Valentina Höll (YT MOB) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) kicked off the final stretches of their WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series title defences in fine style in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) as the UCI Downhill World Cup returned from a seven-week holiday with a bang in Qualifications.
The top two riders in the women’s Elite standings will be the last pair off the ramp in the Les Gets, Haute-Savoie Finals as Höll and Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) were a class above the rest of the field, with the Canadian trailing by two seconds and no other riders within 10 seconds of the UCI World Champion.
Rémi Thirion (Giant Factory Off-Road Team - DH) was the surprise face delighting home fans as the fastest elite male qualifier ahead of Mondraker Factory Racing DH’s Ronan Dunne, but third-placed Bruni could be happier than either of them.
With overall leader Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 30th on his first run, over 10 seconds behind his main rival in Q1, Bruni closed his gap to just 107 points ahead of the main event tomorrow. But it could’ve been much worse for the Canadian.
GOLDSTONE LIVES TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY WITH WORK TO DO
Goldstone had a nightmare first run and was forced to ride again in Q2 to reach the Les Gets Finals, as the UCI Downhill World Cup leader returned from the summer break looking a shadow of the rider who lit up the first half of the season.
On a run of four victories and a second place in his last five rounds, Goldstone did at least survive Q2 but was almost seven seconds behind CUBE Factory Racing’s pacesetter Max Harternstern, indicating improvement is needed if he’s to head to Bike Kingdom - Lenzerheide (Switzerland) next time out as still the man to beat.
While Thirion was comfortably ahead of Dunne who enjoyed a similar advantage to Bruni, the field was impossibly tight behind that with the entire top 20 in Q1 separated by a meagre eight seconds.
DAUNTLESS HӦLL REMAINS IN CONTROL
Höll was fastest through three of the four immediate time checks as only Lisa Baumann (Commencal Schwalbe by Les Orres) could interrupt her dominances - the 24-year-old crashed further down the course but came through Q2.
Meanwhile Hemstreet started sluggishly but got faster and faster as she surged down the mountainside to clinch second and now trails Höll by 129 points, while Gloria Scarsi (MS-Racing) was best of the rest in third.
Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea / FMD Racing), the only other elite woman on four figures overall, had a more difficult afternoon. Without any major incidents, Seagrave crossed the finish line 21 seconds behind Höll and saw her deficit in the standings stretch to 230 points.
Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) will also take to the startline on Saturday after the home favourite survived a Q2 scare. She was third in the repecharge, finishing with an almost identical time to Höll while Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory Racing DH) was seven seconds quicker on her second run.
JUNIOR FAVOURITES TUMBLE DOWN ORDER
The men’s Junior picture is as it were last time out in Pal Arinsal - Andorra, with Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction’s Max Alran leading the pack ahead of Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5Dev). On home trails, Alran was almost five seconds ahead of the American while his main title rival had a nightmare.
Tyler Waite was down in 20th for Yeti/FOX Factory Race Team, while women’s Junior overall leader didn’t have a smooth qualifying either - Rosa Zierl (CUBE Factory Racing) finished fourth but was 10 seconds behind Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team), her main rival. However, it was France’s Cassandre Peizerat who qualified in first.
The final French round of the season continues tomorrow with the UCI Downhill World Cup Finals, as the junior action kicks off at 10:50 CEST and the elite racing gets underway just after midday.
