Gonçalo Bandeira and Nuno Reis in the podium of the DownHill World Cup
Gonçalo Bandeira (Miranda Factory Team) was the runner-up in the final race of the Downhill World Cup (DHI) in the junior category. Nuno Reis closed the competition in the third place of the junior general.
The two young Portuguese men reached the World Cup final with high expectations. Gonçalo Bandeira, after being the fastest in qualifying descent, assumed himself as a candidate to win the race in Lousã. Nuno Reis, always a regular since the beginning of the World Cup, struggled to remain in the top 3 of the overall competition.
Both improved their records in the face of the drop in qualification. Gonçalo Bandeira completed the track in 4’01”688, only being beaten by the American Dante Silva, 1,339s faster than the Portuguese. Briton Ethan Craik (GT Factory Racing) closed the podium of the day, 4’03”548 from the fastest of the day, a result that won him the World Cup in the junior category.
Nuno Reis also evolved a lot due to the declines of the previous days, cutting the goal at the end of 4’04”944, fifth best record of the morning of this Sunday. This result allowed Nuno Reis to close the World Cup on the podium, with 110 points added in the four races of the circuit, two in Maribor and two in Lousã. He was beaten only by Ethan Craik, who collected 131 points, and by junior world champion, Irish Oisin O Callaghan (The YT Mob), with 120.
Frenchman Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) was the slowest of all, stopping the timer at 3’54”288. South African Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) only spent another 170 milliseconds, taking second place. British runner-up Matt Walker (Madison Saracen Factory Team) was 1.415s from the winner. This outcome allowed Matt Walker to win the World Cup in the elite category.
Two Portuguese, from Miranda Factory Team, got a place yesterday among the 60 finalists. Emanuel Pombo was today the 35th, at 8.641s. Tiago Ladeira was 54th in the ranking, at 16.653s.
