June 2/19 10:43 am - Iles 4th at Fort William, 4 Canadians in Top-10 Juniors

Posted by Editoress on 06/2/19
 

Canada's Finn Iles (Specialized) had the best World Cup result of his elite career on Sunday at Fort William, Scotland, finishing fourth in the Elite men's Downhill.  In the Junior men's competition, Canada also had a Canadian rider on the podium, with Patrick Laffey finishing third - one of four Canadians to finish in the top-10.  Iles moves up to seventh from 25th in the standings, with Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory) right behind in eighth place, after finishing 25th in Fort William.

Patrick Laffey

Finn Iles

Iles qualified seventh on Saturday, and took over the top spot on the Hot Seat on his run, displacing the legendary Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate).  Iles held the lead until the final three riders came down, displaced first by Troy Brosnan (Canyon Factory), then eventual winner Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Vallnord), the defending overall World Cup champion.  Fastest qualifier Loris Vergier (Santa Cruz Syndicate) rode last and slotted in third, just ahead of Iles.  Other Canadian results include Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory) in 25th, Kirk McDowall (Unior/Devinci Factory) in 39th and Henry Fitzgerald (Norco Factory) in 53rd.

Brosnan now leads the standings with 350 points, followed by Pierron at 330.  Iles moves up to seventh from 25th in the standings, with Wallace right behind in eighth.  McDowall is 56th and Forrest Riesco - who did not qualify for the final in Fort William - is 63rd.  Ben Wallace is 71st and Fitzgerald is 72nd.

In the Junior men, Thibaut Daprela (Commencal/Vallnord) was the winner, ahead of Luke Mumford and Laffey.  Other Canadian results were Luke Cruz (SRAM TLD) in fifth, Elliot Jamieson (Norco Factory) in eighth, Seth Sherlock in tenth and Andrew Shandro (Trek Factory) in 16th.  Daprela leads the overall standings after two straight wins, with Cruz in third, Shandro dropping to fifth from second, Laffey seventh, Jamieson 12th and Sherlock 15th.

Canada's only women's entry, Georgia Astle, missed by two spots qualifying for the Final.  World champion Rachel Atherton (Atherton Bikes) won the women's competition, followed by Tracey Hannah (Polygon UR) and Nina Hoffman.  Atherton leads the overall standings with 430 points, 30 ahead of Hannah, with Marine Caribou (Scott DH Factory) in third.

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