Cantabrian Leov fourth in mountain bike UCI World Cup

 Christchurch professional Justin Leov has finished fourth in the latest round of the UCI Mountainbike World Cup downhill in Slovenia.

This follows his solid fifth in the last round to elevate the Trek World Racing team rider to sixth overall on the World Cup standings.

Leov was happy with his efforts over the challenging and changing conditions at Maribor after torrential rain forced qualifying to be run on the morning of today’s race.

"It worked out well this weekend - we worked hard on the set-up of the bike and I felt solid all week,” Leov said. “It was a wild race run and I was happy to hold it together. Great for my confidence."

Fellow New Zealander Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui, Yeti/Fox Shox) was 11th to drop to eighth in the overall standings.

Leov produced a superb run to qualify second fastest but it was Frenchman Fabien Barel who set the standard with a 3:03.33 run to make a return to the top of the podium after a long absence with injury.

Australian Sam Hill showed he is approaching top form for the upcoming world championships on his home turf with second place ahead of South Africa’s Greg Minnaar, with Leov fourth in 3:07.65, just behind three former world champions.

Of the other New Zealanders, Cameron Cole (Maxxis/Rocky Mountain, Christchurch) was 24th, Nathan Rankin (Playbiker, Levin) 29th, Aari Barrett (Scott 11, Havelock North) 40th and third junior, Matt Scoles (Wide Open, Alexandra) 49th and Kieran Bennett (X-Fusion, Nelson)77th.

The Maribor race signalled the end of the spring European portion of the Mountain Bike World Cup, with riders having a four week break before two rounds in Canada ahead of the World Championships in Canberra.

Results:
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Maribor Slovenia:
Downhill, Men: Fabien Barel (Fra) 3:03.33, 1; Sam Hill (Aus) 3:04.04, 2; Greg Minaar (RSA) 3:05.36, 3; Justin Leov (NZL) 3:07.65 4; Brendan Fairclough (GBR) 3:08.50 5
Other New Zealanders: Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui) 3:09.72, 11; Cameron Cole (Christchurch) 3:12.70, 24; Nathan Rankin (Levin) 3:13.89, 29; Aari Barrett (Havelock North) 3:16.45, 40; Matthew Scoles (Alexandra) 3:18.30, 49; Kieran Bennett (Nelson) 3:27.61, 77.

Women: Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) 3:39.59, 1; Emmeline Ragot 3:39.90, 2; Floriane Pugin (Fra) 3:43.33, 3, Celine Gros (Fra) 3:48.08, 4; Mio Suemasa (JPN) 3:50.66, 5.