Intro:

Rachel Atherton strengthened her grip at the top of the Downhill leaderboard after her third consecutive win in the latest round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on Saturday (July 4).

Script:

Hot dry weather and a taxing course at Lenzerheide for Saturday's downhill finals - round five out of seven.

The conditions made many sections of the track loose - so traction on an already challenging course, was made even more difficult.

Aaron Gwin came into the event with a commanding lead in the men's standings - but he was out of the main reckoning, finishing well off the pace in eighth.

A good day, though, for the Australian Dean Lucas, who secured third.

And with Gwin failing, Loic Bruni made some inroads into his huge advantage by finishing second.

The winner on the day, though, South African Greg Minnaar and he was delighted with the result.

Onto the women's competition and the battle for the title appears to be down to two women. 
Emmeline Ragot though, had a day to forget, falling and having to settle for fifth.

Tracey Hannon of Australia secured third - but it was Britons who captured the premier placings.

Manon Carpenter was second - but a stunning 5 seconds in front of her came the brilliant Rachel Atherton.

Just over three minutes and 28 seconds was Atherton's time. And With 910 points, she now leads Ragot by a massive 165 points with just three competitions to go.