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

It seemed that the champagne had barely stopped flowing at Mont-Sainte-Anne and the athletes were already at the airport in Quebec, headed to the final World Cup race of the season in Snowshoe, West Virginia. It's been over four months since the season kicked off in Maribor and while racers are starting to feel fatigued after a long season, we know they'll put it all on the line once again to try and finish on a high at round 8 on American soil.

Vali Höll and Thibaut Daprela have already sealed up the overall 2019 World Cup DH Junior titles, but the overall titles in the Elite categories are still within reach for several athletes. Check out our Who Can Win the Overall Title article to see who the favourites are for the 2019 World Cup titles.

Let's take a look at the course, what the weather conditions look like, and who we think the favourites are to take the win on this brand new course.

The track

The new Snowshoe track has a little bit of everything, from rock gardens to slopestyle jumps to high-speed grass corners. It's a brand new course designed by Sean Leader and Neko Mulally.

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Last round recap

World Championships is still fresh on the mind, but what happened at the last stop before Worlds?

Marine Cabirou snagged her second-ever World Cup win just ahead of title rival Tracey Hannah after they played a game of split ping pong over the length of the track, Caibrou eventually eeking out a margin of just under 3 tenths. There was then a gap of 7 seconds before the riders came in thick and fast with home hero Emilie Siegenthaler coming in third ahead of Kiwi Kate Weatherly and another Swiss rider in Camille Balanche who got her second podium in as many races. In behind them came Eleonora Farina, Monika Hrastnik, Raphaela Richter, Veronika Widmann, and Sian A'Hern.

With the rain halting, the track then proceeded to dry throughout the men's finals with the track conditions improving rider to rider. Last man down Danny Hart just couldn't match his qualifying prowess and faded to 5th, opening the door for Amaury Pierron to take his third win of the season. He and Bruni have taken three apiece with Greenland the only other rider to get in on the number 1 action this season. Greg Minnaar came closest to Pierron just under a second back with overall leader Loic Bruni coming home 3rd, Troy Brosnan and Danny Hart rounded out the podium. Laurie Greenland, Dean Lucas, Loris Vergier, Reece Wilson, and Florent Payet completed the top ten.

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Overall Standings

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Weather forecast

The forecast for this weekend is looking perfect for a weekend of bike racing.

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Schedule

All times EST


Thursday, September 5
• 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 >>> World Cup Top 60 Men Elite, Top 15 Women Elite, Top 10 Men Juniors and Top 3 Women Juniors


Friday, September 6
• 08:30 - 10:00 Official Downhill Training >>> Group B
• 10:15 – 11:45 Official Downhill Training >>> Group A
• 12:15 World Cup Downhill - Seeding Run - Women Juniors
• 12:30 World Cup Downhill - Qualifying Round Run - Men Juniors
• 13:30 World Cup Downhill - Qualifying Round - Women Elite
• 14:00 World Cup Downhill - Qualifying Round - Men Elite


Saturday, September 7
• 08:15 - 9:15 Official Downhill Training >>> Women Juniors, Men Juniors and Women Elite (outside top 5) qualified for the final
• 09:45 World Cup Downhill - Final - Women Juniors
• 10:15 World Cup Downhill - Final - Men Juniors
• 11:00 - 12:00 Official Downhill Training >>> Top 5 Women Elite and Men Elite qualified for the final
• 12:30 World Cup Downhill - Final - Women Elite
• 13:30 World Cup Downhill - Final - Men Elite
• Followed by downhill awards ceremony for all categories

Note: All times are local and subject to change by the UCI/event organiser.

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How to watch

Pinkbike will be providing you with the best daily coverage from our team in Snowshoe 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 eighth 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, September 7 at 12:30pm EST.

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

Snowshoe DHI Women: September 7 Live on Red Bull TV 12:30pm EST
Snowshoe DHI Men: September 7 Live on Red Bull TV 13:30 pm EST


Note: These times are subject to change. Please check with your local provider.

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Pinkbike Predictions

"Loic said after World Championships that it's been a long season and he is tired. Amaury Pierron and Troy Brosnan are undoubtedly tired as well, but they'll have chips in their shoulders after being denied the rainbow jersey yet again. Amaury was fast last weekend and gained time at the bottom of the track after a mistake in the top section, so has the speed to take the win. Loic needs to secure a top 4 if Amaury wins to get the overall, and we think he'll be able to perform under pressure and do it. He will perhaps ride a little more carefully than usual with everything to lose however. A consistent Troy is likely to be the filling in a French sandwich once again.

As for the women, Myriam Nicole and Tahnee Seagrave may have taken first and second place in Mont-Sainte-Anne but Marine Cabirou was within striking distance and she'll want to take as many points as possible in Snowshoe to try and win the overall."

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Fantasy League

Don't forget to complete your DH Fantasy team before the Elite Women's qualifying starts on Friday. Check out our analysis of the season so far here.

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Racing and Events Pinkbike Primer World Cup DH Snowshoe World Cup Dh 2019