Pinkbike Predictions: Riders to Watch at the Andorra DH World Cup 2023
Following the back-to-back opening rounds, riders were given a summer break of over one and a half months. Before the World Cup race season kicks off again in Andorra we have given our best shot at predicting who we think could be the ones to watch this weekend.
Who are our Predictions?
Who Could Win the Women's Racing?
Vali Höll:
After taking back-to-back World Cup wins before the summer break and even securing the rainbow jersey for another year, 2023 is very much Vali Höll's season. To back up her incredible results sheet this year the Austrian rider has just taken the always incredibly important Timed Training victory in Andorra as she was over three and a half seconds up on Mille Johnset. We certainly wouldn't want to bet against Vali taking another win especially as she won on this track last year.
Camille Balanche:
Camille Balanche seems to be stuck in a string of 2nd place results in 2023 as so far at every World Cup round and even at World Champs she has taken home the silver medal. The racing this weekend in Andorra might finally be the time she takes the top podium step in 2023. Whether she wins or not Camille is always a fierce contender for top results and her incredible consistency is what helped her win the overall last year.
Marine Cabirou:
After picking up a bronze medal at the World Champs at Fort William Marine Cabirou is proving she is fully back up to speed and is once again a race-winning threat. So far this season Marine has mostly been picking up better results at each race and we think it is worth keeping an eye out for another podium spot this weekend.
Who Could Win the Men's Racing?
Andreas Kolb:
Andreas Kolb is another Austrian who is having an incredible season as he sits fourth in the overall standings and just missed out on the rainbow jersey at Fort William. Andreas is carrying plenty of momentum into this week's racing and we think he could secure another win.
Loris Vergier:
Loris Vergier has had a mixed start to the season but as we kick off the second half of this year's series the French rider will be looking to repeat his win here last year and move up the overall standings from his current third-place position.
Charlie Hatton:
Charlie Hatton comes into this week as the freshly appointed World Champion and although the rainbows can often be seen as a curse they can also empower riders to great results. Charlie will definitely be a rider to watch as he competes with the rainbows for the first time.
Honorable Mentions
While we have made our main predictions for potential winners above there were other riders who we should mention as potential top performers this weekend.
Loic Bruni is another rider who has seen mixed results and after the loss of the rainbow jersey, he will be on the hunt for a big result this weekend.
Tahnee Seagrave had a huge qualifying crash at the World Champs in Fort William but she was still able to race in finals a secured a 6th place. Tahnee looks to be confident on course in practice and if she can bring back some of the speed she was showing before her crash at Worlds she could be a real contender for a win this weekend.
Who do you think can win this weekend?
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which is crazy
he's a machine
Who could win?
Literally anyone who qualifies could win. It's a sign of piss-poor editing.
It's lazy to demand I copy and paste for you what is literally on your screen.
Give us your predictions or stop queefing
Like kolb has said he hates this kind of track and it’s not his strong suit. Finn was on for the win here last year, has been crushing, and no mention. Jackson had the fastest overall time here last year, no mention. These seem to just be “who did good last race” with no consideration of track, conditions, etc.
@Longroadtonowhere I'm sorry you don't like my predictions, I add the polls at the bottom so people can share their thoughts on who might win and it seems like a lot of people are rooting for Jackson. If I'm being fair I do follow downhill pretty closely and I care quite a lot about racing. Part of the fun of racing and predictions is that they are just based on our own opinions and sometimes we get it completely wrong and sometimes we get it spot on.
Here is something that really matters: Fantasy teams are locked for this round in about 10 hours:
www.downhillmtbfantasy.com
Possibly current solution was inspired by roots and rain (worth a look), which has been using it for times for many years. Now I think about it, I'm surprised RAR doesn't let you toggle to a position chart.
Just choose ambient sound as your language option.
www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-primer-everything-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-the-vallnord-dh-world-cup-2023.html