Canadian riders Finnley Iles (Whistler, BC) and Magnus Manson (Vancouver, BC) dominated the Junior Men’s race at the Downhill World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, on Sunday, with Iles winning the world title and Manson taking the silver medal. For Iles, it completes a season as a first year Junior that has also seen him win three rounds of the World Cup and the overall World Cup title.
This is the first time a Canadian male has been on the podium for the Junior Downhill World Championships, and the first time for any Canadian rider to win both the DH World Championships and World Cup overall title in the same year. Iles and Mason also join the late Steve Smith as the only Canadian men to step up on the Downhill World Championship podium since the inaugural championships in 1990.
At the world championships, on an extremely technical course, Iles was the only rider to go under three minutes and 50 seconds, at 3:47.405, a time that would have placed him 14th among the Elite men. His compatriot Magnus Manson took the silver medal, 3.796 seconds back, followed by France’s Gaetan Vige, at 4.610 seconds. Henry Fitzgerald (Canada) was 29th.
“It’s pretty amazing to be world champion,” said Iles. “I did exactly what I wanted to do today, and just put it together. I’m happy with the way I rode and before my run I was just thinking ‘push harder than yesterday [in the seeding run, where he was third] and keep it clean’.”
“I had some doubts, because I was sore [from a crash], but in my second practice run I nailed everything I wanted to and I was confident coming into it. I just tried to do what I normally do on race day, and I kept it together.”
“I’ve been racing my whole life; from running, and track and field, XC racing and skiing … and I’ve had a lot of help in the last couple of years, and now if I think about riding well, then I do ride well. If I think about winning, then I just overdo myself and crash.”
CANADIAN RESULTS – MTB DH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
JUNIOR MEN
1. Finnley ILES (Canada) 3:47.405
2. Magnus MANSON (Canada) 3.796
3. Gaetan VIGE (France) 4.610
4. Nikolas NESTOROFF (USA) 5.468
5. Elliott HEAP (Great Britain) 5.702
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29. Henry FITZGERALD (Canada) 25.774
55. Adam ROBBINS (Canada) 49.248
ELITE WOMEN
1. Rachel ATHERTON (Great Britain) 4:20.187
2. Myriam NICOLE (France) +3.114
3. Tracey HANNAH (Australia) +9.453
4. Marine CABIROU (France) +24.507
5. Tahnee SEAGRAVE (Great Britain) +25.299
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10. Miranda MILLER (Canada) +39.187
13 Georgia ASTLE (Canada) +46.022
ELITE MEN
1. Danny HART (Great Britain) 3:32.484
2. Laurie GREENLAND (Great Britain) +2.927
3. Florent PAYET (France) +5.047
4. Troy BROSNAN (Australia) +5.877
5. Bernard KERR (Great Britain) +6.089
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11. Mark WALLACE (Canada) +12.361
27. Kirk MCDOWALL (Canada) +19.373
50. Max SCHARF (Canada) +30.366
