Aaron Gwin might well take a 150 point lead going into tomorrow’s final here in Val di Sole but Steve Peat found himself in exactly the same situation in 2006 as he went to Schladming looking to settle the title from an in-form Sam Hill.
That was a brutal race, one that Hill had been building for. Peaty was nervous, even if he had become well accustomed to winning at the highest level. In the end he took a top fifteen but it was one of his closest ever moments, and one which he clearly prefers to forget even if he did win Santa Cruz’s first ever male World Cup title.
Steve Jones talks to the warrior straight after qualifying here in Italy on tomorrow’s battle between Gwin and Minnaar
