2. Steve Smith (Canada)
3. Greg Minnaar (South Africa)
4. Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, Calif./Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team)
16. Luke Strobel (Issaquah, Wash./Evil Bikes)
29. Duncan Riffle (Santa Barbara, Calif./Giant)
38. Brad Benedict (Auburn/Specialized)
42. Logan Binggeli (Saint George, Utah/KHS Bicycles)
45. Tyler Immer (Rancho Murieta, Calif.)
57. Kyle Strait (Huntington Beach, Calif.)


This Article Published September 5, 2010 For more information contact: