Pinkbike Primer: Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Lousa World Cup DH 2020

Oct 28, 2020
by James Smurthwaite  


Everyone's a Winner

Itwasn't supposed to be this way, but for the second season in a row, we're ending the year with a new venue. Lousa was originally scheduled to kick off proceedings back in March and now, 7 months later, we finally get a taste of what they've been cooking up in Portugal for us. The track looks like a beast and a lot of work has gone in to making it World Cup worthy, including a new bottom section with big jumps to finish off the runs in style.

This is Portugal's first downhill World Cup but it won't be the first time here for most of the riders. Fox bases its winter testing camps here and the Portugal Cups here offer valuable UCI points that riders chasing after a World Cup place will come and snaffle up.

Once again, we have a double header to look forward to with a race on Friday and another on Sunday. Racing here also means that the UCI will sanction an overall series and we will have new World Cup overall champions by the end of the weekend. Here's all you need to get up to speed on the new venue.

Continuing that excellent theme of wide gnar into the final quarter of the track.



The Tracks


Lousa's DH2 track will be the host for both races this weekend. Much like Maribor, the two races will start and finish in the same place but this time there will be three alternate sections that will be changed between the races on Friday and Sunday. However, the UCI has said this could be increased and we will be told by Friday.

A lot of riders have compared the track to Vallnord with a flatter, super-fast top section before the track drops into relentless steeps, but there are also flashes of Val di Sole, Mont-Sainte-Anne, and Pietermaritzburg. In short, it has a bit of everything including lots of fresh loam so it could suit anyone. The riders are frothing to get amongst it and we should see some wild action as videos start to filter in.

One thing to note is that this is a 4-minute plus, physical track and with five days of training, qualifying and racing, recovery and fitness could be as important as race skills here.

The lower section of track is a total contrast to what s in store up above. It s fast hard packed and full of tables.



Previous Races

This is the first World Cup we've had here, but there have been a number of National level races here in the past few years that have attracted a strong field of World Cup riders. Here are the results from those.

Portugal Cup 2019

Elite Men

1. Amaury Pierron - 3:58.864
2. Danny Hart +1.218
3. Gee Atherton +7.829
4. Phil Atwill +8.717
5. Charlie Hatton +8.928
Elite Women

1. Myriam Nicole - 4:35.898
2. Alia Marcellini +23.644
3. Melanie Chappaz +32.195
4. Margarida Bandeira +38.718
5. Mikayla Parton +41.867

Portugal Cup 2018

Elite Men

1. Remi Thirion - 4:13.933
2. Gee Atherton +5.543
3. Brendan Fairclough +6.085
4. Emanuel Pombo +9.295
5. Gaetan Ruffin +10.015
Elite Women

1. Myriam Nicole - 4:56.030
2. Andrea Farais +51.148
3. Maaris Meier +2:00.684

Portugal Cup 2017

Elite Men

1. Remi Thirion - 4:15.870
2. Matt Simmonds +1.261
3. Amaury Pierron +3.095
4. Francisco Pardal +5.934
5. Emmanuel Pombo +7.280
Elite Women

1. Myriam Nicole - 5:33.207
2. Blanca Julia Barthe +48.017
3. Margarida Bandeira +53.643
4. Alix Jacquemart +1:21.840
5. Carolina Costa +1:34.300

Portugal Cup 2012

Elite Men

1. Francisco Pardal - 3:36.198
2. Claudio Costa Loureiro +0.031
3. Antonio Ferriro Pajuelo +3.615
4. Emanuel Pombo +6.427
5. Louis Paulo Vicente Ferreira +6.742
Elite Women

1. Diana Dromondo Vargas - 4:39.714
2. Aurea Cintra Agostinho +51.608
3. Ana Periera Martins +58.011
4. Margarida Bandeira +1:07.547
5. Leonor Cantante Carvalho Bandeira +1:25.205

Maxxis Cup 2011

Elite Men

1. Gee Atherton - 3:30.777
2. Antonio Ferriro Pajuelo +1.769
3. Emmanuel Pombo + 2.049
4. Al Bond +8.068
5. Jorge Aguin Castro +9.348
Elite Women

1. Aurea Cintra Agostinho - 5:24.849
2. Carmen Martinez Perez +5.629
3. Dina Simoes Amaral +57.878
4. Ana Periera Martins +1:36.911
5. Sofia Alexandra Pinto +3:06.466



What Happened at the Last Round?


Round 1

Elite Women

1st. Marine Cabirou: 3:43.595
2nd. Myriam Nicole: +6.115
3rd. Tracey Hannah: +7.179
4th. Eleonora Farina: +9.921
5th. Monika Hrastnik: +11.549

Elite Men

1st. Loris Vergier: 3:07.903
2nd. Remi Thirion: +2.652
3rd. Thibaut Daprela: +2.999
4th. Matt Walker: +4.099
5th. Greg Minnaar: +4.949


Round 2

Elite Women

1st. Nina Hoffmann: 3:38.602
2nd. Marine Cabirou: +1.899
3rd. Eleonora Farina: +4.212
4th. Myriam Nicole: +6.075
5th. Tracey Hannah: +8.875

Elite Men

1st. Loris Vergier: 3:07.771
2nd. Loic Bruni: +0.057
3rd. Matt Walker: +0.403
4th. Finn Iles: +0.863
5th. Troy Brosnan: +1.016


Ella Erickson of the USA riding to third place in junior women.
Nina Hoffmann on the final few moments of her race-winning run.

That tuck came in handy for Loris Vergier as he takes the win by a mere 0.057 seconds.



The Standings

ELITE MEN
1st // Loris Vergier // 450
2nd // Matt Walker // 317
3rd // Thibaut Daprela // 295
4th // Loic Bruni // 265
5th // Troy Brosnan // 243
6th // Remi Thirion // 228
7th // Greg Minnaar // 202
8th= // Finn Iles // 189
8th= // Angel Suarez // 189
10th // Luca Shaw // 176
ELITE WOMEN
1st // Marine Cabirou // 390
2nd // Myriam Nicole // 375
3rd // Nina Hoffmann // 334
4th // Eleonora Farina // 320
5th // Tracey Hannah // 316
6th // Monika Hrastnik // 249
7th // Tahnee Seagrave // 206
8th // Camille Balanche // 182
9th // Mikayla Parton // 130
10th // Stacey Fisher // 110




Weather Forecast

This may be one of the latest World Cups in the year ever, but Portugal's southern European climate should avoid the worst of the rain we've had in Maribor and Leogang.

The wide tape sections on this track offer proper line choices that benefit each style of rider differently. Tomorrow s practice will open up lines and put to rest uncertainties.

Wednesday, Oct 28 - Timed Training
Times of clouds and sun // 18°C // 59% precipitation, 1.4mm // wind 7km/h

Thursday, Oct 29 - Qualifying 3
Mostly sunny and pleasant // 21°C // 1% precipitation, 0mm // wind 9km/h

Friday, Oct 30 - Finals 3
Pleasant with plenty of sunshine // 22°C // 2% precipitation, 0mm // wind 9km/h

Saturday, Oct 31 - Qualifying 4
Plenty of sunshine // 21°C // 4% precipitation, 0mm // wind 9km/h

Sunday, Nov 1 - Finals 4
Cloudy with a couple of showers // 20°C // 59% precipitation, 1.4mm // wind 11km/h

Weather forecast from Accuweather as of Wednesday, October 28.



The Schedule

Wooden bars to interrupt the incoming deep ruts.

Wednesday, Oct 28
• 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

Thursday, Oct 29
• 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

Friday, Oct 30
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Junior Women, Junior Men, Elite Women
• 09:45 // Final - Junior Men
• 10:30 // Final - Junior Women
• 12:30 // Final - Elite Women
• 13:30 // Final - Elite Men followed by Awards ceremony

Saturday, Oct 31
• 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

Sunday, Nov 1
• 08:15-09:15 // Official Downhill Training - Junior Women, Junior Men, Elite Women
• 09:45 // Final - Junior Men
• 10:30 // Final - Junior Women
• 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.



Follow Along

This will be quite a course to hopefully witness a full-tilt Aaron Gwin.

Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Coimbra 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, August 3 at 12:30pm CEST.

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

Lousa DHI Women: October 30 Live on Red Bull TV 12:30pm GMT
Lousa DHI Men: October 30 Live on Red Bull TV 1:45pm GMT

Lousa DHI Women: November 1 Live on Red Bull TV 12:30pm GMT
Lousa DHI Men: November 1 Live on Red Bull TV 1:45pm GMT

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



photo

Fantasy League

Don't forget to complete your DH Fantasy team for the 2 rounds this weekend. We will keep the rosters open until after the first Qualifying event so you can line up the fastest team possible for the two rounds.


The Fantasy Downhill League is Presented by Trek


MENTIONS: @trek



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Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles

15 Comments
  • 32 0
 Everyone take note of how to do a course preview - two riders, so we can actually see the bike infront ride the features.
  • 11 0
 I'm glad they have a nice long section of double track and what looks like crushed gravel. The TV producers will 100% make sure we see every rider ride through there Frown
  • 1 0
 I notice on the red bull app there are two cameras you can choose from for this world cup. Interested to see how that works.
  • 8 0
 One of the best DH gopro previews I've seen so far, super close even with different lines. The track looks like a banger and I'm so glad the races actually happens. Getting at least a mini-series of downhill WC truly makes a difference and sweetens up this shitty year - big thanks to the organizers and riders to still make it happen under such challenging circumstances!
  • 7 0
 If possible, add Mikayla Parton to the Fantasy Roster.
  • 4 0
 What a great looking track!!
  • 2 0
 Looks like Remi Thirion does well on this track based on previous years. Hope to see some of his creative line choices and Remi on the podium again.
  • 3 0
 Accuweather, that's a misnomer if I ever heard one!
  • 3 0
 Just tell us when the cathro vid is out
  • 1 0
 Rode here 4 years ago in its infancy. It was good back then and was a struggle to get down.
  • 1 0
 Road there 2009 when it was just locals tracks , still had some big road gaps etc but mostly enduro bike stuff , new it had good potential though back then .
  • 1 0
 Was thinking it must have grown a lot with Gee Atherton being 30 seconds faster in 2011
  • 1 0
 Totally different track back then bottom part of the Maxssiavalance course which was a 40 minute decent @drunknride:
  • 1 0
 Vergier will take another brace!
  • 1 0
 Why is the no road gap?







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