The results are in from the 2023 Fort William World Championships after some incredible racing.
In the Elite Women's race, the British riders kicked things off with some stellar runs with Tahnee Seagrave taking the hot seat before Louise Ferguson, Phoebe Gale and Rachel Atherton made it four UK racers in the top five with just 10 riders left at the top. Marine Cabirou was the first to break up the British racers as she took the lead by seven seconds. Marine's time would tumble as Camille Balanche was after another World title, she led by only 0.3 seconds with two more riders left.
A rear wheel slide-out ended Germany's chances of another rainbow jersey this week as Nina Hoffmann couldn't complete a clean run in finals. With just Vali Höll remaining we were guaranteed a repeat World Champion and the Austrian rider delivered a smooth and controlled run to come out on top by two seconds. Vali Höll now continues the season with the rainbow jersey as she secures back-to-back World Championship titles.
After the Women's racing Fort William brought the drama for the Men's title race as the rain picked up and quickly soaked the course making things extra challenging for most of the field. Greg Williamson and Angel Suarez were the early favorites as they came down looking fast and stayed at the front for over 20 riders. Charlie Hatton would be the first to beat these two riders and remained unbeaten against some tough challengers. Only Charlie's teammate Andreas Kolb could come within one second of the British rider's time as he ended the day with the silver medal and 0.599 seconds back. Laurie Greenland secured another medal for the British team leaving Fort William with 3rd place. 2022 World Champion Loic Bruni couldn't back up his top qualifying run and just missed the medals in 4th.
Check out the results below.
Results:
Elite Women
1st. Vali Höll: 4:58.242
2nd. Camille Balanche: +2.020
3rd. Marine Cabirou: +2.361
4th. Louise Ferguson: +9.721
5th. Phoebe Gale: +10.501
Elite Men
1st. Charlie Hatton: 4:26.747
2nd. Andreas Kolb: +0.599
3rd. Laurie Greenland: +1.229
4th. Loic Bruni: +1.489
5th. Troy Brosnan: +1.512
The Elite Women's Race as it Happened:4:30 am PDT: The Elite Women's Race is Now UnderwayFirst up to take on this year's World Championships is Emmy Lan4:36 am PDT: Emmy Lan Sets a Time of 5:26.653The first run of the days from Emmy Lan kicks off proceedings with a 5:26.653, around 25 seconds off Vali Holl's qualifying time although the track is wetter today.4:37 am PDT: Frida Ronning Goes 13 Seconds into the LeadFrida Ronning takes the lead with a gap of 13 seconds back to Emmy Lan's time. So far the riders are all improving their qualifying times despite the different conditions.4:40 am PDT: Glora Scarsi Flies into the Hot SeatGlora Scarsi has an incredible run as she takes the lead by three seconds, interestingly she has fallen behind her qualifying time by 0.5 seconds. 4:47 am PDT: Hattie Harnden Goes into 5thHattie Harnden was green at the first split but lost a lot of time in split two and now sits in 5th position.4:48 am PDT: Mikayla Parton puts Herself into the Top 3Mikayla Parton crosses the line 16.85 seconds back and into 3rd.4:50 am PDT: Siel Van Der Velden Takes 3rdSiel Van Der Velden knocks Mikayla Parton out of the top three as she takes the 3rd place spot, 11 seconds back from Gloria Scarsi.4:52 am PDT: Mille Johnset Goes 3.8 Back & into 3rdMille Johnset is another rider making it into the bronze medal position as she comes within four seconds of the current race leader.4:53 am PDT: Tahnee Seagrave Leads!Despite a big crash in qualifying Tahnee Seagrave has taken the hotseat by 0.917 seconds. We found in our qualifying analysis that she lost around three seconds in her crash and would have been not far off the pace of Vali Höll. 4:54 am PDT: After 20 Riders the Top 5 are:The top five after the first 20 riders are:
1st. Tahnee Seagrave: 5:08.764
2nd. Gloria Scarsi: 5:09.681
3rd. Frida Ronning: 5:13.165
4th. Mille Johnset: 5:13.538
5th. Siel Van Der Velden: 5:20.7074:55 am PDT: Phoebe Gale Now LeadsPhoebe Gale bests her teammate Tahnee Seagrave as she takes over the hot seat.4:56 am PDT: Louise Ferguson Makes it a British Top 3 as She Sets the Fastest RunLouise Ferguson moves into the gold medal position as she beats Phoebe Gale by 0.78 seconds.4:57 am PDT: Rachel Atherton Comes Across the Line in 5thIt's great to see Rachel put together a great run after her dislocated shoulder and ends her day in 5th so far.5:00 am PDT: The Top 5 with 10 Riders Remaining are:The current top five are:
1st. Louise Ferguson: 5:07.963
2nd. Phoebe Gale: 5:08.743
3rd. Tahnee Seagrave: 5:08.764
4th. Gloria Scarsi: 5:09.681
5th. Rachel Atherton: 5:11.2905:15 am PDT: Marine Cabirou Goes Fastest by 7 SecondsMarine Cabirou dominates the completion as she now leads the 2023 World Champs by 7.36 seconds. Marine has also bested Vali Holl's qualifying run.5:18 am PDT: A Rear Puncture for Veronika WidmannVeronika Widmann has been looking strong all week but a flat rear tire takes her out of the running today.5:26 am PDT: Camille Balanche Goes into the Hot Seat with Two Riders LeftCamille Balanche has taken the race lead as she goes 0.341 seconds up on Marine Cabirou. Only Nina Hoffmann and Vali Höll are left at the top.5:26 am PDT: Camille Balanche Goes into the Hot Seat with Two Riders LeftCamille Balanche has taken the race lead as she goes 0.341 seconds up on Marine Cabirou. Only Nina Hoffmann and Vali Höll are left at the top.5:30 am PDT: Nina Hoffmann Slides Out Just After the Road GapNina Hoffmann loses grip as she makes her way around the berm after the road gap. Nina was right on pace before going down but is now over 20 seconds off the pace.5:30 am PDT: We Will See a Repeat World ChampionWith just Vali Höll left to go we are guaranteed a repeat World Champion.5:33 am PDT: Vali Höll is 2 Seconds up at the 2nd SplitVali Höll is looking strong after the second split but there is still plenty of track left to lose time to Camille Balanche.5:34 am PDT: Vali Höll Wins Back-to-Back World ChampionshipsVali Höll continues to be on another level this year as she puts together an incredible run to beat Camille Balanche by over two seconds.
The Elite Men's Race as it Happened:
6:00 am PDT: Mateo Negri-Ferreyros Starts the Elite Men's Racing
Mateo Negri-Ferreyros is the rider starting the Elite Men's 2023 Downhill World Champs with Loris Vergier as the last rider down the hill.
6:16 am PDT: After 10 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after the first 10 riders are:
1st. Forrest Riesco: 4:37.434
2nd. Janis Lehmann: 4:37.467
3rd. Simon Maurer: 4:38.755
4th. Alex Iscla Grandvallet: 4:41.942
5th. Conor Bate: 4:46.267
6:18 am PDT: Greg Williamson Leads by 7 Seconds
Greg Williamson has gone green at every split to take an early race lead by 7.753 seconds. Greg's run is around four seconds off Loic Bruni's top qualifier.
6:26 am PDT: After 20 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after the first 20 riders are:
1st. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
2nd. Forrest Riesco: 4:37.434
3rd. Janis Lehmann: 4:37.467
4th. George Brannigan: 4:38.332
5th. Simon Maurer: 4:38.755
6:27 am PDT: The Rain is Getting Heavier
The conditions are getting wetter for the elite men as while it is drier at the top the motorway section is looking drenched.
6:31 am PDT: Angel Suarez Takes the Lead
Angel Suarez takes the top time so far by 0.47 seconds. It looks like the wet weather isn't affecting things too much so far.
6:38 am PDT: After 30 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after the first 30 riders are:
1st. Angel Suarez: 4:29.211
2nd. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
3rd. Oliver Davis: 4:36.944
4th. Forrest Riesco: 4:37.434
5th. Janis Lehmann: 4:37.467
6:52 am PDT: Oisin O Callaghan Takes 3rd
Oisin O Callaghan proves the race isn't over just yet as he manages to come down the hill just four seconds back from Angel Suarez.
6:54 am PDT: After 40 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after the first 40 riders are:
1st. Angel Suarez: 4:29.211
2nd. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
3rd. Oisin O Callaghan: 4:33.334
4th. Davide Palazzari: 4:34.805
5th. Oliver Davis: 4:36.944
6:57 am PDT: Luke Meier-Smith Slots into the Top 5
Luke Meier-Smith manages to just squeeze into the top five so far as he goes seven seconds behind the race leader.
7:07 am PDT: Loris Revelli Crosses the Line in 4th
Loris Revelli makes it two Italian riders in the top five as he ends his run just over five seconds off the pace.
7:08 am PDT: After 50 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after the first 50 riders are:
1st. Angel Suarez: 4:29.211
2nd. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
3rd. Oisin O Callaghan: 4:33.334
4th. Loris Revelli: 4:34.332
5th. Davide Palazzari: 4:34.805
7:14 am PDT: Disaster for Greg Minnaar
Greg Minnaar loses his rear tire as the chance to secure another World title 20 years after his first is gone.
7:26 am PDT: A Huge Crash for Matt Walker
Matt Walker was looking like he may have been in contention for the top time before a big crash just before the motorway section. It's good to see Matt back up quickly and finishing his run.
7:34 am PDT: Danny Hart Takes 3rd
Danny Hart was looking good but he lost around two seconds in the final split to slot into 3rd.
7:38 am PDT: Charlie Hatton Goes Fastest by 2.4 Seconds!
We have a new race leader as Charlie Hatton masters the wet conditions to take the hot seat by 2.464 seconds.
7:42 am PDT: After 60 Riders the Top 5 are:
The top five after 60 riders are:
1st. Charlie Hatton: 4:26.747
2nd. Angel Suarez: 4:29.211
3rd. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
4th. Danny Hart: 4:31.028
5th. Oisin O Callaghan: 4:33.334
7:52 am PDT: With 10 Riders Remaining the Top 5 are:
As ten riders are left at the top of the hill the current five fastest riders are:
1st. Charlie Hatton: 4:26.747
2nd. Angel Suarez: 4:29.211
3rd. Greg Williamson: 4:29.681
4th. Dakotah Norton: 4:30.473
5th. Danny Hart: 4:31.028
7:58 am PDT: Jordan Williams Crashes Out
Jordan Williams gets thrown off his bike as he looks to have caught something as he entered the run-up to the river gap.
8:02 am PDT: Benoit Coulanges Finishes 4th
Benoit Coulanges has a great run in the wet to make it down the hill in fourth place and only three seconds behind Hatton.
8:04 am PDT: Bernard Kerr Slides Out in the Woods
Bernard Kerr was a favorite heading into this weekend but he gets caught out in the steep and slippery woods.
8:08 am PDT: Thibaut Daprela Gets Bucked Through the Woods
Thibaut Daprela was on a wild run before he got into trouble in the woods and lost over ten seconds.
8:12 am PDT: A Front Flat for Finn Iles
Finn Iles is another rider having issues as he loses pressure in his front tire and ends his run almost a minute back.
8:16 am PDT: 1.2 Back and into 2nd for Laurie Greenland
Laurie Greenland makes it a British top two as he crosses the line 1.229 seconds back from Charlie Hatton.
8:19 am PDT: Small Mistakes Push Andreas Kolb to 2nd
The Atherton bike is the one to beat in the wet as Andreas Kolb falls 0.599 seconds behind his teammate after some small mistakes in the woods.
8:24 am PDT: Troy Brosnan Ends his Run in 4th
Charlie Hatton will be taking home a medal today as Troy Brosnan takes 4th, 1.512 back.
8:26 am PDT: Loic Bruni Goes 1.4 Back in 4th
We will see a new World Champion as Loic Bruni goes fourth. Only Loris Vergier can stop the British rider.
8:29 am PDT: Charlie Hatton Wins the 2023 World Championships!
With Loris Vergier going sixth it is Charlie Hatton who will take this year's rainbow jersey.
Full Results:
Elite Women
Elite Men
Please fire him. If that's the discovery owner, fire yourself.
scroll down to MTB
And it's becoming more and more obnoxious as the broadcast goes on.
It’s not on every jump, but once you notice it you can’t unhear it
*wooosh*
*SPLAT*
ND mentioned a bike bottom-out sound at one point, wonder if he was rolling his eyes at the time.
Speaking of which: show the guys in the booth! There was a bit more general chat about who’s coming up in the start gate, I feel like they’re listening.
Saying "you use fossil fuels so you can't be against them" is ridiculous. Yes we all use them, thats the world we were born into, but we should be trying to change it before it's too late.
And we won't fix the problem by changing where we go on holiday - we can only fix it by transitioning away from Shell and their like.
No one's claiming that McHaggis.
If you wanna stay in your rainy little hovel and never travel anywhere, then so be it. Just don't go forcing your religion down others peoples throats.
I am a conservationists fully tbh, but I ain't no climate-screamer when there are certain things that have minimal effect compared to outright visible destruction of nature.
Going for a ride, to wrap my paw around the petroleum rubber grip, and think about my virtue.
Crying silently in the forest.
Good god.
I'm sure Bernard Kerr would be stoked to move his race team around Europe on your unreality fuel. Maybe he could even get his whole team hitch-hiking, bikes strapped to their backs or something.
You all love that sweet sweet unreality.... scream about what you can't change well bowing down to leaders who jet-set around the word to talk about how bad climate change is
.... fake religion much?
And the seat and the pedals and the cables and the shifters and the brake fluid likely and etc etc etc ....
They need to glue their bikes to the pavement in protest.
Amidst the embers, the world burns,
Net Zero's dreams now left in urns.
I ride, clutching the rubber cold,
Thoughts of virtue, once bold.
In the forest, tears stream,
Silent cries, a shattered dream.
Oh, God above, I plea,
For a world that used to be.
It seems I did my homework, unlike you.
Eat that salad boi
Both compare very well for racing and the fans stoke/atmosphere.
Obviously Les Gets wins the weather comp.
The Yeti SB 160 frame only costs $5000 usd. Yet the Atherton bikes AM 170 frame only costs $4462.50. Which means somehow the Atherton, which is available in 22 sizes, is somehow $500 cheaper than the yeti?
On the cheapest complete builds the Atherton is like $180 more, but comes with a Zeb Ultimate instead of a Fox 38 performance on the yeti.
It’s kind of surprising how “cheap” that is (comparing what you get) vs a comparatively much more mass market Yeti.
I mean, still too much for me. But, for a 3D printed titanium/carbon frame, it’s surprisingly normalish in its pricing.
The coverage was shocking. Camera positioning and use was poor. No build up. No real after race analysis. Some riders (potential medalists) only saw the last 20 seconds of their run.
Didn't mind the commentary, Rich and Neil did an OK job but they're no Warner.
Not going to continue paying for that. If I see reports of it getting better in the future I might give it another go.
I'm truly angry not to be able to watch my favorite (and the only) sport I watch.
Fvck all the monetary mechanisms that brought to this sickening situation.
I felt like Rick just then kept repeating whatever Neil said
(Who employees these career commentators that give the facade of confidence and knowledge while clearly knowing nothing about the sport?)
Elite:
1 - 5,000 €
2 - 2,500 €
3 - 1,250 €
Junior:
1 - 1,250 €
2 - 675 €
3 - 340 €
Current conversion rates are 1 € = $1.10 USD = 0.86 £
Just FYI / FWIW
Crankworx handed out $130,000 CAD this year, €89,000.
I don’t particularly agree with what is effectively nominating one of the World Cup races to be world champs, but it is what it is.
I understand the representation of nationality here but surely there should be something distinguishing this from any other DH WC race.
Bad enough the uci and discovery have destroyed the sport as is
I seriously hope they made no money and consider a revamp next year .
A lot of people would have watched that on bbc1 tho
I’m off outside like that right now. Winter though, so not much to see.
So the best DH Racers of the world have to sit on a wet log without shelter in a country where it notoriously rains?!
How many in his career?
Probably most of all, second to Aaron Gwinn.
The two most successful, highest paid riders (at least until the French era), with the most tire issues - at least that is how it feels like.
Life's a kind of bitch for them, tyre-wise.
Does anybody know what they mainly used?
Last Piccy - looks like Krypts.
Contis are impressively good...
Poverty doesn't pay
And the UCI commentators although poor are much better than the GCN guys.
Men's start times:
- First 50 riders start one minute apart.
- Next 9 riders start 2 minutes apart.
- Remaining riders start either 3 or 3 1/2 minutes apart.
Bottom line: There are only a few riders where you'll see the whole run, but you'll see most of the run for the last 10 or so riders to start. More than half of each field starts 1 minute apart, so you'll probably just see the start gate and then part of the final sector for those riders.
Feel free to add your own or to tell me how stupid my suggestions are.
My suggestions for changes to the UCI Downhill World Championships:
• Move World Championships to the end of the World Cup season. It’s ridiculous to interrupt the World Cup season with what amounts to a meaningless and/or confusing “championship.” How many World Cup riders in the top 20 or 30 in points were injured this week and might have issues during the rest of the season as a result?
• Eliminate the existing “national quotas” and replace them with a quota system that’s based on each country’s percentage of riders who are in, say, the top 50 in the current year’s World Cup standings. Add in each country’s national champions in each Junior and Elite category.
• Get rid of the existing “Protected” rider list and replace it with this: “Top 5 Elite Women/Men based on current year’s World Cup standings are protected.” Add previous year’s Elite World Champs and previous year’s Junior World Champs who have aged into Elite (if any of them are not in the Top 5 of this year's standings). That’s it. Period.
• Reduce the size of the field for the finals in each class: No more of this “You paid your entry fee, so you’re in the finals” crap. It’s the World Championships, damn it: Earn your way into the finals. Each rider in the finals should get enough time on the broadcast so viewers can see more than their start gate exit and their final sector runout. This can be accomplished by reducing the number of riders in the finals without massively lengthening the broadcast.
• "Qualifying" this year was an absolute joke. Even the on-air commentary team remarked on it. So: Make the start order depend (almost) entirely on qualifying time. At least 25% of those who complete qualifying runs should start after “Protected” riders who just choose to roll out of the start gate in qualifying. They earned the privilege of being among the last down the hill. My personal preference is that Protected riders who didn’t complete qualifying runs should be the first riders down the hill. Too bad if they’re nursing some nagging aches and pains; they’ll get to sit in the Hot Seat and get plenty of air time if they’re actually in good enough condition to race in the finals.
The qualifying/start order rules could be improved but haven't they always been more or less like this for champs?
I really don't know how they allocate the number of riders from different nations but I think it's great that some relative unknown and possibly crap riders are included. The world cup does not have a very diverse group of riders for various reasons ( a major one being that it's really a European cup with the odd North American or Australian race). They don't seem to have a problem getting all the riders down the hill.
Although its not called a World Championship, its not unusual in other sports for one big event to carry as much weight (if not more) than a series championsip. In auto racing winning the Indy 500 or the Datona 500 seems to carry as much prestige as winning the overall series. In golf any player would rather win the US Open or Masters in a given year than win an overall series.
Edit : all good after two riders...
tiz-cycling-live.io/livestream.php
UCI probably
For real, the other road/track events going on that the UCI are still livestreaming only have a fraction of the viewers the MTBing did while it was still up. Their other livestreams have the same quality issues with the sound and video the MTB did so they didn't take it down just because of that.
tiz-cycling.io/video/mountain-bike-world-championships-2023-full-race-dhi
Yeah, worth standing in the rain to get this moment.
What a day it was, what a day for Charlie.
Now it´s on again....good!
And we have to pay for this.
Mixing brands is the least of my worries, actually, I prefer it just to annoy those that follow made-up rules anyway
...and waiting for the highlight reels : )
You can Watch for free. At least in good old Germany.
It's going to be hard to stopp lower than that today
Not Wtf. All motorsport has worked like this for much longer than the cups in cycling and hole uci shit. Lower rank - cup, smaller events, easier etc. Higher value - championship, more events, longer and harder. And now we have the results of the championships which were partly determined by the weather. A repeat of a few years ago when the champion was a guy who didn't really show anything else? Fantastically stupid this is. Yes, that's how it works here, but it doesn't mean it's clever or sensible
imgur.com/gallery/50DhdDz
He definitely made it bearable today over the shambles of the junior coverage
Ric and Gee. Gee so much better to listen to than Cedric.
What the hell is happening to our sport???????????????????/