Monster Energy Specialized Hit Fort William

The rain stayed away in Scotland this year when the World Cup rolled into town, and team Monster Energy Specialized were there to continue their 2011 race campaign. Sam Hill (AUS) scored a 9th place, and Troy Brosnan (AUS) was 30th, after qualifying in 8th place, his best ever qualifying result on the World Cup to date.

Brendan Fairclough, unfortunately, did not get to compete in the finals due to a crash in qualifying that put him off the pace. Thankfully the off-course excursion did not further aggravate the knee injury he suffered in South Africa.

The track in Fort William always favours stronger riders due to the long pedalling section at the bottom, and the ridiculously rough upper sections that test both equipment and rider's concentration. This year's track was much the same as the last few years, with the exception of a slight change in the woods that lead riders into a large road gap followed by high speed gravel corners.  High winds all week made some of the top straightaways a mission in staying on track, as more than a few riders ended up down in the weeds.

Sam Hill was not overly pleased with his result, and is looking to smash the field in Austria. "My run went pretty good. I felt like I was riding good and fast and stayed strong. I was pretty happy with my run, just not the end result. I'm pretty bummed that I ended up 9th. That is not what I was after. I'll try to pull my finger out next week in Leogang. I need to get my way up to the position I want, which is first. I have some work to do. I'm not really sure what went wrong this week."

Troy Brosnan was looking strong all week, and was happy with how things went in finals, despite a few small moments on course. "It went pretty good. I was quite smooth and fairly good on it up top, and I went off track in some slosh a bit lower. I didn't lose too much time and pinned it until the woods.  I got a bit wild and slipped on a root and hit a tree and came to a complete stop.

I got going again and smashed the last bit but I felt a little tired at the bottom. I guess that's what happens. I got a top 30 and I'm pretty stoked with that. After qualifying I know I am on the pace and I just have to roll that through to the final run now. I'm still in the Junior leader's jersey and just sneaked into the [protected] Elite top 20."

Fairclough was decidedly disappointed with his qualifying result. "I went off track and had to come back on and remembered the rule about going in where you went off. I had to push all the way back up to get going again and I was sliding around in the swamp. Luckily my knee felt alright and isn't any worse for wear."

 

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