Sick whips and champagne, torn tape and broken bones... With each downhill World Cup season that passes we become ever more accustomed to the great highs and lows this sport brings to the table... It's simply a wild ride every single time.
2016 was no exception other than the lows bottomed out lower than usual... Gone but not soon forgotten, we lost a couple of irreplaceable and inspirational characters to tragic accidents. Their spirit lives on in everyone who knew them, loved and idolised them. It was also farewell to the legend built from Sheffield Steel that is Steve Peat and as if that didn't sting enough more might be quick to follow... Our chances of seeing Sam Hill and Josh Bryceland ripping between the tape are dwindling at best and cover your kids' ears because there are murmurs that the greatest of all time might hang up his boots after the next one. Rachel Atherton gave us more reasons to remember 2016 of course, riding the perfect season totally undefeated and stretching a winning streak to a mind-bending 14 World Cups before running away with the rainbow stripes alongside the young Canadian prodigy, Finn Isles, and the Redcar Rocket himself. Suffice to say that as the summer came to a close we witnessed a true match for Aaron Gwin's talent as the Englishman returned from a 5 year hiatus to reclaim top step glory, not once, but four times in a row.
Yes, this was a year to stow away strong in the memory banks... Eight races of unmissable gravity competition with all your favourite faces from the four corners of the globe. Well, soak it in folks because here it is; every post from the 2016 UCI Downhill World Cup season in all its Photo Epic glory.
Return of the Holy Roller
PRACTICE
Lourdes Have Mercy
QUALIFYING
The Second Coming
FINALS
Revelations
 | What a beginning... What a sign of things to come. At long last, all the prophecies and wild speculation of the off-season can be laid to rest because Judgement Day has been and gone, sorting the good from the bad, the weak from the strong and dealing out some ugly crashes along the way. The crowds swelled and buckled rims and horns deafened, as all of mountain biking's most loyal French followers gathered together to witness a real life downhill miracle... |
Winners - Aaron Gwin :: Rachel Atherton :: Finn Iles
Jungle Boogie
PITS & PRACTICE
The Jungle Bites Back
QUALIFYING
Changing Patterns
FINALS
Rainbow Stripes and Lazer Beams
| You call that a race? Mate, THIS was a race! And yet somehow it's over already. Sam Hill's in his pyjamas. He's been to the after-party and back; now he's all tucked up. It's true the 17,000km mission from the Pyrenees wrapped up seemingly no sooner than it began. Next stop? Well there's a while before that one. First, let's soak up all the Australian madness in one visual fell swoop... |
Winners - Loic Bruni :: Rachel Atherton :: Matt Walker
Long Live Chainsaw
The Sun Shines For a Legend
PRACTICE
Back to Bedrock
QUALIFYING
Dusty Old Bones
FINALS
We Are Legend
| Picture postcard weather, sold out gondola tickets and some of the biggest crowds Aanoch Mor has ever seen in its hosting history and we were already off to a legendary start in the Highlands. Add in the outrageous speed, monster wipe-outs, kilts, cow bells, a handful of unicorns and not forgetting the legends themselves and Fort William was nothing short of an all-time race... |
Winners - Greg Minnaar :: Rachel Atherton :: Finn Iles
TRACKWALK
Run for Cover
PRACTICE
The Calm Before
QUALIFYING
Wet and Wild
FINALS
In For The Kill
| After days of rigorous mud prep and sleepless nights thanks to a faulty weather forecast, the course continued to dry fast over race day, but it never quite seemed to get there. The majority of top-flight riders, unable to adapt, were left scratching their heads in the mixed up conditions and with the kind of result they'd rather forget. The level continues to soar and those who can't learn to fly quick enough are simply snatched up and dashed against the rocks by the ferocious competition. Must be why it's all so damn good to watch... |
Winners - Aaron Gwin :: Rachel Atherton :: Gaetan Vige
Swiss Made
PRACTICE
More Cowbell
QUALIFYING
Too Close to Call
FINALS
A Hair's Breadth
| So concludes a brilliant week in the high-altitude Swiss dirt... Half a decade since the Redcar Rocket, Danny Hart, claimed the top step at the muddy steeps of Champery, he finally muscled it again to achieve his first career world cup victory. Even the likes of the mighty AG and the G.O.A.T. didn't have the minerals to keep the Englishman at bay at he now charges forward into second place for the overall... |
Winners - Danny Hart :: Rachel Atherton :: Finn Iles
TRACKWALK
Aged to Perfection
PRACTICE
Speed Freaks
QUALIFYING
Rattling the Cages
FINALS
Mont Sainte Dan
| So many years a classic, so many years a jewel in the DH crown... 2016 spurred on the upward curve of MSA expectation still further as we watched Danny Hart roar to victory for the second consecutive round of the summer. The gratuitously rugged hillside, so richly steeped in MTB history, was running drier than we've known it in many years, and although grip levels appeared soothed by overnight rain, the moisture could do little to iron out the ruts crafted by over two decades of racing, and the infamous track upheld its formidable reputation another year... |
RIP Zarja
TRACKWALK
The Closer
PRACTICE
The Berm Busters
QUALIFYING
The Dust Bowl
FINALS
From the Ashes
| Four days straight under blazing Andorran sun, sucking in the orange dust through helmet vents and it all came crashing down in apocalyptic fashion for the last men up the mountain. Gone was the moon dust, bone-dry wood and rock, replaced by ever-thickening, speed-sapping sludge and treacherous features in between. Yesterday's top performers suddenly became victims of their own success, as the clouds rolled in and thunder crackled hard overhead with perfect ill timing... |
PITS SPECIAL
Bikes of the Best
TRACKWALK
Per Tutta La Gloria
PRACTICE
Fear and Loaming
TIMED SESSION
A Test of Metal
PRACTICE II
Moon Dust and Angel Beams
THE MECHANICS RACE
Boxxer World Champs
FINALS
Over the Rainbow
| Checkers or wreckers; it's the essence of World Champs in a nutshell. Always has been, always will. The one-hit-wonder format to finish the season is the jewel in the crown every time, but what a ferocious battle this was. For some it was more of a massacre, an orgy of red flags and explosive crashes, on a parched and blown-out course that already had a history of violence. Many of the riders were in agreement; it was the toughest of all time. And, with the likes of Greg Minnaar almost completely gassed and literally red-eyed and white-knuckled just to hang on through the final turns, it was now time to go big or go home... |
1 Rachel ATHERTON - 1700
2 Manon CARPENTER - 1140
3 Tracey HANNAH - 1130
4 Tahnee SEAGRAVE - 1015
5 Emilie SIEGENTHALER - 630
6 Morgane CHARRE - 590
7 Marine CABIROU - 494
8 Eleonora FARINA - 442
9 Carina CAPPELLARI - 389
10 Miranda MILLER - 387
1 Aaron GWIN - 1252
2 Danny HART - 1226
3 Troy BROSNAN - 1031
4 Greg MINNAAR - 927
5 Connor FEARON - 664
6 Loic BRUNI - 638
7 Loris VERGIER - 613
8 Remi THIRION - 566
9 Luca SHAW - 546
10 Adam BRAYTON - 531
Previous Photo Epic Summaries
The Complete DH WC Season 2014
The Complete DH WC Season 2015
MENTIONS: @natedh9 / @davetrump / @mdelorme
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