Troy Brosnan and Marine Cabirou emerge victorious in Mont-Sainte-Anne to cap UCI Downhill World Cup season
By Rhys Jones
Published 06/10/2024 at 18:02 GMT+1
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Australian Troy Brosnan was victorious in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, at the final UCI Downhill World Cup race of the season, moving into second in the overall rankings. In the women's event, France's Marine Cabirou picked up the win to also claim second place in the overall standings, while South African great Greg Minnaar raced in his final Downhill World Cup.
'Cameraman down!' - Raucous scenes as Brosnan wins by barest of margins
Video credit: TNT Sports
Troy Brosnan emerged victorious in the UCI Downhill World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Marine Cabirou picking up the win to claim second place in the women's overall standings following the season's final race.
The Canyon CLLCTV Factory rider came second in the qualifiers before winning the semi-finals to set up a dramatic battle with Lachlan Stevens-McNab and Laurie Greenland.
Greenland set the pace first before Stevens-McNab's run, leaving Brosnan to deliver a special finish to inch ahead of the New Zealander.
The Australian drifted into the red after the first time checks but roared in the final section to take the win in Canada and propel himself to second in the overall standings.
Brosnan's own participation was in doubt after his wife gave birth at the end of August, making this victory even sweeter following his only UCI World Cup win in 2021.
The day was not all about Brosnan, as the sport bid farewell to the great Greg Minnaar, who raced in his last Downhill World Cup at the age of 42.
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The South African has raced in Downhill World Cups since 1997 when he took part in the Stellenbosch DH World Cup as a 16-year-old. Since then he has won 22 World Cups and the overall World Cup three times.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the crowd coming out today, it’s not the best weather but they supported me the whole way down," Minnaar said afterwards. "I had not a great start, I stalled in the first corner and tried to catch that rhythm back up, but it was a little greasier than I thought.
“But that crowd was going nuts, as I lost my footing in the rocks, I could just hear my name being shouted, they were cheering all the way. I can’t thank them enough; I feel very at home here.”
CABIROU SIGNS OFF IN STYLE WITH DOUBLE SUCCESS
With second place still up for grabs in the overall women's rankings, Marine Cabirou clinched the spot with the win at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Overall winner Valentina Holl slowed down as her run unfolded to take third place behind Canadian Gracey Hemstreet.
British rider Tahnee Seagrave lost a crucial six seconds as she rode with an injured hand, finishing sixth on the day and third in the overall rankings.
Cabirou rode after, and her strong showing saw her move into the top spot with a lead of 1.423s.
Louise-Anna Ferguson was in contention as the third-last rider to race but a costly crash saw her plummet to the bottom of the table.
“I’m really happy to take the win today, it’s such a hard week," Cabirou said. "Especially today the track was tough, so I tried to push but with the conditions it wasn’t easy.
"I did so many mistakes on my run so when I finished, I didn’t believe that will be the run of the week.”
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