Satisfactory start to the almost 7-week tour that Daniel Castellanos will carry out on his journey through Europe. This past weekend, and after shining in the penultimate event valid for the Spanish Downhill Cup in La Pinilla, the Madrid rider competed in the 3rd round of the World Cup of the specialty in Leogang (Austria). A stage that brings back good memories, since last year he stepped on the third step of the podium on that same stage when he was still active in the youth category.

In the previous one, Daniel felt "with trust. I was very eager after being 4” away in the last two races from entering the semifinals, which are the 60 best. And also because last year I made the podium here as a junior”.

On Thursday, official training day, up to 8 descents were made. “At the beginning the terrain was quite wet and it took me a little while to get the sensations and the feeling of going fast. –clarifies-, But as the day progressed I felt much better.”. Already on Friday, and before facing qualifying, he still had time to do 2 warm-up descents, which helped him refine lines and gain speed.

Already in competition “I felt very confident the entire time, being aggressive and giving everything on the way down.” In the end he clocked a time of 3:21.749, in 80th position. So far his best position and only 1.6” away from entering the semifinals. It is the closest time he has come to entering the top 60.

“I'm super happy. I leave with good feelings, since all the times were very tight. If I could go down 1.2” faster I would have eliminated 19 people in front of me –he tells us-. “I am happy with my pace, with the confidence in my descent, and how well I was from the beginning, from the first splits of the circuit”.

Text: Planet MTB