Pinkbike Primer - Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Les Gets World Cup DH

Round Four, Chery Picked

Back to a classic in the French Alps.

We're on to our second returning classic of the year and after Maribor's explosive start to the season, it's Les Gets' time to reclaim its place on the World Cup circuit. We'll be coming back here for at least another two years with a second World Cup scheduled next year and a World Champs in 2022.

French crowds have been large and loud at both Lourdes and La Bresse in recent years. Les Gets' race will be run on the weekend of Bastille Day, the anniversary of Storming of the Bastille, a turning point of the French Revolution, it's a big day in the French calendar so expect a sizable, partisan, patriotic crowd lining the race to make for one hell of an atmosphere.

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The Track

We've been warming up for these World Cup races with three visits here on the Crankworx World Tour. The track follows the same contours as the classic from the turn of the millennium and even includes Peaty's infamous corner. It's made up of a minute's worth of flat, grassy turns in the open that drop into steeper, more technical woods sections then a flat out sprint to the line.

The first time we returned here in 2016 it was a total wash out and didn't tell us much of anything but the past two years have revealed one of the fastest tracks on the international circuit that allows riders to grip it and rip it from top to bottom. It may not be much of a puzzler but the riders seem to love the high-speed, loose nature.

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Previous Winners

Note, Italics denotes a Crankworx race, * denotes a World Championship.

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What Happened in 2018

A lot of the top riders turned up for the 2018 Crankworx race making it feel like a mini-World Cup. Troy Brosnan took his second successive win on the track and marked himself out as a potential favorite for the World Cup here. He led out Pierron, Vergier and Estaque on their home soil and make no mistake, the French will be fired up to charge again on their home track this weekend.

In the women's race, Rachel Atherton made a rare Crankworx visit to take the win with Myriam Nicole and Tracey Hannah hot on her heels.

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What Happened at the Last Round?

A baking weekend in Vallnord saw deep, dusty conditions that caught out unwary riders. Both Rachel Atherton and Loic Bruni pulled most of their time on the top section and then kept in touch through the woods to secure the victories. Bruni's third win of the year takes him to the top of the overall standings while Rachel lies just 60 points behind Tracey Hannah,

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The Standings

ELITE MEN

1st // Loic BRUNI // FRA // 765
2nd // Troy BROSNAN // AUS // 700
3rd // Amaury PIERRON // FRA // 605
4th // Danny HART // GBR // 565
5th // Loris VERGIER // FRA // 482
6th // Greg MINNAAR // RSA // 396
7th // Brook MACDONALD // NZL // 343
8th // Mark WALLACE // CAN // 322
9th // Matt WALKER // GBR // 279
10th // Aaron GWIN // USA // 273

ELITE WOMEN

1st // Tracey HANNAH // AUS // 790
2nd // Rachel ATHERTON // GBR // 730
3rd // Marine CABIROU // FRA // 640
4th // Nina HOFFMANN // GER // 585
5th // Veronika WIDMANN // ITA // 407
6th // Kate WEATHERLY // NZL // 378
7th // Mariana SALAZAR // ESA // 278
8th // Emilie SIEGENTHALER // SUI // 276
9th // Carina CAPPELLARI // SUI // 251
10th // Tahnee SEAGRAVE // GBR // 230

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Weather Forecast

There's a mixed forecast for Les Gets this weekend with warm, sunny days and rainy nights.

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The Schedule

Thursday, July 11
• 08:30-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 12:00-15:15 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 15:30-17:00 // Downhill Timed Training Session
• 17:00-17:45 // On Foot Downhill Course Inspection - Riders and Teams

Friday, July 12
• 08:30-10:00 // Official Downhill Training - Group B
• 10:15-11:45 // Official Downhill Training - Group A
• 12:15 // Seeding Run - Junior Women
• 12:30 // Qualifying Round - Junior Men
• 13:30 // Qualifying Round - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Qualifying Round - Elite Men
• Followed by // 30 minutes On Foot Downhill Course Inspection - Riders and Teams

Saturday, July 13
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Junior Women, Junior Men, Elite Women
• 09:45 // Final - Junior Women
• 10:15 // Final - Junior Men
• 11:00-12:00 // Official Downhill Training - Top 5 Women Elite from the latest World Cup standing and Men Elite qualified for the final
• 12:30 // Final - Elite Women
• 13:30 // Final - Elite Men followed by Awards ceremony

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 in Les Gets 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 third round of the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup free of charge, live or on demand, on redbull.tv. The live broadcast starts on Saturday, July 13 at 12:30pm CEST.

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

Les Gets DHI Women: July 13 Live on Red Bull TV 12:30pm CEST
Les Gets DHI Men: July 13 Live on Red Bull TV 1:45pm CEST

(all times CEST, replay available immediately following the races)

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Fantasy League

Don't forget to complete your DH Fantasy team before the Elite Women's qualifying starts on Saturday. Check out the winning team from Fort William here.

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MENTIONS: @trek / @SramMedia

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Posted In:
Racing and Events World Cup DH Rachel Atherton Troy Brosnan Les Gets World Cup Dh 2019