Finals Photo Epic: Leogang DH World Cup 2023
Straight after the historic racing in Lezerheide, there was no break before things kicked off again as riders faced some wild weather conditions for Junior finals and Elite Qualifying. Luckily things dried up for Elite finals and for the first time since it was introduced the lower woods were dry and flat out.
The first race of the week saw the Junior Women.put down some rapid runs with French racer Lisa Bouladou taking her first World Cup win after an impressive run. The young French racer laid down a storming run and was the only rider to beat the fastest qualifier as she bested the field by over five seconds. Pinkbike Racing's Aimi Kenyon also had a great run to secure 2nd place. Riley Miller wrapped up the top three as she piloted her bike to a top position. Top qualifier Erice Van Leuven sadly crashed out at the top of the course.
The Junior Men's racing saw Léo Abella take the win as he managed to get down before high winds picked up and caused a weather delay on the course. While the live broadcast ended early the racing definitely didn't as Henri Kiefer and Bodhi Kuhn smashed out some wild runs despite worse conditions compared to the top times. Bodhi Kuhn did what was thought impossible as despite worse conditions he managed to get himself a 2nd place place. Henri Kiefer also mastered the tricky conditions as he went home with fourth.
A day later and it was the turn of the Elite Women to go against the clock on a now mostly dry and dusty course. Vali Höll stamped her dominance in Leogang winning qualifying, semi-finals and finals. From top to bottom Vali Höll led the race building her lead at every split the Austrian rider crossed the line in first and 4.303 seconds ahead of Camille Balanche. Camille had to settle for second place once again in 2023 as for the first time since 2019 she was not the winner in Leogang. Rachel Atherton backed up her win in Lenzerheide with another great performance as she ended the week in third place.
Andreas Kolb fought back from disappointment at round one to make it a double Austrian win in Leogang. The Atherton team rider remained untouched on the hot seat throughout the top riders. Riders tried and failed to topple the Austrian but none could master the final sector and all lost time into the finish arena. Loic Bruni was the closest rider as he crossed the line 0.680 back and just behind the three-minute barrier. Jackson Goldstone continued to impress in his first year of Elite racing taking home third place after a small mistake in the final turn.
The World Cup now takes a short break before returning to Val di Sole at the end of the month.
Plenty of sights for sore eyes here in Leogang.
Lisa Bouladou would end up taking a commanding win in the junior women.
Amy Kenyon fast as ever and onto the podium for team PB
Lisa Bouladou takes her first World Cup win.
Léo Abella crosses the line just as the rain begins to fall, a course hold would follow shortly after with wild rain and winds wreaking havoc up the mountain.
Léo Abella takes the win in junior men ahead of Bodhi Kuhn and Daniel Castellanos Liberal.
Your Junior Women podium - Lisa Bouladou, Aimi Kenyon, and Riley Miller
Another moody start to proceedings in Leogang after plenty of rain the day before.
After a tumultuous day of weather for qualifying it was plain sailing for finals.
Rachel Atherton getting prepped for the big day ahead.
Vali has been looking the most comfortable on the fast and dry track.
Phoebe Gale embarking on one of the best days of her young career.
Tahnee Seagrave out the gate for morning practice.
Camille Balanche has been a dominant force in Leogang in recent years.
Phoebe Gale picks up her first elite podium at the second time of asking.
Atherton getting stuck into her run.
Gracey Hemstreet continuing her strong start to her elite career.
Vali Höll held nothing back and kept it clean all the way.
Marine Cabirou dives into the finish arena into sixth.
Jess Blewitt is a formidable force these days.
The last spot in the top 10 went to Veronika Widmann.
Nina Hoffmann was on a heater until a later split mistake had her out of contention.
Phoebe Gale popping the big Red Bull Gap to land on the podium.
Jess Blewitt takes 9th place.
Monika Hrastnik in the dying moments of her run.
Camille Balanche piloting into second in front of the big crowd.
Camille Balanche hard on the watts towards the finish.
Balanche takes the series lead now headed into round 3.
Monika Hrastnik with a 4th place finish.
Vali Höll wanted the win on home soil more than anything.
Finally a win on home soil for Vali Höll.
Victory is sweet for Vali.
What a day for Vali Höll.
Vali Höll takes the win ahead of Camille Balanche, Rachel Atherton, Monika Hrastnik and Phoebe Gale.
First win at home, Vali gets the party going immediately.
Vali Höll finally gets to spray the elite winners champagne in front of her friends, family and fans.
Champagne showers for one and all on the podium.
The elusive Leogang win aligns for Ms Höll.
Lyle doing his homework for Minnaar.
Loic Bruni dialing it in. It's a game of fractions of a second out on track.
Jackson Goldstone is on the hunt for his first elite men's podium and this track is suiting him well so far.
Andreas Kolb getting ready.
A moment of calm before the chaos for Jordan Williams.
Loris Vergier ripping the top off camber in his qualifying run.
Luca Shaw enjoying the view. He picked himself up after a solid crash earlier in the week to take the last step of the podium.
Finn Iles 1.5 seconds off the win.
The wild Irishman Ronan Dunne doing the business once again.
Luca Shaw getting to grips with the track this morning.
Dakotah Norton meaning business.
Jackson Goldstone finding time for a bit of fun in practice.
Iles on the Rampage.
Finn Iles speed and style. He posted a P1 in the semi-final and would finish on the podium later in the afternoon.
Oisin O'Callaghan is looking convincing aboard his YT this season.
Thibaut Daprela was just off the pace for a podium finish.
Loic Bruni takes the leader's jersey as we head to Val di Sole.
A top ten for Benoit Coulanges who is still chasing his first win.
Andreas Kolb ripping through the steep lower woods.
Off to his first elite podium, Jackson Goldstone charges into third.
Thibaut Daprela just missed out on the podium in 6th.
Not quite the lofty heights of Lenzerheide a week ago for Jordan Williams but still a solid weekend in the office.
Laurie Greenland charging to the line just inside the top 10.
Dunne smashing the final jump for his elite top 10.
Andreas Kolb launching towards the line.
Andreas Kolb tucking to the finish line jump in front of the home crowd.
Kolb hoists his Atherton bike for the ecstatic crowd.
Loris Vergier pushing to the line.
A good day in the office for Luca Shaw.
Green on the last split, Bruni crosses the line a fraction of a second behind Kolb.
So close yet so far for Jackson Goldstone.
Jackson Goldstone knew he had it in the bag except for a small hiccup. The racing is just that tight.
Tough viewing for Kolb as Iles takes to the track and goes green.
A hard pill to swallow for Finn Iles after posting green split times. A slightly wide line looked to be the blame at first glance.
Win clinched - Andreas Kolb takes it here in Leogang.
What a day for Andreas Kolb.
The King of Austria, Kolb takes it all in.
Andreas Kolb soaking it all in.
Winner's club.
Fastest men you ever done seen.
Kolb's first elite win comes in the very best of circumstances; on home soil.
Ben Lovell in pure disbelief as he takes 'top mechanic' with Kolb's win.
Rachel was somewhat stoked at her teammate's antics.
Austria hits the upper levels of stoke.
Man, myth... winner, Kolb.
A long night of 'party machen' awaits this mighty Austrian.
Rachel Atherton finds Andi's bike in the crowd.
The moustache has the final word here in Oesterreich. See you all for VDS!
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I will reserve judgement for commentary for after world champs, for now it's tolerable but can continue to improve.
Pain points are the drone operating subcontractors (I'd consider cancelling their contract, Discovery are not getting what they're paying for), and there has to be a bit of a better plan for what to do with the broadcast when there are injury/weather holds.
In general, it seems like the camera operators may not be used to shooting DH bikes. There are problems with framing, tracking, zooming, and even things like exposure being way off. Noticed this especially in the transition into the woods.
Seeing more of the track and runs is cool and I’m hopeful the overall product will improve throughout the season.
Maybe it’s because of the back-to-back events or because this was the first triple weekend, but there was an overwhelming amount of racing to take in. Dare I say too much of a good thing?
""LOOK WHERE SHE IS LOOKING!!!"" I mean seriously.. and both commentators just copy what each other says, man I miss Warner and Cedric makes Claudio sound amazing.
damn he's so annoying... BOTH of them missed that the corner where Jackson Goldstone washed out, was the very same corner where Vali Höll crashed two times in her first Elite race at home, while she was in the green, and starting last...
It's like these two have never really watched DH racing and don't know anything about the riders, the course, or anything.
Neck braces seem to be targeted at U16/juniors in most national rules, but then it is optional once racing elite.
I had to see it more than twice to find differences between the two shots.
Also - great race - GMBN is doing a great job with the coverage IMO. Loving this years racing coverage so far. Rob who?
EDIT: Next time I'll do a text search in the browser before talking
That being said, with yesterdays gold medal, she's clearly proven her physical prowess, she's obviously fit and strong enough to absolutely, positively decimate the competition when she's having a good day.
This got me thinking: Wouldn't DH racers with a higher body weight enjoy a big advantage over their competitors in general?
Being heavier, you'd obviously accelerate faster downhill, you'd probably have an easier time getting your tires to really hook up in the mud or on loose soil and you'd be less affected by rapid hits in quick succession that might bounce a lighter rider off line.
Given you're strong enough to handle your body weight, I'm actually struggling to come up with any disadvantages a heavier athlete would have compared to a lighter one in downhill racing.
In such scenarios I think you could have an advantage being a heavier rider.
From personal experience for example I'd say I'm less likely to get bounced off my line by roots on the trail when I'm riding with a heavy backpack compared to riding with no backpack. Granted; I'm a lighter guy, I don't ride anywhere near as fast as a DH racer and a backpack means you're literally putting the weight in the worst possible place from a dynamic point of view. So not directly comparable.
Jokes aside, I think Henry Quinney and Ben Cathro were talking about this exact thing on the racing podcast last season. They commented on how Finn Iles is getting better results in racing, now that he appears to be physically bigger, stronger and more muscular as opposed to his early seasons in the Men's Elite category when he seemed to struggle a bit.
The male category is a completely different bucket of fish. Ask Sam Hill for further informations.
Disclaimer: I'm not speaking as a professional, but a woman biker with a naturally bigger frame, who's not lost that bit of extra weight despite years on the saddle. Even though I'm far off the pro level of fitness, I much rather focus on being able to effortlessly enjoy those long days on bikepacking trips as is, than cut down on calories (and the amount I ride) to better look the part.
A downhill racer isn't just a weight falling vertically downwards in a perfect vacuum. The masses don't cancel each other out of the equation in this application, because there's friction and drag to overcome which both counteract acceleration. Thus greater mass means greater acceleration. The science sort of does check out actually.
Anyway, overall I think the body types that easily build strong muscles also easily gain body fat. They can get obsessed with it or just focus on what really matters. Those who say they can eat lots and don't get heavy are those who (if they'd put in the effort) could be good endurance athletes but they may not easily become the strongest ones. I recall Australian racer Niki Gudex once mentioned how immature the sport of DH was back then as she was doing well even though she had quite a slender body shape. She later made the shift to XC.
Long story short: Vali has the right genetics to make for a good DH racer and she put her effort into the part that matters.
I care 0 about her look,I think she is a perfect example for any girl out there. This is not a miss criteria,it is DH racing!
If she’s fit, and she’s strong, then she’s into a winner.
Would be a nice experiment actually. To give a strong and skilled rider some extra weight (like a weighted belt) and race the pumptrack. What's faster, the weight added to the hips or the same weight added to the frame?
Edit: as for the other comments.
@pimpin-gimp : From what I understand, Greek god were always fighting and messing up. A great body doesn't matter if you can't have friends.
@adminofthegapers : Rachel was doing quite decent in DH racing before she got a baby too. Baby fat is a funny one though as from what I understand, is this what they call "brown" fat? I read somewhere that brown fat actually consumes energy and works as a protection against cold. I don't know about women who have been pregnant in particular but the article I read said that adults can develop some brown fat if they expose to cold.
At the end of the day, muscle is much heavier than fat. Fat may appear at the surface (and body armour adds to the bulk) but if a rider proves to be able to keep all that in check, he or she should definitely have a good lot of muscle underneath!