Qualifying Results from the Leogang DH World Cup 2022

 Leogang loves him.. I saw.. looks top 20 qualy is coming

 I wish he would get into the mix again. I didn't dig his domination back in the day as racing was becoming a little too predictable but a little comeback would be nice.

 @KalkhoffKiller: so you want him to win...ish

 Intense having quite a quali day.

 Hes even making the televised show! 6 peeeatt baby!!!! :'(

 Looking at his splits he got faster with each section. Quite a nice qualifier.

 Is this what it’s come to now? It’s a thing if Gwin makes it into the show jokes! Jokes!
It’d be great to see some competition for the euro boys from over the pond

 @WasatchEnduro: Perhaps he was riding conservative at the beginning (a crash or mistake means no racing at all) and his confidence grew as he got closer to the end?

 @ThomDawley: Luca Shaw 5th at round 1, right in the mix

 @KalkhoffKiller: people forget he was an underdog when he came on the Scene, then dominated. He is now an underdog so let’s see a comeback! End the frenchies dreams!! Also go mark wallace!

 @ThomDawley: what are you even saying / here for?

 @nvranka: bants. Is that not okay? I’m a European. Right?

 Note he is the oldest after Minaar on that top field...

 @ThomDawley: Finn Iles & Mark Wallace are from across then pond too and were there before!!!

 @chuchuna85: fair! Great performance so far from both. Can’t wait to see how it goes down. I love it when the quali field gets mixed up a bit. Not too much, just a little

 @robway: he got tenth in his first Worldcup and a podium in his second season so i wouldn't have called him an underdog

 @MTBrent: for once

 @fracasnoxteam: Have a bite of baguette and calm down yourself. Literally no one above said he's "back", just finally potentially in the mix again.

 @ThomDawley: Finn Iles?!
Same pond different shore.

 @snomaster: well he was pretty good

 @pen9-wy: pay no notice, I’m full of crap and excited to see everyone race.

 @ThomDawley: haha - it was more sticking up for the Canucks than criticising your comment!
Enjoy the race tomo bro - have a few brews

 @ThomDawley: also very interested in your frames mate - might get in touch?

 Praise the lord!

 Gwin is the 5th oldest rider out of a field of over 300! I’m older than Minaar so I’d love to see either win. Take that you whippersnappers.

 @KalkhoffKiller: True, but go back and watch his footage, we have so dam good to watch on a bike, agressive, composed and fearless. His style during the trek years was as exciting as any rider has ever been. (Well maybe not Sam, Danny and Josh level but still unreal)

 @pen9-wy: thanks, I will! And you

And by all means, drop us a message any time

 And Finn was off the bike for a few days if not weeks just before this

 @Lagr1980: five weeks!

The guy is a terrifying ball of amped up muscle and determination. I think Loic being out will help him. Go Finn!

 @owl-X: Honestly, I think it's the mental side of things. I think he knows he can legitimately win this thing.
He has to be one of the most mentally strong riders out there.

 @Lagr1980: Yeah, 5 weeks he said, that is nuts!

 Amen !

 @&$” yeah!

 great to see him first time in the finals with his project

 Anyone know what went on with Bernard?

 @warnold: looks like a crash up top somewhere but he's protected

 JeNaiNai!!! Oi oi oi!

 I can't believe shes only 18, thought she was closer to 30 than 20!! Good on her though seems to be smashing it for being so young and on the other side of the world

 @warnold: youtu.be/3Mnut_xtfyA I haven’t watched it yet.

 @toad321: Wouldve been top 10 in elite qualies. Juniors men and women are all looking really bright, the future is strong.

 @warnold: OTB on the stumps, he's got a pov in his latest video

 That's Benoit . He's so hot right now!

 Coulanges is defo due WC win this year, he is becoming the new mr consistent right there

 Such an underrated rider!

 @neimbc: Yes!!! Zoolander reference. Love it!!

 @garrett-g: Benoit is definitely top 3-5 in the world. He's due

 Only person to beat him was Jackson Goldstone.

 I take that back. My maths is bad, so bad.

 Benoit has got to be one of the least hyped up top riders. He seems super consistent, moving up the wc ranks every season, looks very calculated on the bike. Minaar-esque riding style not too flashy just calm speed.

 @fwp39: yes he is , the digit on the plate don’t lie

 what's a top troy?

 @SterlingArcher: A Top Troy is a sneaky little creature from down under. He will attack with deadly precision. Look out for this one.

 @Porchdick: I read your comment with an Australian accent which seemed appropriate

 This guy is going places. His control and comfort level on the 2 wheels must be unmatched. He has been riding since 0 years old.

 Amazing, looking at the TT results he'd be 10th in elite, looking forward to see elite's times

 Remy and Jordan were faster but crashed before last split. its gonna be a good race!

 @phuq: I was worried when I didn't see Jordan near the top. It looks like he still qualified, but I wonder how he will perform when he starts so much earlier. As a young kid used to dropping last I hope he can figure out a good race run from the middle of the pack.

 Remy was 2 seconds faster at the third split.

 @pisgahgnar: he took a hellish impact yesterday. Look at first few seconds of vital raw.

 @CantClimb: How am I supposed to tell who is who in the raw? They all just look the same shade of brown.

 @pisgahgnar: that was him at the beginning. Number 2 plate on Saracen bike. Fell directly on that jagged rock, into the chest area. Got up right away but that doesn't always mean much.

 Lachie would be on his ass if he had team mates like jackson does!

 @pisgahgnar: Haha, I was thinking the same when I was watching it earlier, apart from a select few they were indistinguishable.

 @bok-CZ: He'd be 7th in Men's Elite Qualifying. Kid has got moves.

 @pisgahgnar: being protected he doesn't go earlier. he'll be dropping third last since he had the lowest placing of the 3 protected junior men

 Yeah, he hasn’t belonged in juniors for a while now. Kid is fast and stylish af

 @PHeller: I see now, the next generation is looking crazy fast, hope they gonna last long

 This may be a hot take but Jr. WC isn't quite representative of the "future" of the Elites. It's representative of the talent that got discovered young, probably had decently wealthy parents to get their names out there.

This crop of Jr.'s will be Elite WC racers one day, but we'll see if they maintain dominance.

 @ryanandrewrogers: WTF are you talking about? Riding WC is no joke and only a handful of kids are fast enough to ever get the chance. You can’t buy your way into it dude.

 @ryanandrewrogers: it’s not a hot take you’re just wrong.

 @Reno233: there’s no denying that having support from a young age is highly impactful.

This is the same for literally all pursuits, however, so…not sure why he’s saying it.

 @nvranka: That’s true, it helps to have support but mtb racing requires far less $ than what parents spend on club team sports, ski racing, motor sports, etc. It’s not as big a factor IMO once you have a competitive bike and a small budget to replace parts, tires, etc.

Once you get to a certain level in mtb, it isn’t hard to get help with parts and travel expenses. A salary on the other hand is much tougher to come by.

Ultimately it comes down to how talented and motivated the kid is that determines success.

 @Reno233: @TheSlayer99: @nvranka: I said what I said because I think people overestimate how Jr. WC results translate to Elite WC results. It only takes one random generational talent like Gwin to step in late to the game and still stomp on everyone.

I didn't say they were slow I've got the eyes to see the results, but there are so many talents out there who might be on par with the current Juniors who aren't racing with them right now.

You absolutely do "buy" your way into racing, it takes quite a lot of capital to start racing mountain bikes at all. I'm saying that some WC racers get into the game late because of this barrier, so I wouldn't be surprised if the current crop of Juniors aren't the top guys by their prime years of elite world cup.

 @ryanandrewrogers: giving an explanation doesn’t change you’re objectively wrong. In the top 10 of the overall before todays race only Amaury and Benoit didn’t dominate in jrs. Gwin is the exception, not the rule. I think you’d be pretty hard pressed to find more than 50-60% of the top 30 in elites didn’t have at least some success in jrs, and that’s being generous.

 @ryanandrewrogers: what other examples like gwin are there? I think most of the names we see today came from the Junior Circuit as is standard in all racing sports.

I’m genuinely asking though, as I don’t follow this stuff very closely at all

 Speaking from experience, my parents didn’t have much and we found a way to hit a lot of nationals each year. Of the many other kids that do the same, the top 5 or so junior expert/cat.1 riders in the US each season get to go to the worlds. USA Cycling helps pay for the trip, and those riders usually already have sponsors to help with parts and maybe some domestic travel.

If they get that chance based on their performance all season, it is a huge eye opener for many, as the level of competition is much higher than at home and the tracks are harder. It’s like a preview of WC racing.

Generally speaking, unless they finish somewhere inside the top 20-30 at worlds, they probably don’t have a future at the WC U23 level. Of course some riders can break through after years, but not many. It’s often obvious pretty quickly who has the pace and mental strength to go to the WC level. Based on this, my argument is that the current Jr. WC field is the “future” and has earned their place. That shit ain’t easy.

 @TheSlayer99: So you say I'm objectively wrong but Pierron and Coulanges are the only riders to have actually won a men's elite WC this season ; ). Let us look at last season's top ten overall: Bruni, Brosnan, Wilson, Pierron, Hart, Coulanges, and Suarez all had a minimal impact or were not present as Juniors. In fact, these 7 combined for a single Jr. World Cup win- Amaury's 2014 Leogang. I'd crunch more numbers on Roots and Rain but it is late, my hot take opinion at least has some validity.

@Reno233: Of last year's Elite top ten overall, five riders did not ever race a single Jr. WC: Bruni, Brosnan, Hart, Coulanges, and Suarez. I agree that the current crop of Juniors will have illustrious WC careers, but I wouldn't count out the undiscovered kids, they're out there (likely in France but who knows).

@nvranka: Gwin was the most successful example I could think of, he was the inspiration for this hot take. After researching it appears there are a plethora of WC racers who entered the mix as Elites. Greg Minaar, the GOAT, never raced Jr. WC. Between Gwin, Minaar, Bruni, & Hart you're talking about the very backbone of the sport for the last 2 decades, all never raced Juniors.

 @ryanandrewrogers: The right way to settle this is to see how many top junior riders in recent years (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCI_Mountain_Bike_World_Cup?wprov=sfla1) have been top elites. I can't be be bothered, but some of your evidence is plain wrong eg brosnan won junior overall, twice.

 @ryanandrewrogers: that’s interesting, I never knew that about minaar / bruni / hart

 @lochussie: You're right... Roots and Rain has some faulty bookkeeping, they do not list Troy as a Junior for his first 2 seasons. Its hard to research this stuff but it also appears Troy never won a Jr. World Cup, he took 2 victories in consecutive years at World Champs, a category I had not selected last night.

 @nvranka: Might be wrong about Bruni, he too appears to have been present as a Junior but Roots and Rain makes it quite difficult to distinguish Elite results from Junior.

 @lochussie: Vergier, Daprela, and Walker are obvious examples of high-level Juniors who are making an impact as Elites. Are they going to be dominant generational talents? For Loris I'd argue he has some work to put in, for Daprela, he has time. Walker is super consistent, it was good to see him finally take one. Also, I just realized I said Coulanges won the other day, oops. Anyway it was perhaps a bit of a shoddy research put together to take a shot at @TheSlayer99 , who seems to love picking apart my little opine without doing any research himself.

 @ryanandrewrogers: I have a possibly wrong memory that there wasn't a separate junior cat at WCs before

 @lochussie: That's correct. The junior class at WC didn’t exist back when those guys would have been juniors. You turned pro, got your UCI license, and tried to qualify for WC like everyone else.

 @ryanandrewrogers: Again explaining your point more doesn't make it right. To your point on troy bronsan he won 2 jr world titles, 4th in elites in val di sol 2011 as a jr, 15th in elites in leogang 2011. He was a jr before they had a seperate jr class, as was Greg, Loic and Danny. Greg, Loic and Troy all had pretty solid results as jr's

To my point on the top 10 of the overall standings this year after Fort Williams;
Laurie Greenland, silver 2016 world champs first year elite, 2015 jr world champ, silver 2014 world champs, 8 jr podium appearances, all in the top 3 with 3 wins.
Danny Hart didn't dominate in jr's (best result was 3rd at worlds his last year in jr's) and he didn't come to form until 2016. I can't be bothered to look at how many podiums or top 10 results he had between his first world title in 2011 and his second in 2015 but I know he was top five in the overall during that time at least once or twice.
Matt Walker jr world champ 2017, 6 podium appearances, half being wins.
Finn Iles speaks for himself. With the exception of worlds in cairns, he didn't finish worse than second his whole jr career.
Loris Vergier, gold at worlds 2014, silver at worlds 2013, 12 podium appearances with 3 wins as well as 1 jr ews win.
Thibault Daprela, 11 podiums with 9 wins.
Loic Bruni, 5th in elites in windham 2012 as a jr, 4 other appearances in the top 20 as a jr in elites, 2012 jr world champion
Greg Minnaar only entered 12 events as a jr in the late 90's. In those 12 events his best results were 8th at big bear lake in elites as a jr in 1999, and 6th at jr worlds in 98 and 99. In his first full season of racing, which happened to be his first season of elites, he had 2 podium finishes and didn't finish outside of the top 20 all of that season

So tell me again how I my point is wrong and I didn't do my research, I'd love to know.

 Mortiz Ribarich missing the cut by less than a second... on a 26" Sunday!

 @MTBrent: We need a bike check on that beauty!

 @hardtailfolife: In german but google translator does a good job
www.lines-mag.at/iron-horse-factory-racing

 @bashhard: Thank you!

 @MTBrent: I feel like we are watching the birth of the next denim destroyer.

 @bashhard: pretty sweet - talk about custom, he cut the frame by hand and rewelded, making it a 27.5/26 mullet with a 1300 mm wheelbase and a "genuine motocross handlebar with an impressive width of 827mm! The 90s windbreaker was a nice touch too..

 @ccrida-pnw: yeah but the custom one is not the one being ridden in Leogang by Moritz, Moritz is the one on the regular Sunday. There is an article about the custom one here on pinkbike as well, very cool project

 @bashhard: so cool. Thanks for sharing

 You mean like the 2020 World's?

 Agreed, but it'd still be an exciting race for second.

 That’s actually my favorite setup for an exciting show. Imagine his face after an hour on the hot seat! Go AP!

 @Capt-envy I have a feeling that Amaury will not win tomorrow.

 Correct me if wrong, but I believe protected riders go just before the top 20.

 @Rosstech: I’ll take the field against any single rider in every race though, to be fair. There’s a lot that has to go really well to win one of these.

 @Rosstech: Maybe not the favorite but I definitely wouldn't count him out here. Finn Iles posted a qualifying and timed training run within 0.1 second of each other, yet Pierron's TT run was 3.5 seconds faster than anyone TT or qualies (3:38.1). In addition Pierron's splits go from 9th to 113th, then back to 88th and 52nd before finishing 36th, so it likely he went down or got otherwise hung up for ~10s between splits 1 and 2. If he is uninjured and can stay on the bike, which is by no means a guarantee, he looks to have a pretty insane pace here

 Sounds like the track is destroyed. Imagine it's only going to get worse with every run. Does his quali mean that Amaury gets to ride a better track than the top 10? I guess this is applicable to every DHWC event but do the conditions this weekend amplify the decline of course conditions or are they so bad it doesn't make a difference?

 Lots of heavy hitters geting early start times. Gonna be a crazy one!

 @kcy4130: Nope, all riders are seeded as per quali times. Protected riders just get to the finals just by getting a run in qualis (they don't even need to finish that run).

 @Fulgacian: Start List is here. Protected riders that had a bad quali still go near or in the Top 20. Greg and Amaury are the 15th and 16th last riders to go.

www.uci.org/race-hub/2022-mercedes-benz-uci-mountain-bike-world-cup-xco-xcc-dhi-leogang/1goYCrNnlOBzXm2yv2cxCE

 He is Mr consistent.

 Probably the only ones keeping their feet on the bike for the whole track, considering the conditions, similar to Cami's win on 2020

 @Herrdok: guess you could say Camille has the best balanc(h)e

 That doesn’t mean the same as it would've had this been TT

 It’s great to see how many riders are real contenders now! With conditions like this, I would expect to see big gaps. Mistakes are even more costly in mud that is this deep and sticky. With that in mind, I’m not counting anyone out no matter the qualifying times.

 Danny always stays on his bike in the mud.

 Damn yeah! Loris dropped 20 seconds, he might not even qualify.

 Nevermind. He should be protected. But still... 20 seconds

 Can't remember where the splits are exactly and how they taped the course this year but I think there is this nasty slippery stump section up there that caused many problems in the past.

 @pisgahgnar: He's protected.

 I saw Gregg and Bernard crashing.

 Stumps

 Oof. The goalposts have moved…

 @owl-X Yesterday I already saw in him technical gestures that I haven't seen for a long time...

 @Rosstech: Technical Gestures! I love their first couple albums!

 @owl-X: they have a great porn site as well

 @owl-X I understand that you can't understand what I'm saying.

 @Rosstech: he’s looking good on his bike, right? Dude won without a chain here, he’s really quite skilled.

No chain! The dude WON with no chain!!!

 @owl-X I am going to try it for the last time, I have seen it in the technical gestures, Aaron is improving after having fought against all kinds of injuries, yesterday in the Vital MTB video-summary I saw him much improved. Tomorrow you will see it!!

 @Rosstech: nice! Go AG!!!

 @Rosstech: is this some sort of next level irony I’m not aware of?

 @Sterling Archer No, no irony, it's called experience, I've been watching MTB since the beginning, I'm just saying that Aaron has improved, and for me the favorite for tomorrow is Finn. Greetings Hater!!.

 @Rosstech: you’ve been watching mtb from the beginning? What year is this beginning you speak of??

 @SterlingArcher Since the 90s (Eurosport) what else do you want to know?

 @Rosstech: I feel like the beginning of televised mtb was in the 80s. Therefore, you LIED! OMGWTFBBQ

 I was really rooting for him (#117 plate)! He just barely missed qualifying too (p62). That bike is probably 14 years old? so awesome

 Jayzaz

 looks like he went down in the early splits

 @t-rick: shame too. His timed training run yesterday was 3.5s faster than anything from todays qualies...

 looks like a lot of crashes between splits 1 and 2. Vergier, Pierron, Minnaar, Kerr, Vidal (maybe?), my guess is those wet roots took them out like just like worlds 2020

 Xc race is Sunday.

 @bgoldstone: is it usually different?

 Yeah she did well, but would need to shave a whole minute off to be P2 in junior mens!

 @seamanstephens21: Lmao how I didn't realize it was 3 minutes vs 4 minutes ill never know.

 Protected rider, makes the final regardless of qualifier

 Protected. Top 20 guys (and top 10 women) get to race even if they royally screw up their qualies run

 top 60 regardless of the P. Any P's outside of that get in.

 25.

 Ok, Thanks ;-)

 @Rosstech: And the protected riders. Jordan Williams is way back due to a crash but he will still race tomorrow.

 @pisgahgnar Ok, thanks, I was paying attention to Pinkerton, I've been following him for years. Greetings ;-)