The UCI Downhill World Cup’s final European round is upon us in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide (Switzerland), and with only three races between now and the season finale in Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada), every point counts in the race for the overall title.
Conditions were dry and sunny in Lenzerheide’s Bike Kingdom resort, with riders sampling another Swiss descent two weeks on from the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Champéry, and looking to lay down a fast time to make it through to tomorrow’s finals.
It was also the first chance for athletes to show their form as the 2025 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series nears its conclusion, and whether they’re still on a high from Champéry, have managed to put a disappointing rainbow run behind them, or are on a downward trajectory and ready for the off-season.
HÖLL BACKS UP RAINBOW WIN
Valentina Höll (YT Mob) still hasn’t won a UCI Downhill World Cup this season, but finds herself at the top of the overall standings – narrowly having the edge over Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division). The Austrian made it four UCI Downhill World Championships in a row in Champéry, and looks like she’s hitting top form just at the right time, going fastest in Q1 in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide. The 23-year-old was fastest in three out of four intermediate splits, and had more than a two-second advantage over second-place qualifier, Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate).
It could have all been so different, though, with Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) the fastest in the first split and on for a top-three finish before a crash in the final sector saw her cross the line 52 seconds back. The French icon decided not to start Q2.
Hemstreet, meanwhile, recovered from a slow start but qualified eighth and will have a nervous wait in tomorrow’s finals to see if she will finish ahead of her title rival and close the gap even more with two rounds to go.
Q2 was stacked with big hitters who had missed out first time round – Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing/5 Dev), Gloria Scarsi (MS-Racing) and Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) all needing a second stab at the course to qualify.
In the women’s Junior category, Denmark’s Rosa Marie Jensen narrowly edged out overall leader Rosa Zierl (CUBE Factory Racing) by less than a second to be last off the ramp in tomorrow’s finals.
BRUNI SHOWS HE’S FULLY FOCUSED ON CHASING DOWN GOLDSTONE
Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) had a disappointing UCI World Championships in Champéry. The five-time UCI Downhill World Champion finished down in 49th after a crash on course, missing out on the chance to add a sixth elite rainbow jersey to his collection.
The 31-year-old showed that he’s put that behind him, though, and is fully focused on overthrowing Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) in the overall, going fastest in every intermediate split to record a 2:47.654. Also, Bruni remains the only rider this season to have qualified for finals at the first time of asking.
Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) will be confident going into tomorrow’s finals, though – the American was just 0.111 seconds behind Bruni, and the only rider to get within a second of the flying Frenchman.
Newly crowned UCI Downhill World Champion Goldstone started slowly in his first qualifying run whilst wearing the rainbow jersey, recording the 10th fastest time in intermediate split 1, before rallying to qualify fourth, 1.323 seconds back on Bruni.
While the rest of the top 20 was made up of UCI Mountain Bike World Series Team riders, there was also wild card in the mix – Jackson Connelly (The Alliance) qualifying 12th and making it through to his first UCI Downhill World Cup finals of the 2025 series.
Riders forced to take a second bite of the cherry and make it to finals via Q2 included Andreas Kolb (YT Mob), two-time winner in Lenzerheide Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction), Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) winner Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing DH), Benoit Coulanges (Scott Downhill Factory) and Laurie Greenland (Santa Cruz Syndicate).
For Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) and Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team), however, the weekend is over, with the North American pair missing out in both qualifying rounds and now forced to wait until Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA) before they get to go between the race tape once more.
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing / 5DEV) and Tyler Waite (Yeti / Fox Factory Race Team) secured first and second respectively in the men’s Junior qualifying, with overall series leader Max Alan (Commencal/Muc-off by Riding Addiction) having to settle for eighth.
Racing continues tomorrow (Saturday, September 20) in Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide from 11:30 CEST with the women’s Junior Finals. Find out how to watch here.
