Aaron Gwin wins downhill contest at Mountain Bike World Cup opener

Gwin became the first American male in 12 years to win a downhill contest at a World Cup. Photo by Rob Jones/www.canadiancyclist.com
Gwin became the first American male in 12 years to win a downhill contest at a World Cup. Photo by Rob Jones/www.canadiancyclist.com
Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 25, 2011) --The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup kicked off over the weekend with round one in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa where American Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) descended to a gold medal in the elite men’s downhill contest.
 
Gwin’s winning time made him the first American man to win a World Cup downhill contest in 12 years. (The last to accomplish the feat was Shaun Palmer in 1999)
 
Steve Peat (GBR/Santa Cruz Syndicate) sat in the hot seat for a lengthy period until Gwin bested his time by an astounding seven seconds for his very first World Cup win. Collecting the silver and bronze medals were home town favorite Greg Minnaar (RSA/Santa Cruz Syndicate) and defending World Cup champ Gee Atherton (GBR/Commencal).

Other strong American results over the weekend came from Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized) who placed 10th in the elite men's cross country, Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna Pro Team) who placed 18th in the elite women's cross country, and Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz.) who placed seventh in the women's four-cross.
 
For complete results from round one of the World Cup, please click here.