Successes in South Africa put U.S. Riders in Strong Standings for Home Country Races

Windham, N.Y. - American riders posted impressive results in the opening round of the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in PPietermaritzburg, South Africa. These strong finishes in cross county and downhill will give American audiences even more to cheer about when the World Cup returns for the second year in a row to Windham, N.Y. July 7-10.

Aron Gwin (Trek World Racing team) won his first World Cup ever in the Men's Downhill; this was the first win by an American male since 1999. Also finishing in the Top 30 were Duncan Riffle (Giant Factory Off-Road Team), who finished 14th, and Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing team), who finished 29th.

In the Women's Downhill, Jacqueline Harmony of Tucson, Arizona placed 12th.

In the Men's Cross County, Todd Wells (Specialized Racing team) finished 10th, his best finish in a World Cup race; Wells also just scored a Men's XC win at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, Calif. only days prior. Also finishing in the Top 50, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Trek team) finished 37th and Adam Craig (Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team) finished 50th.

American riders posted four finishers in the Top 30 for the Women's Cross Country Division. Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team) finished 18th, Mary McConneloug finished 23rd, Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Trek team) finished 24th and Katherine Compton (Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team) finished 26th. Crowd favorite and returning 2010 overall UCI World Cup silver medalist Willow Koerber did not start the race due to a pregnancy announcement.

Windham is the seventh stop on the 2011 edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano; additional stops include Dalby Forest, Great Britain; Offenburg, Germany; Fort William, Great Britain; Leogang, Austria; Mt. Sainte-Anne, Canada; La Bress, France; Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech Republic; and Val di Sole, Italy.

For more information or to volunteer, visit www.racewindham.com.

Source: Penelope Vavura