We were lucky enough to have a roving reporter on site at the very first UCI Downhill World Cup in Whistler Bike Park, on the infamous 1199 Track.
Without the budget to travel the World here at Wideopenmag, we often get odd races covered by photographers who happen to be in the area. Whistler World Cup was one of those instances where Leon Butler pinged us a message and he made it happen.
Here’s Whistler’s first UCI Downhill World Cup through his lens.
Whistler’s Long Wait Is Over: Shooting the First World Cup Downhill on 1199
Heavy rain fell through most of Friday’s practice and timed training, and by the time I was hauling gear up the hill I was going through the normal thought process of cursing the rain, but knowing it brings the magic.
By the time Sunday rolled around that Whistler terrain, mixed with sunshine and mild temperatures had dried out the track perfectly. Setting it up for the race day we had all been waiting for.
The wait
Whistler has been the heart of downhill mountain biking for a long time. The bike park opened in its current form in 1999, and Crankworx has run here since 2004. Yet the town had never hosted a World Cup race, even though Mont-Sainte-Anne has been hosting UCI World Cups since the early 1990s.
The UCI itself billed Whistler’s debut as the Downhill World Cup arriving in its spiritual home, the payoff of decades of anticipation. After 27 years of the bike park and 21 of Crankworx, the sport’s most famous playground finally got its seat at the top table, with the race locked in for 2026 through 2028 and becoming the final race of the season.
Why 1199 matters
The track was designed with this day in mind. Former bike park manager Brian Finestone has said the idea was to build something big, long and gnarly enough that the World Cup would eventually come knocking.
Local builders cut the line, and World Cup riders including Bernard Kerr, Claire Buchar and Mick Hannah walked it during Crankworx 2018. The result is 2.4 kilometres with 489 metres of descent, two signature drops (the Stevie Smith and the Fallaway) and big rock slabs and a steep rock garden. It finishes at the same spot as the Olympic Dave Murray Downhill ski run and the only space in Whsitler that can handle the crowd.
The name carries the weight. 1199 is the number of points Stevie Smith earned winning the 2013 World Cup overall, making him the first Canadian to do it. The trail crew added chainsaw-blade carvings in his honour. Smith was nicknamed the “Canadian Chainsaw”, and you could hear the tribute from the crowd all weekend. Stevies spirit is felt constantly throughout Whistler. This year his mother turned up to show support, even gifting local grom forerunner Cove White with Stevie’s No.1 jersey to wear while opening the track.
A town on the tape
This is a community that watched the trail go in. General spectator access was free all weekend, so the tape was lined with locals, and kids who came up through the bike park programs had seen 1199 built and could now watch their heroes race it. 36 Canadian riders lined up for the first edition.
What the track gave us
The racing delivered. Asa Vermette won the elite men’s race in 3:23.9, 4.3 seconds clear. Vali Holl won the women’s race, with Canada’s Gracey Hemstreet 0.3 seconds back in second, and Holl’s win secured the overall title. The track also bit. Henri Kiefer crashed off the final drop, his airbag inflated, and he ended up 23rd after his bike crossed the line without him, as I witnessed form the bottom.
There was also a mini ‘Les Get’ attempt at storming the finish line with some of the crown following Asa into he last turn…..but in true Canadian politeness they didn’t see it though.
For a photographer, 1199 is a gift. Steep, rooty and old-growth green, with rocks and drops that wouldn’t look out of place in Hardline.
Elite Womens’ results:
Vali Höll: 4:13.405
Gracey Hemstreet: 4:13.739 // +0.334
Lisa Bouladou: 4:16.087 // +2.682
Eliana Hulsebosch: 4:19.297 // +5.892
Gloria Scarsi: 4:20.307 // +6.902
Gracey came close to a hometown win but it wasn’t to be. Vali being imperious as ever, but the young Canadian ran the multi World Cup champ close, only 0.334 seconds between the two. Lisa Bouladou showed that she has what it takes to mix it on the podium, being the best of the rest on the day.
Elite Mens’ results:
Asa Vermette: 3:23.930
Max Alran: 3:28.295 // +4.365
Amaury Pierron: 3:30.962 // +7.032
Luke Wayman: 3:31.814 // +7.884
Jakob Jewett: 3:32.017 // +8.087
Speaking of imperious, Asa Vermette steered his Frameworks bike to gold by a frightening margin on a course that demanded laser focus. As the locals like Goldstone and Iles felt the pressure, Neko Mulally’s protege turned up the heat. Max Alran got the better of the man mountain that is Amaury Pierron to finish out the podium.
Junior Women’s results:
Aletha Ostgaard: 4:09.233
Cassandre Peizerat: 4:18.441 // +9.208
Tilly Boadle: 4:28.578 // +19.345
Tayte Proulx-Royds: 4:30.938 // +21.705
Ava Chaumet Lagrange: 4:35.161 // +25.928
Aletha Ostgaard’s stock skyrocketed in Whistler as she not only walked off with the Junior win by over nine seconds, winning the overall in the process, her winning time put her almost five seconds ahead of Vali too. Watch out for this one when she joins the elite ranks, Canyon will no doubt be keen to have her stay on the factory team.
Junior Men’s results:
Camden Rutherfurd: 3:35.004
Lois Eller: 3:40.692 // +5.688
Boston Bryant: 3:41.559 // +6.555
Ryder Wilson: 3:43.714 // +8.710
Landon De Vall: 3:43.884 // +8.880
Cam Rutherford made it three out of four commanding wins as he sailed to victory with over five and a half seconds to the good ahead of Lois Eller. Not quite Elite-beating like his counterpart Ostgaard but a dominant win nonetheless.
Whistler has been announced as the final round of the season for the 2027 UCI Downhill World Cup, as Lake Placid takes a year off. If the 2026 event was anything to go by, then it will make the perfect venue for the finale of yet another year’s top flight downhill racing.
The trackside flags clearly has the intended effect of lighting the Austrian afterburners. Can anyone stop Vali next year now that she seems very settled into riding the Commencal Supreme V5 amongst her pals at Commencal Les Orres?
It was not to be for Boost Bro. There was plenty of hometown pressure on most Canadians at this event, but both Jacko and Finn felt it keenly. They have another bite at the cherry in October 2027 and they’ll no doubt be frothing to give their home fans every excuse to party hard afterwards.
A win here, followed up by a win at the inaugural Red Bull Hardline British Columbia means that Asa Vermette is very much the man to beat. As riders wilted under the pressure, the young American kept his cool and took the top honours when it counted.
You can check out Leon Butler’s photography over on his Instagram page here.
