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| Cycling: Downhill World Cup Champion Sabrina Jonnier eighth at Mega Avalanche |
| Sunday, 25 July 2010 03:18 |
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Competing in her first ever Mega Avalanche downhill endurance race Sabrina Jonnier battled rotten glacier snow and the affect of altitude to finish eighth in what she described as a wildly fun event. "I know I said I was going here for fun and that I had no goal, but I am always looking for the top of the podium. I was a bit disappointed with my race, even though I had a lot of fun," she explains. But it was Jonnier's friend Anne-Caroline Chausson who would win the 2010 Mega Avalanche at Alpe d'Huez, France, in 1:07:40 with Emmeline Ragot almost five minutes back in second and Meggie Bichard 10 minutes off the leader in third. Jonnier finished in a time of 1:21:38. Jonnier won Wednesday's downhill race on her Rocky Mountain Flatline DH bike and then qualified third on Friday on her Slayer enduro bike and many expected to see her on the podium, but her inexperience on the glacier and the high altitude took its toll on her in the main race. "It was really hard on the glacier – we were on it for a good 15 minutes and I think it's normally just five or six minutes. The snow was so soft and there was some uphill and flat, and because we could not ride our bikes we had to run. It felt like a marathon," she smiles. The glacier is the feature of the Mega Avalanche race, but the conditions were particularly trying this year. "It's not what I expected. I knew I would have a hard time on the glacier, but I didn't know I would lose so much time on it," Jonnier concedes. During the run on the glacier Jonnier passed a few of the other women, but said she lost most of her time riding down the glacier. "I was just going too slowly down the glacier – I was not confident enough to let out the brakes and go for it. I'm not used to riding in the snow and I know the less you brake the better it is, but that's easier to say than to do," she laughs. "To make my day even harder, once I got off the glacier I came into a technical part of the course and it suited me and I got a little bit of my energy back, then we had some uphill and a long flat section and something happened to me on that long flat section. I know I am not really very good with altitude and I started to feel like I was going to faint. So I slowed down and took it easy – I knew I wasn't going to make it if I kept pushing," she chuckles. Jonnier was impressed with how fast Anne-Caroline was in the event. "She smoked it in the snow. I started next to her and I watched her – she was amazing. She went straight for the snow and was just so fast – she's crazy. She definitely dominates this race!" Despite the long runs of over an hour, Jonnier said there was a good atmosphere along the course with spectators cheering the riders on, making the course fun to ride. "Even though I nearly fainted and wasn't feeling very good for awhile I still had this massive smile on my face." Jonnier vows to return to the Mega Avalanche race next year if the UCI World Cup calendar allows. "It's such a good event and I had a lot of fun riding all my different bikes on the different tracks. Alpe d'Huez is really pretty with beautiful mountains and scenery. It is a great place to ride a bike here," she shares. "Next year I will set up my bike a little bit differently – lighten it up, because it is really a physical race and there are a lot of uphills. I will also have to train in the snow a little bit," Jonnier smiles. Next weekend Jonnier will contest the French National Downhill Championships at Val d'Isère, France. Jonnier finished second to Céline Gros at this event in 2009. "I always mess up this race, but it's supposed to be really steep and fast this year," she explains, hoping the new track will play to her strengths. The World Cup season resumes at Champèry, Switzerland on July 24 and 25. Sabrina's 2010 Race Schedule 2010 UCI World Cup DH1 Events (6) May 15/16: Maribor, Slovenia [Second] June 05/06: Fort Wiliam, Scotland [First] June 19/20: Leogang, Austria [First] July 24/25: Champéry, Switzerland July 31/August 1: Val di Sole, Italy August 28/29: Windham, USA 2010 Enduro de Nations June 25-27: Val d'Allos, France [First Women] 2010 Mega Avalanche July 10-11: Alpe d'Huez, France [Eighth] 2010 UCI World Championships August 31-September 05: Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada |