Valentina Höll (YT Mob) rose to the occasion and took her first UCI Downhill World Cup of the season and with it the overall title at Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York (USA). Meanwhile, Luke Meier-Smith (Giant Factory Off-Road Team DH) took an emotional first Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup victory of his career and denied American Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) a home celebration.
Höll became the UCI Downhill World Champion last month but had been waiting 474 days for her 12th UCI World Cup win. The Austrian had a perfect weekend, and victory earnt her a fourth overall UCI World Cup title and third consecutive success – with a round remaining.
Meanwhile, the men’s Elite overall title will go down to the final round with Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) locked in an enthralling battle after both finishing off the podium.
Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York hosted the penultimate round of this year’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series. The American venue first hosted a UCI World Cup last year and 12 months later have introduced downhill to their programme.
The two-kilometre course of Whiteface Mountain greeted competitors in the majestic Adirondack Mountains, containing a technical terrain full of loose ground, large holes and rocks. The terrain required precise bike handling and fearless determination.
In the junior categories, Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) sent another warning to his Elite rivals next season with a dominant display in the men’s Junior category. The Junior UCI World Champion set a winning time of 3:06.5 which was only beaten by men’s Elite winner Meier-Smith. Meanwhile, Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) gave America a victory to celebrate in the women’s junior category.
MEIER-SMITH MASTERS DIFFICULT TERRAIN TO TAKE MAIDEN WIN
Luke Meier-Smith (Giant Factory Off-Road Team DH) marked his switch from enduro back to downhill with a well-earned victory. The 23-year-old had not finished on the podium this season coming into Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York. However, the new course on Whiteface Mountain suited the Australian who qualified second fastest and then went one better in the final.
The early lead exchanged hands various times with Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton) and Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) setting benchmark times. The unpredictable and loose nature of the course favoured those with an Enduro background but Richard Rude Jr (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) suffered a crash in practice and was unable to start the finals.
All eyes were on UCI Downhill World Champion, Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate), who was forced to push hard in the technical section due to his small physic. The Canadian replied going two seconds faster than his nearest opponent into the fast open terrain. Goldstone was full of confidence as he flew over the jumps on the bottom section and posted a quickest time of 3:07 to add further pressure to his rivals.
Loris Vergier (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) was looking to consolidate his third place overall but lost valuable time and points in the standings after crashing. Goldstone’s time was vulnerable and Henri Kiefer (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) kept in contention with the Canadian’s time on the technical section. The German then used his strength to gain speed and lowered the leading mark to 3:06.
Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) was also under pressure in his bid for overall victory. The Frenchman picked quick lines through the technical top section to stay in contention and matched the splits of rival Goldstone. Bruni mis-timed a jump coming into the finish and lose valuable time as he finished in sixth and two positions behind Goldstone.
With little to separate the fastest competitors Andreas Kolb (YT Mob) was next to test the time of Kiefer and despite finishing strongly he had to settle for fifth. Winner at Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide (Switzerland), Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) led by over a second through the first split before crashing on a berm to end his challenge.
After qualifying second fastest the previous day, Meier-Smith led from the first split and produced a perfect top half of the course. The Giant Factory Off-Road Team DH rider, who had switched from an enduro to downhill focus this season, led by over a second in the bottom half to post 3:05.
Quickest qualifier Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) was the only rider who could deny Meier-Smith but made an early mistake and lost two seconds on the top section. The American home favourite finished strongly to finish just seven hundredths back in second.
Bruni leads the overall standings heading into next weekend's final round by 72 points ahead of Goldstone.
Following the first Men Elite UCI World Cup win of his career, Meier-Smith said: “It means everything, I’ve worked my whole life for this, to pull it off is amazing.
“I didn’t think I could win today, but I was hopeful of a top five. To come away with the win is massive. I tried to keep the top pretty clean as I knew a mistake up there could cost you quite a lot, I tried to keep it smooth.
“Once I got past the second split I really tried to drill the pedals and give it all I had from there. The track suited me pretty well with the physical bottom half and pedalling.
“It’s cool to have a track a bit more suited to what I ride in Australia, that really helped me to come away on top.
HÖLL COMPLETES PERFECT WEEKEND TO SEAL TITLE
After seven podium positions this UCI Downhill World Cup series, Vali Höll finally got the win she desired and with it the overall series. Coming into the penultimate round, the women’s elite series standings was still in the balance.
The overall title race had hotted up the previous day when an error-strewn Q1 resulted in Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) being forced to book her final place through Q2. Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) also needed the extra ride in Q2 but used her experience on the technical course to set an early finals benchmark time of 3:34.
After her drama the previous day, Canadian Hemstreet was an early starter and set a good pace off the rocky start through the trees. The 20-year-old was under pressure after struggling for pace on the open section and then nearly crashed, resulting in losing more time, eventually finishing 10th and losing valuable points to Höll.
Anna Newkirk was the only American in the final as she continues her recovery from a broken hand. The Frameworks Racing/5DEV rider was put under pressure early and had to unclip on the first corner before losing small amounts of time throughout to place 13th.
Tahnee Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) was also in overall contention coming into the weekend and flew out of the starting blocks as she rose to the occasion. The British rider also struggled to match the speed of Cabirou in the middle section and struggled to regain the lost time to finish sixth.
Meanwhile, Swiss competitor Camille Ballanche (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) pulled out the performance of her season as she carried fast speed through the bottom half of the course to better Cabirou by just three tenths for fourth position.
Winner at La Thuile - Valle d'Aosta (Italy), Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate), was another rider who struggled on the loose course. After crashing in the final practice session, she lost confidence and went off course to end her challenge.
Experienced Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) has struggled in the UCI World Cup this season. Searching for her first UCI World Cup win in 414 days, the French woman mastered the technical section and held her form to post the quickest time, which would only be bettered by Höll.
Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory Racing DH) had a career-best second place in qualifying and, despite losing time on the technical section, the New Zealander came roaring back to finish just three hundredths of a second behind Nicole in third.
At the start, final starter Höll knew she had to finish in the top four positions to seal the overall title. The UCI Downhill World Champion had a lightning start and carried impressive speed from the loose terrain to lead by over a second after the second sector. Höll continued to increase her lead through the fastest sections to post a winning time of 3:30 – two seconds faster than her nearest opponent.
Speaking about her win, Höll said: “It took me way too long to win again.
“It has been a long year, many downs and a few ups which have been pretty amazing. I’m so happy that I could finally pull it off.
“Wrapping up the overall is pretty insane, Mont-Sainte-Anne is going to be a real holiday. I’m happy.”
OSTGAARD GIVES HOME FANS VICTORY TO CELEBRATE
Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) strengthened her bid for the overall series title with her third win of the season. The 17-year-old American also won at La Thuile - Valle d'Aosta and Pal Arinsal (Andorra), putting her in overall contention.
Ostgaard put a flawless performance down and posted the quickest first and second sector times to win by over three seconds. There was little between the women juniors during the previous day’s qualifying, with the top three riders separated by under two seconds.
Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Syndicate) was quickest in a time of 3:43 ahead of Marie Rosa Jensen (Specialized Gravity) and Lina Frener (Norco Race Division). Meanwhile, overall contenders Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) and Ostgaard could only qualify in fifth and sixth respectively.
Looking to keep her overall chances alive, Ostgaard was first on course and put down a fearless ride and a winning time of 3:34. Junior UCI Downhill World Champion, Zierl, struggled to match her overall rival as small mistakes lost her speed on the technical section, finishing five seconds behind in fifth.
Matilda Melton (Commencal Schwalbe By Les Orres) boosted her fellow American countrywoman’s overall efforts with a fine performance in second. Jensen also backed up her ride in qualifying with another consistent effort which placed her fourth.
Final starter Hulsebosch displayed the same fearlessness and technique as the previous day but lost vital time in the third and fourth sectors to finish third. A home victory for Ostgaard pulls her within 50 points of leader Zierl heading into the final round next weekend.
“It was super loose, but we’re in the USA which is a really special place for me, I was feeling really hungry this morning,” said Ostgaard.
“Just having a clean run means the world for me. I’m really excited as there aren’t many US races, having one in America is amazing.”
ALRAN HOLDS NERVE TO EXTEND OVERALL LEAD
Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) had another perfect weekend in the men’s junior event and his winning time put many of the men elite competitors to shame. The UCI Junior World Downhill Champion qualified fastest and then showed his skill to take a fourth UCI World Cup win of the season.
The junior qualifying format saw overall contender Till Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) falter and lose 15 seconds on his brother to finish in 25th position. With no Q2 sessions in the juniors, Alran’s qualifying time ended his overall hopes.
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5Dev) was the home favourite, and his run was full of risk and reward as he gained speed on the top half of the course. After winning the previous round in Lenzerheide, the American was on stellar form and posted a time of 3:07 to smash the quickest junior or elite qualifying times and finish second.
New Zealander Tyler Waite (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was hoping to rekindle his overall hopes and matched Vermette in the top two sectors. However, the smallest of errors would prove critical as he finished two seconds behind the American in third.
Men Junior UCI Downhill World Champion, Max Alran, was the final starter following an impressive qualification session. The Frenchman was full of confidence on the technical top sections and carried epic speed through the midpoint speed-trap as he led by two seconds. However, Alran lost time on the bottom section and had to give it everything to post a winning time of 3:06 to win by a single second.
The win was Alran’s fourth UCI Downhill World Cup victory of the season and he leads the overall standings by 32 points from Vermette heading into the final round.
Alran said: “It was really tough, a really rough track, deep holes and really loose.
I kept a flow and got to the bottom without a mistake. It was a good run, I was feeling good. I’m stoked.”
With his win, Alran matched Jackson Goldstone’s benchmark of eight UCI Junior World Cup wins.
“It’s great,” added Alran. “I’m still leading (overall). It’s so cool.”
The Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lake Placid Olympic Region continues on Sunday with Cross-country Olympic action.
Tickets for next year's WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York have gone on sale.
Meanwhile, the UCI Downhill World Cup concludes next week as part of WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series action in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada between 9-12 October.
