MTB World Cup #1

Unit athletes Claire Buchar and Chris Kovarik competed at round 1 of the Downhill World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia. The track was complete mud, and racing was gnarly.

Chris crashed in his final and slid through the tape and off course. He is OK though, and looking ahead to the next race.

Claire had a bit more success and ended the weekend with a very strong 7th! Below is her full blog taken from canadiandhgirls.com, where you can also go to find more updates and photos.

After a 2 day drive from the rainy UK we arrived in rainy Maribor. Slovenia. I knew right then that it was going to be a gnarly weekend.

The track is littered with roots. The infamous rock garden was the most slippery it has ever been and the ruts and holes were getting deep by the end of Friday practice. There was mud covering everything and it continued to rain.

Saturday qualifying went well, I just took it easy, hit most of my lines and made it down without coming off. I qualified 8th and I knew I had more in the tank for the final.

Come Sunday, though, winds were high and the gondola shut down for morning practice. We had to shuttle to the top and were given one practice run each because the track was absolutely trashed from qualifying the day before. I had the worst run of the weekend with a mechanical problem combined with still feeling half asleep!

I was determined to ride my best in the final. But it was choose your own adventure out there! It ended up being a bit of a horrendous run actually. It was so slippery and rough, it was hard to stay on line. My bike was pounds heavier coated with mud. I made so many mistakes but I knew that others would too so I just kept on fighting till I crossed the line. I came across in 2nd with 7 girls to go. Tracy and Celine couldn’t beat my time that day, obviously having their own adventures on course. I was stoked to finish 7th, just 2 seconds off the podium. My commitment and determination helped knock 8 seconds off my qualifier in way worse conditions with so many mistakes! Racing is crazy…..I am so addicted.

Props to Rachel after everything she went through with her broken finger and her mega crash in qualifying. In a league of her own, well done.

And congrats to one of my favorite riders and teammate, Matt Simmonds, who finished a solid 14th in the mens(in the same second as 8th place). I think that is his best World Cup result so far! More to come….

Chris had a crash and went through the tape, he is disappointed but ok and looking ahead to the next round. Don’t underestimate him, there is lots of season left yet!!!!

On a track that all the top guys were saying was one of the hardest, I am happy with my result.

Thanks to all of my sponsors for your support. Special thanks to Jeff Steber at Intense, my M9 Proto feels amazing! :)

Now back to the UK for a few weeks till round 2 at Fort Bill. Let the adventures continue!

• By Allan H