Leov wins at Leogang, Austria - iXS European Downhill Cup

Justin Leov remained in Austria after last weekend's UCI World Cup for the second round of the iXS Downhill Cup - this time absolutely taming the Leogang downhill course and the Elite category for a deserved win. The Dunedin based, Trek World Racing professional followed up from his top ten result at the Leogang World Cup round, showing the benefits of back to back weekends on the same race course.

Leov had seeded strongly in second place, but turned on the pace during his race run to improve by a staggering seven seconds to edge out Canadian Steve Smith by a slim margin. The iXS European Downhill Cup was also a platform for the Hawkes Bay's Brook MacDonald to demonstrate some fast improving form, claiming 5th place. 2009 Junior World Champion MacDonald has been on a fast track back to world class form after a New Zealand summer curtailed by a serious ankle injury. MacDonald backed up his best 2010 Elite World Cup result on this same race course last weekend (27th) to podium at Leogang.

Leov and MacDonald were supported by a very visible NZ presence at Leogang. Nine other Kiwis were in action amongst the Elite field, with two top ranked NZ Juniors furthering their international exposure with strong results. Rupert Chapman (Christchurch) and Jed Rooney (Oamaru) turned in 19th and 25th place finishes, with Wellington's Richard Leacock and Napier's Aari Barrett wrapping the Juniors in 18th and 26th.

Brief Results iXS European Downhill Cup, Leogang
1 Justin Leov (NZL) 3:49.72; 2 Steve Smith (CAN) 3:49.95; 3 Nick Beer (SUI) 3:51.16; 4 Marcus Klausmann (GER) 3:55.51; 5 Brook MacDonald (NZL) 3:56.40;
Other New Zealand:
18 Richard Leacock 4:05.27; 19 Rupert Chapman 4:05.45; 25 Jed Rooney 4:07.66; 26 Aari Barrett 4:07.79; 43 Freddie King (Chch) 4:13.26; 46 David Balderstone (Chch) 4:15.31; 98 James Hoggan (Chch) 4:36.34; 126 Rufus Wenlock (Chch) 4:50.23; 156 Joseph Nation (Chch)

Full Results