Pinkbike Primer: A Double-Header to End the World Cup Season at Snowshoe, USA

Nothing Left to Lose

The double-header this weekend is weighted with the pressure of the overall title

And just like that, the World Cup season is almost over, with just two rounds in one week left for the racers to tackle. This week, the World Cup circus has hopped across the pond to the US, where racers will be put through a six-day barrage of training, qualifying, and racing to finish out the season. It'll be an exciting week, with the overall season title on the line and twice the points available as at most World Cup stops. That also means the riders will go through twice the physical strain and twice the emotional rollercoasters. America does it big, indeed.

When the World Cup visited Snowshoe in 2019, we watched one of the greatest mountain bike racing dramas we've ever seen unfold as if it had been scripted just for our viewing pleasure. The overall title was between Amaury Pierron and Loic Bruni, and after a jaw-dropping run from Pierron, the title was all but decided in his favor, but Danny Hart managed to do one better and take the win, taking away the points Pierron would need to win and making Bruni the first elite male racer since Sam Hill in 2007 to take both the World Cup overall and the World Champs win in a single season.

The 2019 women's race also had plenty of nail-biting, with the title riding on a hair between Tracey Hannah and Marine Cabirou. If Hannah had finished outside of the top six, the title would have gone to Cabirou, but despite Cabirou's near-flawless run and subsequent win, Hannah rounded out the podium in fifth, high enough to take the coveted UCI crystal from Cabirou.

With the season coming to a close and so much to gain or throw away, we can be sure that Snowshoe will once again deliver. Here's what to expect.

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The Track

The Snowshoe track debuted in 2019 and was well-loved, but a bit notorious among racers. The course starts wide open with several jumps, some of which are new this year, then drops into woodsy steeps before the absurdly physical, long finish section. Every section of the course will be demanding, with the jumps on top requiring commitment, the steep middle sections requiring precision, and the lower chunder requiring so, so much strength from the riders. With two rounds packed into one week, and some minor course changes between the two rounds, it's bound to be an exciting World Cup finale.

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Previous Winners

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What Happened in 2019?

The 2019 race at Snowshoe was a big one. Marine Cabirou came from behind to take the win, but Tracey Hannah stayed within the top six to take the overall for the first time in her decorated career. In the men's race, we saw some of the most suspenseful World Cup runs ever. Amaury Pierron put down an astonishingly fast run that seemed more or less unbeatable, so it appeared that Pierron would take the win and clinch the overall. Then, Danny Hart went fastest and bumped Pierron out of the top spot, giving fourth-placed Bruni the overall title, also a career-first for him. Just incredible.

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What Happened at the Last Round?

Vali Holl, Tahnee Seagrave, and Myriam Nicole all had stellar runs, Vali finally pushing onto the podium this season, Tahnee beating her time by an impressive margin, and Nicole beating both of them by more than three seconds, backing up her recent World Champs victory.

We saw something similar go down in the men's field. Thibaut Daprela put down an insane run to take the lead, which was then bested by Loic Bruni, and then both were beaten with an incredible performance from Loris Vergier.

It's been said before, but I'll say again: it's not bikes that win races; it's French people.

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The Standings

ELITE WOMEN

1st // Myriam NICOLE // FRA // 810
2nd // Camille BALANCHE // SUI // 695
3rd // Tahnee SEAGRAGE // GBR // 662
4th // Vali HOLL // AUT // 645
5th // Monika HRASTNIK // SLO // 517
6th // Eleonora FARINA // ITA // 465
7th // Millie JOHNSET // NOR // 334
8th // Marine CABIROU // FRA // 331
9th // Mathilde BERNARD // FRA // 202
10th // Veronika WIDMANN // ITA // 190

ELITE MEN

1st // Thibaut DAPRELA // FRA // 752
2nd // Loris VERGIER // FRA // 566
3rd // Loic BRUNI // FRA // 454
4th // Laurie GREENLAND // GBR // 422
5th // Danny HART // GBR // 391
6th // Greg MINNAAR // RSA // 384
7th // Troy BROSNAN // AUS // 366
8th // Benoit COULANGES // FRA // 332
9th // Reece WILSON // GBR // 312
10th // Amaury PIERRON // FRA // 305

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Weather Forecast

Last year, the rocks toward the bottom of the course because absurdly slick with moisture, though more due to humidity and fog than to rain. Now, with possible rain in the forecast for the week, we could see similarly slippery conditions, especially for the second of the two races. Temperatures are expected to stay pleasant and mild through the weekend.

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The Schedule

Monday, September 13
• 08:45-11:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 11:30-12:45 // Official Downhill Training - All
• 12:45-15:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 15:30-17:00 // Downhill Timed Training Session

Tuesday, September 14
• 08:45-10:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 10:15-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 12:15 // Seeding - Junior Women
• 12:30 // Qualifying - Junior Men
• 13:30 // Qualifying - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Qualifying - Elite Men

Wednesday, September 15
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 09:45 // Final 1 - Junior Men
• 10:30 // Final 1 - Junior Women
• 10:50-11:05 // Official Downhill Training - Elite Women
• 11:05-12:05 // Official Downhill Training - Elite Men
• 12:30 // Final 1 - Elite Women
• 13:30 // Final 1 - Elite Men
• Awards to follow

Thursday, September 16
• 08:45-11:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 11:30-12:45 // Official Downhill Training - All
• 12:45-15:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 15:30-17:00 // Downhill Timed Training Session

Friday, September 17
• 08:45-10:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 10:15-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 12:15 // Seeding - Junior Women
• 12:30 // Qualifying - Junior Men
• 13:30 // Qualifying - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Qualifying - Elite Men

Saturday, September 18
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 09:45 // Final 2 - Junior Men
• 10:30 // Final 2 - Junior Women
• 10:50-11:05 // Official Downhill Training - Elite Women
• 11:05-12:05 // Official Downhill Training - Elite Men
• 12:30 // Final 2 - Elite Women
• 13:30 // Final 2 - Elite Men
• Awards to follow

Note: All times are local and subject to change by the event organizer.

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Follow Along

Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team the U S of A this week. Tune in to Pinkbike to catch photo epics, videos and results from Timed Training, Practice, Qualifying and Finals, as well as tech bits and news.

You can also watch the seventh round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup onredbull.tv. The live broadcast starts on Wednesday, September 15 and Saturday September 18 at 12:30pm EST.

Schedule: Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Snowshoe LIVE on Red Bull TV:

Snowshoe DHI Women: September 15 & September 18 Live on Red Bull TV 12:30pm EST
Snowshoe DHI Men: September 15 & September 18 Live on Red Bull TV 1:45pm EST

All times local / EST, replays available immediately following the races. Times are subject to change at the race organizers' or Red Bull's discretion.

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Fantasy League

Don't forget to complete your DH Fantasy team! Participating is way more fun than watching from the sidelines.

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Racing and Events DH Racing Pinkbike Primer World Cup DH Snowshoe World Cup Dh 2021