Elite women downhill finals: - km
MTB World's: Rachel Atherton wins women's DH
Rachel Atherton (Rob Jones/Canadiancyclist.com)
Rachael Atherton (Great Britain) put in a blazing run to upset defending World Champion Sabrina Jonnier (France) in the finals of the women's downhill at the World Championship. En route, splits showed her up by six seconds, and in the end she finished in 3'49.92, nearly 12 seconds faster than Jonnier.
"Everything was perfect!" said Atherton with a big smile after the finish. "I was like, whatever happens, happens – and it went smooth. I just wanted to go under four minutes." In fact, she was the only woman to do so for the day. Atherton brought Great Britain its second gold medal of the day after Josh Bryceland won the earlier junior men's downhill.
Although denied the gold medal in the women's race, France took home the next three places. After Jonnier, it was Emmeline Ragot and Floriane Pugin. Mio Suemesa (Japan) rounded up the top five after setting an early best time, which endured until Pugin, the fourth from last racer, came through.
For full results, report and photos, visit Cyclingnews.com.
ELITE WOMEN DOWNHILL FINALS RESULTS
| 1 Rachel Atherton (Great Britain) | 0:03:50 | |
| 2 Sabrina Jonnier (France) | 0:04:02 | |
| 3 Emmeline Ragot (France) | 0:04:07 | |
| 4 Floriane Pugin (France) | 0:04:10 | |
| 5 Mio Suemasa (Japan) | 0:04:12 | |
| 6 Tracy Moseley (Great Britain) | 0:04:12 | |
| 7 Kathleen Pruitt (United States Of America) | 0:04:20 | |
| 8 Fionn Griffiths (Great Britain) | 0:04:20 | |
| 9 Scarlett Hagen (New Zealand) | 0:04:20 | |
| 10 Melissa Buhl (United States Of America) | 0:04:20 |
