World Cup 2019 - Leogang
Back for another World Cup weekend, but this time in Leogang, Austria. Just a week ago the Syndicate crew celebrated Loris’ third-place finish on the slick, muddy track at Fort William and now the guys, along with Juliana’s Nina Hoffman and Free Agent Mitch Ropelato, would turn their eyes towards a track high in the Alps. Before the dust would settle on the jumps, straightaways, and twisting woods, there would be another podium to celebrate in the Syndicate pits.
Greg Minnaar | 2nd | 5th in overall |
Luca Shaw | 9th | 24th in overall |
Loris Vergier | 19th | 6th in overall |
Nina Hoffman (Juliana) | 2nd | 3rd in overall |
Yet again, rain welcomed the Syndicate to Thursday’s track walk, but it wasn’t enough to keep the dust down for the remainder of the weekend. Leogang would offer plenty of the fast dusty sections it’s known, along with some new additions: fresh, loose off-cambers, new tightly taped-off sections, and a tricky steep that added a bit of technical flare just before the run-in to the finish of the high-speed track. Greg and Loris came flying into the weekend with confidence gained from last week’s results, and Luca showed up to prove that he can’t be ruled out as a top contender.
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These stumps are truly make-or-break. Air them out and you could find your name carved atop one. Miss the line and it was adios to your run.
It was clear that finals would be tight and the short course would push the pace, and when the pace goes up in dusty conditions, sometimes you end up on the ground.
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Luca was back to form and cracked into the top 10.
Luca was first to drop for the Syndicate, and he put together a solid, clean run that would have him up at the third and fourth splits but ultimately fall short of the time required for the hot seat. The effort landed him in 2nd and eventually into 9th on the day. After starting the season with an injury, the Dinoshaw is only getting faster and more confident with each race.
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Scrubbin' in stripes. And no one did it better than fellow Santa Cruz rider Mitch Ropelato.
With Loic Bruni sitting nervously in the hot seat and two Syndicate riders still left at the top, Loris dropped into his run. Zebra stripes flashing down the track, Loris looked smooth, controlled, and fast and was down on Bruni’s time by only a second at split two. He charged on through each section and as he closed in closer on the winning time, his rear wheel washed out in one of the last, loose turns and put him down and out of contention. He would slot into 19th after all was said and done. Loris has been 2nd and 5th here in the last two years and there’s no doubt that he was on another podium position run.
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Loris was on another heater of a run until a late crash spoiled the podium party.
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The top three finishers were all on the same second on Sunday; Leogang never fails to deliver tight, exciting racing and the Syndicate delivered two riders into the top 10. Greg now sits in 5th in the overall standings with Loris one step down in 6th and Luca in 24th. In just three short weeks the guys take Loris’ zebra pants, the pie fight, and their brand-new pits onto Andorra where Loris landed his first World Cup win of 2018.
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Someone call the Hallmark channel.
Looking for a little more? Here's a pre-race interview with Greg and Bruni and a post-race catch-up on Cathrovision.