The Second Coming: Qualification - Lourdes DH World Cup 2016
Loic Bruni showed just why he is in the rainbow stripes today. While most others fought hard to navigate this track, the Frenchman seemed to hover and skip across the muck and the rocks with such grace that one could think that he was indeed divine. Loic qualified almost six seconds up on the rest of the field. With the field so shuffled this year there is sure to be some catching up and adjusting, but Bruni has already arrived. Aaron Gwin, the man who dominated Lourdes last year found himself in tenth after a crash. Josh Bryceland was second followed by Gee Atherton around a second back. Today also saw Steve Smith looking back to brilliance, and Brendan Fairclough continuing the fine form he concluded last year with. Loris Vergier had an incredible ride today even with a tumble. Most riders didn't make it down without incident. All seemed to come across the line with a smear of Lourdes wet soil on them somewhere.
Tahnee Seagrave came out swinging like an angry nun with a finish at the top spot after suffering a quick off. World Champ Rachel Atherton came in second three seconds back and Manon Carpenter took third. The Junior men's top spot was taken by privateer Frenchman, Kevin Marry. British lads, Matt Walker and Charlie Hatton took second and third. Top junior, Jackson Frew, took fifth today. Weather looks like it might be stabilizing tomorrow, so riders might be able to put more on the line rather than trying to just make it down safe. For now, we will have to speculate and wait for the final judgment.
Emilie Siegenthaler heads out of the uplift and into the start hut for her 4th place qualifying run.
It might look like there's some hero dirt in there but don't be fooled... It's slicker than a greasy weasel.
The fastest junior in the West at warp speed.
France's great hope for the junior category - Kevin Marry - the privateer qualifying in pole position this afternoon.
Ireland's Jack Crowley hits the road gap high above the heads of the onlooking crowd.
Matt Walker (mark II) boots the big old sender in the middle woods on his way to second place, with at least two seconds to find for the win tomorrow.
Madison Saracen's young gun finding his way through the labyrinth of dark trees.
Jackson Frew rode to fifth in qualifying for the juniors.
Not the best pan shot of Finn Iles to go with not the best qualifying run... Actually, that's a lie, as Finn had a stellar run going to take 2nd at the bottom split before washing out a corner within sight of the finish. Look for Finn to be in the hunt for a win tomorrow.
All smiles for Finn as he recounts his big qualifying crash. He knows he was on a good one and will take that confidence into his first WC final tomorrow afternoon.
Tracey Hannah broke her chain out of the start gate and was forced to coast the whole track in her quali run, finishing way back in 14th.
The young Italian national champ, Veronika Widmann, pulled out all the stops in the mud this afternoon, flying into sixth place.
Manon Carpenter throws a shape while riding to a third place qualifying result today.
Former World Champ, Morgan Charre's spot on the podium looks pretty safe tonight - almost 20 seconds clear of sixth place.
Rachel Atherton running to a second place qualifying today. The champ is no stranger to sloppy conditions like these, look for her to lay down the gauntlet tomorrow.
Tahnee Seagrave was on it today. 1st place by over three seconds even with a crash. Could this be the round where Tahnee finally takes a long overdue WC win?
This man has his race viewing lunch well handled.
Keep an eye on the UR Team's newest acquisition, Alex Fayolle, who smashed home an excellent run today to take 11th. We have a feeling you'll be seeing his name quite a bit this season.
Phil Atwill has some ridiculous lines on track that no one else is doing. Are they faster? Maybe, maybe not... But entertaining to watch either way.
Troy Brosnan left no doubt that he is on it again this season by taking 5th in qualifying, just seconds back.
The track was running super slow and sticky, making it mighty difficult to carry speed from section to section. There were big names riding tamer than usual, some almost creeping by unnoticed under their blacked-out mud gear.
Gee recounts his tale of a high-speed, cartwheeling, eject on the death chute section.
A little emergency nip-tuck for the landing area after the boulder huck, deep in the forest.
Marcelo has looked flawless in practice, and that speed translated to 7th place in qualifying, just 3 seconds out of 2nd.
Wyn Masters had a bit of a rough one today while nursing an injured wrist down a slick and rowdy track in Lourdes.
Josh Bryceland was over five seconds behind Bruni to take 2nd in qualifying, but the dirt on his left knee hints that there is a bit of time in reserve if he can keep things upright on Sunday. Note a certain retiree lurking in the background making spy videos.
Aaron Gwin didn't have his best day out today. He crashed in qualifying, finishing tenth. Can Gwinny put down a winning run tomorrow or is the throne now up for grabs by Loic?
Gee Atherton hucked the rock drop clearing all the gnarled roots below. Gee qualified third.
Brendog looks like he is keeping up the momentum he had last year. He's looked spot on this week. He qualified sixth.
Steve Smith is strong and on form after fighting injuries the past two seasons and his 4th place in qualifying shows that he means business in Lourdes.
9th place for Loris Vergier despite a huge crash means Bruni and Iles aren't the only Specialized Gravity riders to keep your eye on tomorrow.
Sam Blenkinsop was surfing his way through the dust last week to some incredible results at the EWS. Today wasn't the best day for the Kiwi, but he could be well on it tomorrow regardless.
It's a hard-knock life arriving in the man-league as a small fish in a big pond, but junior world champ, Laurie Greenland, did the business today making the cut safely for finals.
Connor Fearon has seemed to fly under the radar so far at this race, but clearly has what it takes to go far tomorrow judging by a flat-out run to seal 8th place.
Birthday boy, George Brannigan isn't celebrating in the fashion he had hoped for tonight. A huge crash and a broken crank means he will be watching the finals from the sidelines on Sunday.
Brook MacDonald wrestling through the bottom turns just before the road gap.
The conditions in Lourdes are simply delicious.
Three days of the heavens weeping have made the earth soft. Measures have been taken do divert this holy moisture. Feel sorry for the teams on softer ground. For their life is not easy.
Nothing like a face full of mud first thing in the morning.
Still smiling through the mud and the blood.
The mechanics have their work cut out for them. Each bike has to be completely stripped down to be freed of all this muck.
After a rough day for many of the racers, there's one last night to reflect in the (muddy) holy water of Lourdes before tomorrow's final.
If riders thought yesterday was bad they had a nasty surprise waiting for them up on the hill this morning after deluging rain throughout the night.
Riders were getting swapped left to right throughout the upper rock gardens due a thick layer of unwelcome slime.
Loic Bruni has been called the first Pope of Downhill this week. We can see why - he's been blisteringly fast on a track where many have struggled, parting the mud and water with what seems could only be divine ability. Loic qualified first today in his technicolor rainbow jersey.
Loic finally got to christen the World Champion jersey with a mix of Lourdes' holy water and divine mud.
Standing room only in the Specialized gravity pits after Loic took top honors in qualifying.
Don't you wish you got to go on school field trips to see mountain bike World Champions when you were a kid?
Ever wondered how much weight all that mud adds to a DH bike? A weigh-in at the Giant pit revealed the bikes are coming in at 36.1 at the top of the hill and diving to a much less fanciful 43.5lbs by the finish line.
The forecast is looking up for tomorrow, but you have to wonder if it's all a bit too late to fix this race...
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Don't need no fixin'; It's going to be freakin' awesome.
Thank you
I miss Emmeline already, I wish she was racing!!!
#Letblenkigogloveless
Their systematic approach to plagiarism as part of their race strategy just doesn't feel ethically right to me.... Or maybe it's not that big a deal?
I'm just an armchair critic with limited experience so I'd be interested to hear pro riders opinions on this issue.
Why are all the photos so zoomed in? I feel like the pics were done better last year, with much wider shots, and you could put the rider into context. A zoomed in pic where all I can see is the rider is nice for maybe one or two shots, but it doesn't show enough of the track.
See it in 4X, I'm thinking of going up in teeth count but still keeping a short block for less stress on the chain. BMX racers are on to something there
I see what you did there.
He looked awesome on track so we hope the extra rest helps