SOUTH Shropshire rider Marc Beaumont toasted the second World Cup win of his career as the men’s downhill competition tightened after round five in Val di Sole in Italy.
Beaumont, from Craven Arms, was in fine form as he clocked three minutes 17.85 seconds to take the win from South Africa’s Greg Minnaar (3:19.25) and another Shropshire rider Gee Atherton (3:20.15).
The victory sees Beaumont (GT Bikes) sixth in the overall standings after five rounds with 518 points, however still well behind runaway leaders Atherton (1,007) points and Minnaar who is on 1,000 points.
“Qualifying went pretty well,” said Beaumont. “Just steady and I put a nice run together. I was feeling good again in the morning, so I just tried to go about it as if it was practice.
“I posted a pretty good time, but there’s some fast boys, and I was thinking maybe I can scrape a podium.
“I wasn’t expecting to win by any means. I’m pretty shocked. After my previous win in Spain (in 2007), a lot of people frowned upon it, because it was weird circumstances with the weather.
“This proves to me that I’m capable of doing it, and I’ve done it on a level playing field. Hopefully this is kind of a resurgence, and I can get on the podium a little more often.”
There were two races in the men’s competition – the one for the World Cup win, and the one between Minnaar and Atherton for the overall title.
Beaumont cannot impact on the top three places in the overall standings, but he can make a charge for the fourth or fifth positions in the overall standings.
Although Minnaar came second on the day, one place ahead of Atherton, the difference between second and third was not enough to keep the South African in the leader’s jersey as Atherton took over by a mere seven points as the race for glory hots up with one round remaining in Windham, New York USA.
PICTURE: Craven Arms rider Marc Beaumont shows the exciting style which steered him towards an impressive World Cup victory in Italy.