From talent to World Cup winner
New Zealander George Brannigan sets the first time on the fast track in Salzburgerland, which looks set for victory. A few riders later, however, it was none other than reigning world champion Greg Minnaar who knocked Brannigan off the top spot. Minnaar, who was only twelfth in qualifying, sets a record that sees one favorite after another fail. New Zealander Brook Mac Donald is the first to come close to Minnaar with 25 hundredths of a second and shortly afterwards Australian Troy Brosnan takes the world champion's breath away with nine thousandths of a second.
Then Minnaar's teammate Josh Bryceland races to Tale and takes the lead by a good second. World Cup leader Aaron Gwin (USA) was unable to get involved in the decision due to a puncture. Frenchman Loic Bruni is the last rider to go down the downhill course with the best intermediate time. Probably a tad too fast, because Bruni crashes and buries the chance of his first World Cup victory in the Austrian dust. Josh Bryceland, who has been regarded as one of the biggest talents in downhill racing for years, thus takes his first World Cup victory. This puts the Briton in first place in the interim World Cup standings, behind Aaron Gwin and Troy Brosnan.
Nick Beer records another slight improvement. He finished his run as the fastest, but then dropped to 17th place. This is the best World Cup result this year in a season that has not gone according to plan for the Bernese skier. Noel Niederberger finishes in 49th place, while Maxime Chapuis ends up in 69th place.Carpenter second - Schär a strong tenth
Manon Carpenter has digested the frustration of missing out on home victory in Fort William. The Brit set the fastest time in qualifying. In the race, she once again put her skills to the test and won by over two seconds ahead of world champion Rachel Atherton. France's Myriam Nicole came third, relegating her compatriot Emmeline Ragot to fourth place.
The two Swiss athletes Emilie Siegenthaler and Carina Cappellari fared less well. Siegenthaler, who was seventh in qualifying, had to make do with tenth place in the race. Cappellari was also unable to build on her performance in Fort William and finished 16th
Carpenter is also ahead in the overall standings. Emmeline Ragot and Myriam Nicole are in second place, while Rachel Atherton is only in fourth place due to her flat tire at the Downhill World Cup in Fort William. Emilie Siegenthaler also occupies tenth place in the overall standings.
The race ended well for Swiss junior Mike Schär. In the race won by Frenchman Amaury Pierron, Schär finished in a good tenth place. This is the first time the young man from Zurich has ridden into the top 10, while the second Swiss junior qualifier Myles Weber finished in 27th place.
| Ranking #4 Downhill World Cup 2014, Leogang Aut, Downhill Men: | ||
| 1. Josh Bryceland (GBR) | 0.03.18 | +00.00 |
| 2. Greg Minnaar (RSA) | 0.03.20 | +00.02 |
| 3rd Troy Brosnan (AUS) | 0.03.20 | +00.02 |
| 4th Brook MacDonald (NZL) | 0.03.20 | +00.02 |
| 5th George Brannigan (NZL) | 0.03.20 | +00.02 |
| 6th Matthew Simmonds (GBR) | 0.03.20 | +00.02 |
| 7th Danny Hart (GBR) | 0.03.21 | +00.03 |
| 8th Andrew Neethling (RSA) | 0.03.21 | +00.03 |
| 9th Connor Fearon (AUS) | 0.03.21 | +00.03 |
| 10th Sam Hill (AUS) | 0.03.21 | +00.03 |
| 17th Nick Beer (SUI) | 0.03.23 | +00.05 |
| 49th Noel Niederberger (SUI) | 0.03.29 | +00.11 |
| 69th Maxime Chapuis (SUI) | 0.03.32 | +00.14 |
| Ranking #4 World Cup 2014, Leogang AUT, Downhill Women: | ||
| 1. Manon Carpenter (GBR) | 0.03.42 | +00.00 |
| 2. Rachel Atherton (GBR) | 0.03.45 | +00.03 |
| 3rd Myriam Nicole (FRA) | 0.03.46 | +00.04 |
| 4th Emmeline Ragot (FRA) | 0.03.46 | +00.04 |
| 5th Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) | 0.03.50 | +00.08 |
| 6th Jill Kintner (USA) | 0.03.54 | +00.12 |
| 7th Tracey Hannah (AUS) | 0.03.56 | +00.14 |
| 8th Micayla Gatto (CAN) | 0.03.56 | +00.14 |
| 9th Charre Morgane (FRA) | 0.03.58 | +00.16 |
| 10th Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI) | 0.03.58 | +00.16 |
| 16th Carina Cappellari (SUI) | 0.04.16 | +00.34 |
| Ranking #4 Downhill World Cup 2014, Leogang Aut, Downhill Juniors: | |||
| 1. Amaury Pierron (FRA) | 3.30,160 | ||
| 2. Tyler Vernon (GBR) | 3.30,714 | +0.00,554 | |
| 3rd Luca Shaw (USA) | 3,31,365 | +0.01,205 | |
| 4th Alex Marin Trillo (ESP) | 3.31,722 | +0.01,562 | |
| 5th Steve Marietta (FRA) | 3.33,087 | +0.02,927 | |
| 10th Mike Schär (SUI) | 3.35,421 | +0.05,261 | |
| 27th Myles Weber (SUI) | 3.56,700 | +0:26.540 | |
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