It all went off in Les Gets for World Champs with the weather playing a factor as the track was drying fast after some overnight rain.
Here’s who took the Rainbow Stripes and the silverware at another outrageous race in Les Gets.
It very much looks like the section between splits one and two woods, which we won’t see much of on the live stream seems to be catching a lot of riders out.
Junior Women
Pivot Factory Racing’s Jenna Hastings takes the win, crossing the line 1.8 up on Gracey Hemstreet who has barely been off the box all year. These two were streets ahead of the rest of the field. Valentine Sanchez rounds out the medal positions.
Aimi Kenyon knocks on the door of a Worlds medal at the first time of asking, and you have to feel for Izabela Yankova who had a big off up top and who’s quali time was some four seconds quicker than Hastings’ winning time.
Junior Men
Jordan Williams is your 2022 UCI Downhill World Champion. The Madison Saracen rider put almost six seconds into Remy Meier-Smith, who was a good two up on third place Davide Capello.
Jackson Goldstone would taste dirt rather than gold this weekend, so look out for him setting fastest time of the day in Val di Sole.
Elite Women
New Zealand’s Kiliani Muirhead set the pace early doors, with few getting close.
Leona Perrini would take a full ten seconds out of the Kiwi but she’d be twenty back on Nicole’s quali winner. Melanie Chappaz would come close but get sketchy on the finish jumps and settle for second for now.
Louise Ferguson takes 2 and a bit out of Perrini. 4:13 to beat. And Stacey Fisher does it, taking eight out of her fellow countrywoman. Mikayla Parton can’t beat Fisher’s time. All the Brits are sending the finish jumps.
13 to go.
Jess Blewitt can’t get close to Fisher’s time. Third for the Kiwi.
Your Italian National Champ Vero Widmann can’t do the business either. Fisher has smashed the mid-section where it matters.
Mille Johnset cleans all the jumps but can’t get anywhere near Stacey Fisher’s time. WHat has the Brit done on the higher parts of the track?
And just like that Monika Hrastnik goes 1.6 up at split 2, extends to 1.7 at split 3. The Czech rider gains almost a second between three and four… Takes another second between the lower two splits. Five fastest across the line. Hrastnik looked pinned throughout. The first rider to go under four minutes but no faster than Pompon’s quali runner. Five to go.
Eleonora Farina is a whisker ahead at split 2 before hitting the deck hard on a very straightforward part of the track. Game over.
Nina Hoffman is pushing hard, goes three up at split two. She can’t clip in… 2.8 up at split three. The German champ goes four up, but she’s on the edge. Another 0.8 up at the final split. FULL send on the jumps. 4.8 up on Hrastnik and goes faster than Nicole’s quali winner. Three to go.
Myriam Nicole, defending champ on track. Can she make it three World titles on home soil? She’s a whisker up at split one. 1.2 at split two, we’ve been here before, can she hold it? 2.1 up… Nina pulls some back at the lower splits… Hoffman takes it back at the jumps! Hoffman blitzed the lower section. Game on. Two to go.
Vali Holl on track. She goes half a second up at split one… Almost three up at split two… Holl is pushing on. Hoffman won the lower slopes though, she needs to be way up. 4.1 up at split three. Nina fights back, 2.8 at split four. Down to 1.1 at the last split. Holl takes it. 0.9 the good. Only Balance can spoil the party.
Balanche goes deep off the first step down… Only 1.1 down at split one, if she does a Hoffman then she can still do this. Four back at split two… Still a strong ride from the Swiss pinner. 4.4 at split three. Balanche goes fourth.
Vali Holl is your 2022 UCI Downhill World Champion.
Elite Men
Henry Kerr is in the hot seat as we go to the live feed. His time is faster than Coulanges’ quali winner and few are getting close.
It isn’t until Antoine Vidal comes down that the time looks beatable but he’s 1.7 off the pace. Ronan Dunne keeps it in his pants and put two Irish men on the box.
Greg Williamson can’t make it happen today and takes a dive in the mid section, ending his medal hopes.
Luca Shaw rides tidy and goes second, putting his broken wrist from earlier in the season behind him.
It’s the Union’s Oli Zwar, who’s been improving all year that is the first to bump Kerr off the hotseat, consistently up by about half a second all the way to the finish.
Gwin trades splits with Zwar but is on the wrong side of them come the finish line. 0.25 back with 18 left to go.
Dakotah Norton pulls a second back to go second ahead of his team mate and shows that exit speed out of the final berms can win and lose you the race.
Despite his lightning quick quali times before his crash, Thibaut Daprela can’t light up the Les Gets hillside like he’d have hoped.
Bernard Kerr had high hopes for this race but is losing time all the way down the hill and goes 1.4 back at the finish line.
Angel Suarez has a grim over the bars dropping into the woods after the lakes and looks to be out cold. Thankfully he’s up on his feet and medics are on hand fast.
Troy Brosnan looks smooth and it’s paying off, he’s putting time into Zwar the whole way down but only puts 0.4 into the Swede by the finish. Here come the big dogs.
Greenland is in touch all the way down, but the splits are red. Little did he or anyone know he was riding with a broken foot. 0.14 back at the finish line might well be a Man of the Match winner.
Minnaar goes after defending his title and looks fast and smooth but it’s not enough. 2.2 back at the bottom will not be where the veteran wants to end up.
Andreas Kolb rides straight into a tree after the lake and gives the crowd something to cheer by bar humping the finish jumps like a sir.
It’s not going to be Danny Hart’s day. The Redcar Rocket is spilling time from start to finish and is five back on the lower slopes of Mont Chery.
Hold the phones, where has Loic Bruni come from? He almost wipes out on the first left hander… Like everyone he’s slightly up at split one, the story of the day… BOOM. 2.2 up at split two, building, building, 2.4 up at split three, stay on your bike Loic! 2.8 up at split four… BOOM, 3.4 up at split five and crosses the line 3.9 up. Super Bruni is back. We could never ride that fast with two fully working shoulders, Bruni does it with one and a bit. Can anyone catch Bruni?
Coulanges is fast and loose but cannot keep pace with Bruni, he’d be 4.4 back come the finish line. Look out for him in Val di Sole.
Vergier looks to be slow going by the splits but that’s mostly due to Bruni’s massive advantage, he’s still on for a second place with this run. 3.2 back on his bezzie mate.
We get word that Iles has opted not to race after a big slam in practice that wrote off his lid.
Only Amaury Pierron can ruin Bruni’s day. The man of the moment simply can’t match Bruni’s speed and has to settle for second on the day.
Loic Bruni is your 2022 UCI Downhill World Champion.
