Thunderstorms rolled in just before the start of the women's qualifying race, forcing a 45 minute delay to the start of qualifying; it's unsafe to run a chairlift during a thunderstorm.
Once the women were underway, it was a collection of the usual suspects in the top five with the exception of Sabrina Jonnier; Sabo had a subpar run, coming home in ninth, +11.825 seconds off pace. Jill Kintner was definitely feeling it, coming in just .3 seconds out of a top five qualifying position.
The men were subject to nearly a 1 hour delay due to the weather, but Gwin absolutely hammered the course: Fastest speed over the track overall and fastest splits. Gee Atherton came home second, immediately followed by MS-Evil's Brook MacDonald.
There will be a practice tomorrow for all the qualifiers, with XC races on tap; followed by the Downhill Final on Sunday.
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| Aaron Gwin took a quick inside line in the rock garden--one of only a handful of riders to do so. But that--and whatever other lines he took--were obviously "the" lines, as he qualified nearly six seconds up on Gee Atherton, the second fastest qualifier. |
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| Floriane Pugin was looking sharp in practice this morning, rolling the drop at speed and cleaning the road gap wtih no problems at all. Qualifying run was fast and smooth, |
props to Troy as well! so many Young Guns up there! 
Downhills future is looking bright!
