Pinkbike Primer: Everything You Need to Know Ahead of the Leogang DH World Cup 2023
We are back with another packed weekend of World Cup racing in 2023 as the DH series makes the trip to Leogang. This week we will see another packed schedule of racing as the Juniors get a first taste of this years course on Wednesday. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 DH World Cup's second round in Austria.
What happened at the Last Round?
Under the new race schedule, it was the Junior racers who kicked things off early on Friday in Lenzerehdie with the flat-out racing bringing two fresh faces to the top step of the podiums as Erice Van Leuven and Christian Hauser took home their first wins at their first Junior World Cups.
The Elite Women showcased another historic win for Rachel Atherton as she took home her 40th World Cup win. Half a second back from Rachel and Camille Balanche just missed out on a win at home as she ended the weekend with a 2nd place finish. After not riding in qualifying because of an injured knee Nina Hoffmann showed her strength coming into the season as she secured 3rd.
There was another historic moment in the Elite Men's racing as Jordan Williams piloted his Specialized Demo to the top spot on the podium at his first Elite World Cup. Loris Vergier was the closest rider to the young talent ending his day 0.495 seconds back. Loic Bruni couldn't match the speed of his teammate and crossed the line third with Finn Iles also putting a third Specialized inside the top five.
Elite Women
1st. Rachel Atherton: 3:07.514
2nd. Camille Balanche: 3:08.048
3rd. Nina Hoffmann: 3:08.301
4th. Vali Höll: 3:09.270
5th. Marine Cabirou: 3:11.118
Elite Men
1st. Jordan Williams: 2:39.222
2nd. Loris Vergier: 2:39.717
3rd. Loic Bruni: 2:39.907
4th. Laurie Greenland: 2:40.058
5th. Finn Iles: 2:40.232
Junior Women
1st. Erice Van Leuven: 3:22.247
2nd. Valentina Roa Sanchez: 3:26.524
3rd. Lisa Bouladou: 3:27.660
4th. Vanesa Petrovská: 3:34.182
5th. Aimi Kenyon: 3:40.255
Junior Men
1st. Christian Hauser: 2:48.776
2nd. Bodhi Kuhn: 2:50.396
3rd. Hugo Marini: 2:51.775
4th. Henri Kiefer: 2:51.984
5th. Ryan Pinkerton: 2:52.000
You can view the full elite results here.
Who is Leading the Overall?
After the first round of the 2023 season, it is Erice Van Leuven, Christian Hauser, Rachel Atherton and Jordan Williams who lead the overall standings.
Elite Women
Elite Men
Junior Women
Junior Men
Where is the Second Round?
The second round of the 2023 series sees riders head to the familiar venue of Leogang for another flat-out weekend of racing. Luckily the weather is looking good this week so we may get a dry woods section that has caused plenty of issues since it was first introduced during the World Champs in 2020.
What's the Track Like?
Ben Cathro takes us down the hazardous 2022 Leogang downhill World Cup track in the wet.
When and What Racing is Happening this Weekend?
The schedule provides non-stop action and a tough few days for riders with not a lot of time to rest. Here is a look at what you can expect to find happening this weekend.
All times CEST
Wednesday, June 14
• 14:00-17:00 // Training - Juniors Only
Thursday, June 15
• 08:30-12:00 // Training - Group B
• 12:00-15:30 // Training - Group A
• 15:45-16:00 // Qualifying - Junior Women
• 16:00-17:00 // Qualifying - Junior Men
Friday, June 15
• 08:30-10:30 // Training - Group B
• 10:30-12:30 // Training - Group A
• 12:45 // Finals - Junior Women
• 13:15 // Finals - Junior Men
• 14:00 // Qualifying - Elite Women
• 14:40 // Qualifying - Elite Men
Saturday, June 10
• 08:30-9:30 // Training - Qualified Women
• 09:30-10:30 // Training - Qualified Men
• 10:45 // Semi-Final - Elite Women
• 11:20 // Semi-Final - Elite Men
• 13:00 // Finals - Elite Women
• 14:00 // Finals - Elite Men
Note: All times are local and subject to change by the UCI/event organizer.
What's the Weather Expected to be?
Leogang has produced some tricky conditions over the past few years but it looks like riders are in for a dry week.
Wednesday, June 14
Partly sunny and beautiful // 22°C // 25% probability of precipitation // wind 7km/h
Thursday, June 15
Sunshine and some clouds // 20°C // 25% probability of precipitation // wind 7km/h
Friday, June 16
Periods of clouds and sun // 18°C // 25% probability of precipitation // wind 6km/h
Saturday, June 17
Partly sunny // 20°C // 25% probability of precipitation // wind 7km/h
Weather forecast as of Monday, June 12 from Accuweather.
What Happened Last Time in Leogang?
The third round of the 2022 Downhill World Cup in Leogang provided a day of incredible racing. In the Junior Racing, Phoebe Gale laid down a dominant run to pull ahead of the fastest qualifier Jenna Hastings by 14 seconds. Round one and two winner Gracey Hemstreet had to settle for third place, just over 15 seconds off the pace. For the Junior Men, it was Jordan Williams who pulled ahead of Jackson Goldstone by four seconds. A great performance by Lachlan Stevens-McNab put him in third place.
Camille Balanche proved she was once again the rider to beat in Leogang after a perfect and controlled run saw her take the win by over 11 seconds. Myriam Nicole had some problems at the top of the course but kept it clean for the rest of the course to take second place. Eleonora Farina also had a great run to secure third. The Elite Men saw a first-time World Cup winner as Matt Walker just bested Danny Hart to the line by 0.325 seconds. Angel Suarez had an amazing run to take third one and a half seconds back.
Elite Women
1st. Camille Balanche: 4:08.218
2nd. Myriam Nicole: 4:19.586
3rd. Eleonora Farina: 4:24.281
4th. Louise-Anna Ferguson: 4:29.876
5th. Monika Hrastnik: 4:30.258
Elite Men
1st. Matt Walker: 3:28.816
2nd. Danny Hart: 3:29.141
3rd. Angel Suarez: 3:30.370
4th. Amaury Pierron: 3:30.530
5th. Andreas Kolb: 3:31.249
Junior Women
1st. Phoebe Gale: 4:28.749
2nd. Jenna Hastings: 4:42.853
3rd. Gracey Hemstreet: 4:43.949
4th. Delia Da Mocogno: 4:48.373
5th. Vanesa Petrovská: 4:52.766
Junior Men
1st. Jordan Williams: 3:39.314
2nd. Jackson Goldstone: 3:43.318
3rd. Lachlan Stevens-McNab: 3:43.969
4th. Davide Cappello: 3:44.172
5th. Remy Meier-Smith: 3:53.407
Who has Won here Before?
Camille Balanche has been unstoppable in Leogang since she took the World Champs title here in 2020. The men's racing hasn't seen quite the dominance in recent years so we could see another new winner in final this weekend.
Elite Men
2022: Matt Walker
2021: Troy Brosnan
2020//Worlds: Reece Wilson
2019: Loic Bruni
2018: Amaury Pierron
2017: Aaron Gwin
2016: Aaron Gwin
2015: Aaron Gwin
2014: Josh Bryceland
2013: Steve Smith
2012//Worlds: Greg Minnaar
2011: Aaron Gwin
2010: Greg Minnaar
2022: Matt Walker
2021: Troy Brosnan
2020//Worlds: Reece Wilson
2019: Loic Bruni
2018: Amaury Pierron
2017: Aaron Gwin
2016: Aaron Gwin
2015: Aaron Gwin
2014: Josh Bryceland
2013: Steve Smith
2012//Worlds: Greg Minnaar
2011: Aaron Gwin
2010: Greg Minnaar
Elite Women
2022: Camille Balanche
2021: Camille Balanche
2020//Worlds: Camille Balanche
2019: Tracey Hannah
2018: Rachel Atherton
2017: Tahnée Seagrave
2016: Rachel Atherton
2015: Rachel Atherton
2014: Manon Carpenter
2013: Emmeline Ragot
2012//Worlds: Morgane Charre
2011: Floriane Pugin
2010: Sabrina Jonnier
2022: Camille Balanche
2021: Camille Balanche
2020//Worlds: Camille Balanche
2019: Tracey Hannah
2018: Rachel Atherton
2017: Tahnée Seagrave
2016: Rachel Atherton
2015: Rachel Atherton
2014: Manon Carpenter
2013: Emmeline Ragot
2012//Worlds: Morgane Charre
2011: Floriane Pugin
2010: Sabrina Jonnier
How to Follow the Racing?
Tune in to Pinkbike to catch all the Leogang coverage throughout the week with results, photo epics, bike checks, race analysis and more.
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Member since Mar 16, 2017
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I especially loved the "lets see if I can case it.... I CAN" sort of stuff. It reminds me of the commentary/crap that my buddies and I give each other on our way down the mountain.
Good stuff.
Heal up my man!
there will be a livestream on redbull TV on Friday (xcc) Saturday (dh) and Sunday (xc). I think it's geo restricted to Austria
Friday, June 9
Saturday, June 10"
You're welcome.
Wednesday, June 14
Thursday, June 15
Friday, June 15
Saturday, June 10
JFC, PB bespoke trolling me now or Marty McFly has joined the world cup tour.
Or am I the only one that is bothered by humanity not understanding how time zones work?
Tho in my case, it is bc I do not understand how they work.
Its unreal how good these junior riders are (Williams and Goldstone). they wee knocking off elites time as juniors last season and now see what Williams just did and who knows what Goldstone would have done if not for his appendicitis days before the race.
These young guns are raw talents and dialed already without much race experience like the elites. Most riders get better with time and takes few years to build up their speed and confidence amongst elite mens. Look at Greenland, Finn Iles, Daprela, Vergier and others. They were winning the junior races but took some years to win races or be consistently on the top 10. Not saying these riders are not talented but I am just wondering what Goldstone and Williams are eating for breakfast.
Having said that I think this has to be the year for Finn Iles and Laurie Greenland. Their pace is on the edge and consistent. If not for missing two races Finn Iles very well could have been the overall winner last year. I go for Finn Iles. les go!
Wyn
Gwin
Trummer
Reece W
Cathro
Nicole
Fearon
Mulally
Luke Meier-Smith
Blewitt?
There's probably a few more.
6,8,30,7,10,9,11,14,15,12,27,20,19 etc etc. Dh is no longer about who goes fastest down the hill. Which is kinda missing the point, no?
I don’t really get it.
Thank you.
4.11.014 Protected riders to the semi-final are:
1. riders with season long race numbers (i.e. ranked in the top 5 women elite and the
top 10 men elite of the final UCI World Cup standings of the previous season)
2. the best ranked riders from the current UCI World Cup standings, that are not
included in point 1 above, until a total of 10 women elite and 20 men elite are
reached
3. if any riders as described under 1. and 2. above do not confirm participation at an
event they will not be replaced.
Protected riders to the final are:
1. riders ranked in the top 3 women elite and top 3 men elite of the final UCI World
Cup standings of the previous season
2. the best ranked riders from the current UCI World Cup standings, that are not
included in point 1 above, until a total of 5 women elite and 10 men elite are reached
3. if any riders as described under 1. and 2. above do not confirm participation at an
event they will not be replaced
4. men and women junior riders ranked in the top 3 of the current UCI World Cup
standings. At the first UCI World Cup round of the season there will be no
protected junior riders.
5. If a rider is announced as retired, he is not eligible anymore as protected rider.
The announcement of the retired status shall be done in writing to the UCI before
31 December of the previous year.
For the first UCI World Cup round of the season, the top 10 women elite and the top 20
men elite of the final UCI World Cup standings of the previous season are “protected”
for the semi-final.
They must start in the qualifying round but qualify automatically for the semi-final in any
case. If the times of the protected riders are not among the 15 best times for women
elite or the 60 best times for men elite, they shall be allowed to ride in the semi-final in
addition to the 15 women elite and 60 men elite riders already qualified.
www.redbull.com/at-de/events/uci-mountain-bike-world-cup-leogang
That said, near-complete coverage of the finals runs was great!
GCN+ with Apple air play worked just fine for me though!
The finals coverage was a LOT better in my opinion. Just not something that was super easy to get to (even aside from the pay wall).
WA-PAAAH
its communism!