Following on from her win at Fort William, Scotland two weeks ago Sabrina Jonnier, of Hyères, France, won the World Cup at Leogang, Austria as she closes in on her first back-to-back World Cup title.

Jonnier has been first or second in the World Cup for the past nine years, but has never managed to defend her title. Now, she hopes her 10th season at the top of her sport will let her rewrite history.

Her win at Leogang brought mixed emotions for the elite racer. She was happy to win in such trying conditions, but disappointed her main rival, Rachel Atherton, of Great Britain, was injured and unable to complete the course.

"Rachel was definitely fast on the course. I watched her in the top part of the course, but I didn't want to watch anymore when I was in the hot seat, so I just buried my head in my legs," Jonnier recalls.

"She looked very strong at the top and she's very fast on this kind of track."

Atherton's crash meant she was unable to continue her run.

"It was a weird victory for me, because I was happy with a win, but I was not sure what was going on with Rachel because she never crossed the line and at first nobody knew anything. I was worried that she may have been hurt," Jonnier explained later.

"She was okay – she hurt her shoulder apparently, but I guess we will hear more in the next few days."

Rain through the end of the week and into the weekend meant the course was very challenging – the exact conditions that Jonnier dislikes.

"It was terrible conditions – it was a track that they had been riding on for years and years and they haven't touched it for the race, then with the rain it just got worse. Every run the track was different with new holes coming through – it was very tricky," Jonnier smiled.

"I managed to stay on my bike and so I am super happy."

When asked how she felt about her qualifying run, Jonnier is quick to respond.

"I was pissed off actually," she said.

"I don't know what's wrong with me – I am not very good at qualifying. Yesterday was terrible I was slow everywhere and just couldn't go fast."

Luckily, Jonnier's mum came to her daughter's aid.

"The first thing I did was to call my mum and she kicked a little sense into me. So I owe a special thanks to my mum. I went back to the track and analysed what happened and I felt it in my mind that I would definitely do better today and keep the leader jersey."

Strategy played a big role in conquering the course at Leogang.

"I had decided to ride fast and strong, but to also stay safe and to stay on the bike. I made mistakes – there is no way you can make a perfect run in those conditions, but they were just small ones – I was far from my limits for crashing," tells Jonnier.

Tyre choice also became a key issue with the field split over whether to run mud tyres or something a little faster rolling.

"I ran cut down Maxxis Wet Scream mud tyres. This is the best mud tyre in the world, but I cut them down because there was a long flat section in the middle and it was so boggy," explained Jonnier.

"You had to pedal very hard through it, but because it was between the two technical woods, you couldn't give it everything you had or you would come into the last woods all tired and risk losing your line."

"One part of the track was just slippery tree roots – there was no way to ride on dirt and I was scared every time I passed over them. I prayed that my tyres would hold on while trying to be as light as possible on my bike," she recalled.

Despite having valuable points in her favour Jonnier is not about to rest on her laurels.

"There are three more races to go and a lot can happen. I am not thinking of the title too much yet. But I am proud of myself today – it's a good win for me in these conditions," she offered.

The UCI World Cup season now has a five-week break, but Jonnier intends to be busy racing the Enduro de Nations with Anne Caroline Chausson, the Mega Avalanche and her nationals.

"I have never raced an enduro race before so it will be interesting. And then I am going to do the Mega Avalanche and then we have the national champs before Champèry. So I am going to be busy – every day I have off I am going to be spending at the beach reading a book," she laughs.

The endurance downhill races she has selected can be a high risk game, but she insists she is there to have fun.

"Every time I do anything dangerous I could get hurt, but I am doing these races for fun – to relax and have fun hanging out with friends."

Sabrina's 2010 Race Schedule

2010 UCI World Cup DH1 Events (6)
May 15/16: Maribor, Slovenia [Second]
June 05/06: Fort Wiliam, Scotland [First]
June 19/20: Leogang, Austria [First]
July 24/25: Champéry, Switzerland
July 31/August 1: Val di Sole, Italy
August 28/29: Windham, USA

2010 Enduro de Nations
June 25-27: Val d'allos, France

2010 Mega Avalanche
July 11: Alpe d'huez, France

2010 UCI World Championships
August 31-September 05: Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada