700m below the surface
Brian Lopes, Mountainbike World Champion and Los Angeles/CA resident won the Red Bull Race Down, the most bizarre mountain bike race on Earth. 700m below the surface, a mountain bike race in Sondershausen, an East German city.
The Race Down in Sondershausen hosted sixteen world-class male downhill mountain bikers, and eight top female competitors on Saturday night. 700m (or 670.6 m) was the length of the course, which ran for kilometer. The course was 700 meters long and took place in an old salt mine. It featured jumps, curves, and wall rides. There was a tunnel network that ran for more than 200 kilometers (124 miles). Riders could reach speeds of 70 km/h (43 mph) and had to leap over diggers, lorries and other vehicles. They also had to be careful not to fall on the tunnel walls that were only four to five meters high. A truly diabolic atmosphere was created by the near total darkness and zero humidity. Brian Lopes said, « I have never been to this place before. Not even racing my bike. »
Twelve athletes competed in the invitational race, which had a total prize pool of 10,000 Euro. The competition format used dual elimination.
The remaining four semi-finalists were made up of top-class mountain bikers: Cederic Gracia from France, Four Cross World Champion Brian Lopes of South Africa, Gregg Minnaar, Downhill World Champion Gregg Minnaar and Steve Peat, 2002 World Cup winner. Lopes won the final race, winning the better start, and ultimately the race against Gracia. Minaar took third against Peat. Miss Mountain bike Anne Caroline Chausson from France defeated American Marla Streb at the women’s competition. Third place went to Marielle Saner from Switzerland.
I have claustrophobia. Cederic Gracia said after the race that he didn’t think about where he was at the moment. He was among four times the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Final ranking
Men: 1. Brian Lopes (USA), 2. Cedric Gracia (FRA),Greg Minnaar (RSA), 4. Steve Peat (GBR), 5. Michal Marosi (SVK), 6. Bernard Guardia Pascual (ESP), 7. Oscar Saiz (ESP), 8. Andre Wagenknecht (GER),
Women: 1. Anne-Caro Chausson (FRA), 2. Marla Streb (USA), 3. Marielle Saner (SUI), 4. Fionn Griffiths (GBR)
