The 2010 UCI World Cup – if I had to describe it in one word it would have to be ‘wow’! After a bullish start to the season by Greg Minnaar, Gee Atherton clawed his way back after a disappointing 2009 to take his maiden World Cup overall crown.

The venue for the final show-down was World Cup debutant Windham, NY. From the point of view of a swotty bike journo, this is exactly how you want the final round of a championship to end up. Two guys at the top of their game, seven points in it and an unproven track which neither had ever ridden before.

After an eventful qualifying session the margin was slimmer again with Minnaar coming home in fourth and Gee in fifth. That was it down to four points…

The two were now set-up for a back-to-back shoot out come Sunday afternoon – a straight fight for the crown.

All three Monster Energy Specialized riders had spells in the hot seat along with various other World Cup regulars but the real meat in the pie was yet to come.

From the first split on it was clear that Gee was giving it everything. He wasn’t going to waste time on a gamble of Minnaar having problems, nor was he simply riding for a podium – he was in this to win.

Minnaar’s run on the other hand never looked as fluid. He’d injured his elbow earlier in practice and was down at the opening two splits. He began eating back into the deficit during the third but it was just too much to ask – he crossed the line 0.37 secs down on Gee.

Fastest qualifier, Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Steve Peat, was hauling on his run and was eating time out of the already celebrating Atherton before a big off at speed in the final split put the brakes on a disappointing 2010 for the big lad from Sheffield.

Yeti’s Aaron Gwin had qualified second and was in the mood to give the home-fans something to shout about whilst securing third spot overall. It wasn’t to be however, Lapierre’s resident Kiwi Sam Blenkinsop tonked home in third earning himself the same spot overall and leaving Gwin in fourth in both the race and the overall.

So, what will a maiden overall World Cup crown do for Gee’s confidence on the way into this weekend’s World Champs? What do you reckon?

A wet start to the day and a tyre change was in order straight away. I headed up for my first run and the track was fast and fun but it was clear things were going to be tight come race day.

By the time I hit hill for my third run I was keen to get the speed up. I hit the second step down into the berm and had a big over the bars. I knocked my head pretty hard which resulted in a nasty lump and completely wrote off a new Mavic Deemax Ultimate wheel.

All I can say is thank God for the Troy Lee D3 helmet and Leatt neck brace. Those things are life savers. With a headache, a very broken wheel and dented pride, I gave the racing a miss, which was gutting.

Remember kids… play safe, wear a helmet and don’t do nose dives!

Gee Atherton (Commencal) took his second win of the season in Champery at the weekend to pull to within 13 points of Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), who finished second.

The rain, which had turned the steep 1500 metre course into a slippery mud slide during qualifying, finally backed off for race day, but the damage had been done and, in some ways, the drying conditions made things worse. As the thick mud began to dry, it clung to bikes and turned to the consistency of peanut butter, doubling the weight of bikes and slowing forward momentum to a crawl.

“It was really tough,” said Atherton. “You know, some races you really enjoy, and others it’s a battle the whole time. This I was just fighting the whole way, the run was hard work; it was like a battle from top to bottom. It was a matter of just finding that line, hanging it out and having it pinned, and not pushing too hard and crashing. I guess I was right on that line and right on the limit the whole time. I was half crashing all the way down the hill, just holding on, and luckily I got it dialed.”

Minnaar had similar comments: “It was like Scalelectrix [model electric cars], it was one big rut the whole way down, so you just had to balance well and ride the rut as best you could.”

Only six riders occupied the Hot Seat during the race, starting with the first rider on the course, Ben Cathro, who held the lead for nearly a third of the field before being unseated by Ruaridh Cunningham (Chain Reaction/Intense). Cunningham knocked an impressive 16-plus seconds off of Cathro’s time, and was in the Hot Seat for 20 riders before his teammate Chris Kovarik bumped him by mere four-hundredths of a second.

“I’m pretty stoked to put that time in on that track,” said Atherton. “I knew Greg had the Hot Seat, and I knew I had my work cut out, and that it was going to be hard to knock him off. It is my second win of the season and I am over the moon right now.”

Minnaar continues to lead the World Cup standings with 830 points but, due to his poor qualifier and Atherton’s win and second place in qualifying, the British rider is only 13 points back with two races to go.

“I’m holding onto the [World Cup] lead by the skin of my teeth at this point,” commented Minnaar, “and with two to go, it’s not much of a gap. Gee and I will have to fight it out right to the end.”

For more race reports and results, go to Cyclingnews.com

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