Rachel Atherton Wins the Brazil World Cup

18 year old Rachel Atherton of Wales won her first ever World Cup Downhill here in Brazil today, after a strong semi final raised her confidence for a possible win. The 2005 Junior World Champion finished her semi final just 1.3secs off World Cup series leader Tracy Moseley (GBR) and Rachel knew where she could make up some extra time. "As I went up in the gondola I just pictured myself beating Sabrina's (Jonnier) time and taking the hot seat. I had a perfect run, except for the last jump where I bobbled a bit. When Tracy came down I really didn't think I had it, then the clock stopped with her time slower. I'm so happy to win here. Brazil is such a cool country and apart from winning in Fort William, this is where I wanted to win. The course is awesome, it really suits me, and my Giant was always feeling good here. Thanks to Bob our mechanic for making the bike super reliable." Rachel's winning time of 2m 38.25secs was 0.72 ahead of Jonnier and 2.62secs ahead of series leader Moseley. Rachel sits in third overall, 110 points behind Sabrina and more than 200 down on Tracy Moseley who realistically has the series wrapped up. www.23degrees-sports.com