Ratboy, Ragot and Vernon on top at the 2014 Windham world cup
We thought it was going to be a tight race at the 2014 Windham World Cup but Josh Bryceland decided it wasn’t, he beat the rest of the field by 1.5 seconds! Going into the penultimate race of the season the pressure was on the young Syndicate rider but with team mates like Peaty and Minnaar he has the best people around him to point him in the right direction when it comes to the mental side of racing. This high up in the racing game the skills are there for every rider but the mindset has got to be there. Josh seems to be at his best when relaxed and having fun, he clearly flicks a switch when it comes to qualifying and race runs though.
The hotseat was held for a long time by Mike Jones, fastest CRC rider all weekend the 2014 Windham World Cup will be remembered as a great day for him. Just off the podium in 6th but in his first year as an Elite rider that is something pretty amazing. Gwin might have pretty much caused an earthquake when he came across the line under green lights but he didn’t have the pace to take another home soil win as he did in 2012. Team mate Brosnan came in 3rd and with that lost the leaders vest to Josh, he’s still in touch with the overall as is Gwin but if Josh can keep it together in Meribel then he will be his. Brook MacDonald has been up and down this season but he proved his pace on the new Session and took 5th place, if Brook holds it together he is force to be reckoned with.
The Women’s race was won by Emmeline Ragot who stormed down the track and left the other riders watching the dust settle as the lights stayed green. Rachel Atherton was back near her form in second just over two seconds back on Ragot. Tracey Hannah was clearly comfortable with the pace of this track and took 3rd place, ahead of Manon. Carpenter was struggling with this track and the lingering memory of a broken humerus a few years back didn’t help, she came in 4th and although she maintains the lead the gap back to Ragot is now down to just 70 points. Tahnee Seagrave is flying this season, another podium for here in Windham in 5th she is going to be up there in the seasons to come.
The Junior race saw a result that was just amazing, Taylor Vernon was only thinking about getting back to walking upright this time last year after breaking his back in Les Deux Alpes. No one thought he would make his return to the World Cup scene with a win, we all knew he was capable of a win but to do it straight of an injury like that is something special. Luca Shaw took second spot and maintained his overall lead but with Loris Vergier taking 3rd the points gap is now just 14 going into Vergier’s home race. It’s going to be one hell of an end to the season!
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