Sunday morning, race day at Maribor and the main news is that due to high winds the gondola and the top chairlift have been closed.

Two lorries and a bus have been drafted as an impromptu uplift but this means that riders will only get one practise run today.

Tickets please. Looks like a UK uplift.

There were a few concerns about how battered the bikes are going to be after this ride, no sign of any card board yet.

The schedule for today. Full start list times here.

Riders want rain today to keep the track running fast, if it’s dry and windy the mud will turn into a sticky goo that’ll stick to your bike and suck the speed right out.

Hill goes at 15.46PM local time when the forecast predicts clouds and no rain, the early runners get rain. Will the track get slower throughout the day? The weather does look like it’ll play a part in deciding the winner of the UCI Downhill World Cup first round.

Just saw this receipt on Specialized/Monster Energy team manager, Sean Heimdal’s FaceBook page.
“Somebody had a good time last night…unfortunately I missed out”

Hill and Fairclough celebrating qualifying maybe?