After the season opener in Fort William just two weeks previous, it was time to head to Poland for Round 2 of the UCI Downhill World Cup. It was a brand-new venue and the track did not disappoint. Upon inspection on the initial track walk, it looked like parts of the track were very bike park inspired, but once the rain came in, it cut up to be a serious, technical track that required high levels of intensity to win.
The full team were out in force, with some great experiences and feelings being built on from Round 1.
With the weather mixing the track up, it definitely suited those that thrive in the slop for qualifying. Team leader, Joe Breeden had picked up an illness coming into Round and had this to say:
"Despite fighting an illness all week, I felt great on the bike leading into Qualifying, but became too complacent and cruised Qually's trying to save myself for Semi's - unfortunately missing the cut by less than 0.1s, made even worse by being the 17th and last person on that second! Positively I feel great on the bike, stoked with my setup, fit, healthy and fired up leading into Leogang and BDS in a couple of weeks"
After missing out on Finals at Fort William Lou Ferguson was keen build on her previous performance and with a 4th place in qualifying things were looking good for Lou. She was able to hold this clear form with a 6th in Semis and then a 9th in the finals, awesome job Lou! She had this to say:
"Loved the track here in Poland. The team setup was mint and I am very happy to get into finals with two solid race runs. Definitely building in the right direction and enjoying the learning process. I’ve got more to give in my finals but getting that balance of pushing and staying focused is key. Excited for Leogang."
Ryder Lawrence most definitely had ride of Round 1 in Fort William, with it being his first ever World Cup it was pretty mind blowing that he managed 10th place in final, however it didn't all go quite to plan out in Poland, where he didn't quite make the finals, he had this to say about his weekend:
"Not the weekend I was hoping for, I was struggling on this track quite a bit so I kinda chilled in qualifying which wasnt enough to get me through. Gonna re-group and see what we can do in Leogang."
In a reversal of fortunes Oscar Griffiths went from having an unfortunate crash at Round 1 in Fort William to having one of the rides of the weekend in Junior at Bielsko-Biala. He had a solid run in qualifying where he got 14th place and in finals managed to go a second faster to secure a solid 11th place. He had this to say:
"Awesome week racing in Poland, the track was amazing and was made better with ever-changing conditions. I had so much fun on my bike and was happy to get a solid result in the bag which we can now build from!"
So on we go, to Round 3 in Leogang coming up on the 7th - 9th June 2024.