What a race! Loic Bruni won his third World Cup of the year and continues the Frenchies' win streak in Vallnord. It was an intense finale with Bruni just pipping a flying Loris Vergier for the top spot. Troy Brosnan keeps up his top three record with Pierron and Danny Hart completing the podium.
Rachel Atherton won her 39th World Cup, just two off Anne Caroline Chausson's record. She said she felt like a dinosaur by the finish and it was one of the hardest races she's ever competed in. Marine Cabirou picked up her best ever result in second while Tracey Hannah finished third after a crash. Special mention should go to fastest qualifier Nina Hoffmann who lost her shoe in the steep sections and rode down half the track in her socks.
As the elites took to the track, the juniors had already finished and it served up some surprise results. For the first time in 2019, Thibaut Daprela has been beaten and a fellow Frenchman, Matteo Iniguez, has his first ever World Cup win. Daprela was fastest by 9 seconds at split 2 but crashed and ended up 20 seconds down in 18th. In the women's field, Vali Holl put in another commanding performance for her third win of the year. She put 12 seconds into the rest of the field for a convincing victory.
Follow along as the rest of the results come in from Vallnord.
Live Race Updates:3:15 am PDT The Elite Women will be on track from 3:30 am PDT // 12:30 CEST // 11:30 am BST // 22:30 NZST // 20:30 AEST
3:30 am PDT Latvia's Paula Zibasa will be first on track, she podiumed here last year as a junior but her best result so far as an elite was a 14th in Leogang last round. She'll be setting the benchmark time and get in the hotseat, but for how long?
3:35am PDT Well, looks like I spoke too soon. Paula has had an issue up on course and Sandra Rubesam is the first woman down into the finish area. Her time of 5:27.329 puts her in the hotseat. That's about six seconds faster than her qualifying time, indicating that conditions have stayed fairly similar overnight.
3:38am PDT Janine Hubscher is next through the line nearly a minute back on Rubesam after a crash and just a few seconds later Carina Cappellari goes into second, 4 seconds off the hotseat time.
3:39am PDT Sian A'Hern is next across the line, she slots just above Cappellari but still 2 seconds off Rubesam's time.
3:41am PDT Here are the standings as we head into the top ten: 1. Sandra Rubesam - 5:27.329, 2. Sian A'Hern +1.973, 3. Carina Cappellari +4.339, 4. Janine Hubscher +56.241, 5. Paula Zibasa DNF.
3:44am PDT Mariana Salazar goes fastest. Her time of 5:20.633 puts her in the hotseat with a 6.6 second lead.
3:48am PDT Camille Balanche won't start which means we go straight to Tracey Hannah. A crash into a bridge yesterday put her well down despite having a 2 second lead at split 3. What can she pull out in finals?
3:50am PDT Hannah goes down! Tracey Hannah crashes within sight of the line but still goes fastest by 12 seconds with a 5:07.753, just two seconds off Nina Hoffmann's fastest qualifying time.
3:54am PDT Kate Weatherly is the next rider on track and goes second, some 11 seconds back on Tracey Hannah's time.
3:55am PDT Eleonora Farina is next on track, she loses a lot of time up top but pulls it back in the bottom section to place second, this time within 8 seconds of Hannah's time.
3:55am PDT Here are the standings as we head into the last 5 riders: 1. Tracey Hannah - 5:07.753, 2. Eleonora Farina +7.967, 3. Kate Weatherly +11.366, 4. Mariana Salazar +12.880, 5. Sandra Rubesam +19.576.
3:57am PDT It's gonna be Veronika Widmann of the Insync team to kick off the top five. She looked like she was on for the hotseat, within five seconds of Hannah's time at the final split but she crashed on the last corner and goes fourth.
3:59am PDT Emilie Siegenthaler is the lastest rider to go second, she seemed stoked on the run as it guarantees her a podium. Hannah's lead is getting cut run by run but there are only three riders left at the top of the hill to have a go at beating it.
4:03am PDT Rachel Atherton goes fastest. She puts seven seconds into Tracey's run with a smooth, solid run. That's five seconds quicker than Nina's qualifying run.
4:06 amPDT Marine Cabirou goes second. She was only 0.4 back on Rachel at split 4 but lost 2 seconds in the final sector. She's guaranteed at least a third, equalling her best ever result.
4:10am PDT Nina Hoffmann is next on track and like Cabirou she has lost time on the first split but is gaining through the track.
4:11am PDT Interesting stat from Rob, Rachel now has more podiums than any other woman in mountain biking, beating the previous record of Gunn Rita Dahle Flesja. Only Greg Minnaar has more.
4:12am PDT Hoffmann goes down! She's lost her shoes and is riding down in socks going for points, what an incredible effort! Rachel Atherton wins.
4:15 am PDT The Elite Men will be on track from 4:30 am PDT // 13:30 CEST // 12:30 am BST // 23:30 NZST // 21:30 AEST
4:38am PDT Ben Zwar takes the hotseat first with a time of 4:29.534 but is beaten in quick succession by Faustin Figaret then Loris Revelli.
4:48am PDT Adam Rojcek is next to take the hotseat as we rattle through positions 60 through 40.
4:51am PDT Baptiste Pierron is now sitting fastest, is this a sign of things to come for the Pierron clan?
4:59am PDT Remi Thirion puts down a great run and goes fastest by five seconds. He's won here in the past and could be in the hotseat for a while with that one.
5:05am PDT Here's the top 5 as we head into the last 30 riders: 1. Remi Thirion - 4:19.044, 2. Jack Moir +1.271 3. Jacob Dickson +1.861, 4.Dean Lucas +3.658, 5. Phil Atwill +4.849.
5:14amNews from the UCI that Gwin is out following a crash in practice this morning.
More here.
5:17am PDT Thirion's time is still standing strong having seen off Alex Marin, Mike Jones, Bruce Klein and Reece Wilson but Florent Payet is up at split 2, let's see if he can carry that to the bottom.
5:20am PDT No he can't. Thirion's bottom section seems to have been especially strong and Payet ended up 6 seconds back. Blenkinsop and Edwards also fall short.
5:23am PDT Finn Iles is on track. He was running second in qualies until he crashed, this could be something special.
5:25am PDT In the meantime, Thomas Estaque is putting down a great run with some green splits but will have to settle for provisional third.
5:27am PDT Another crash and a puncture for Iles means we won't get to see what he could have done.
5:28am PDT Matt Walker breaks his chain out of the gate and his race is over by split 1
5:30am PDT Here's the top 5 as we head into the last 20 riders:
1. Remi Thirion - 4:19.044,
2. Jack Moir +1.271
3. Thomas Estaque +1.710,
4. Jacob Dickson +1.861,
5. Dean Lucas +3.658. We're still five seconds off Loic Bruni's fastest qualifier from yesterday.
5:35am PDT Gee Atherton kicks off the top 20 but won't be troubling the top of the timesheets, he goes 24th after an uncharacteristically loose run.
5:38 PDT Connor Fearon is the next rider to fall short of Thirion's time, he goes sixth, nearly five seconds back.
5:41am PDT Norton goes down twice in his run, there's such little traction in those woods that the slightest deviation will end your race.
5:42am PDT Minnaar was up at the first four splits but let the hotseat slip through his fingers in the final split. He took the Whopper gap but seems to have lost time doing so.
5:46am PDT A clean run for Greg Williamson was paying dividends but a mistake in the final sector cost him the hotseat and drops him to sixth. With fatigue setting in by the end of the track, it's so easy to lose focus and make mistakes in the final few turns.
5:50am PDT Bernard Kerr is next on track. He's also up on Thirion over the top and shouldn't slow down at the bottom but a mistake in the woods costs him. Thirion's time survives another day but looks more and more beatable each run.
5:57am PDT With Aaron Gwin out, Dylan Levesque is next on track. Yesterday was his best ever qualifying and with the lines he's sending you can see why. Unfortunately the pace wasn't there through the rest of the track and ends up 11th.
5:57am PDT Hugo Frixtalon is next to fall short of Thirion's time, he goes 15th, six seconds back.
6:01am PDT Mark Wallace goes seventh, 3.5 back.
6:03am PDT Here's the top 5 as we head into the last 10 riders:
1. Remi Thirion - 4:19.044,
2. Jack Moir +1.271,
3. Greg Minnaar +1.370,
4. Thomas Estaque +1.710,
5. Jacob Dickson +1.861.
6:07am PDT Luca Shaw slips into the top 10 for now, 3.6 seconds back. Thirion's woods section is looking better and better.
6:10am PDT The Denim Destroyer is on track next, he's having a wild season and he's was up in the woods but lost time to Thirion between splits three and four. He slots into sixth, 2.4 back, which guarantees his best ever World Cup finish.
6:14am PDT Greenland is next to try and topple Thirion's time and he's still up after split four, where most riders have lost chunks of time but ends just short of Thirion's time. But he's within 0.4 and goes second.
6:16am PDT Brook goes fastest! Thirion's time is finally beaten and Brook goes into the hotseat by 1.123 seconds. The microphone picks up Brook saying "That was so loose bro" - business as usual for the Bulldog then. There are only six riders left to go who can beat his time, get ready for a grandstand finish!
6:20am PDT 2016's winner Danny Hart is up next and dethrones Brook MacDonald immediately, he puts another second into the time, bringing it within reach of Bruni's fastest time of yesterday.
6:23am PDT David Trummer had a great run in qualifying and ended up fifth and he's done himself proud in finals too. He doesn't trouble the top time but was putting time into Danny Hart in the steep sections. He ends up third and guarantees his first ever World Cup top 10.
6:26am PDT Loris Vergier puts down a special run, more than five seconds up on Brook! Vergier smashes Bruni's qualifying time, could that be the winner?
6:31am PDT Pierron is up next representing Commencal Vallnord on their home track. He falls 2.5 seconds back but that's good enough for second after vergier's unbelievable run.
6:33am PDT What can Tory Brosnan do? He's also a previous winner here and he and Bruni seemed to be on another level yesterday. He's up at split 1 and still within a second in the woods.
6:36am PDT Brosnan falls short, he pulled back time towards the finish but still falls 0.779 back on Vergier. he collapses on his bike in the finish area and it's clear he put everything into that one. We're guaranteed another French winner now as Bruni is the last man on the hill.
6 :38am PDT Bruni is up at the first three splits but losing time! He 'won' the top sector yesterday in qualifying too, can he hold onto that lead in the steep sections?
6:40am PDT He has only a quarter of a second to play with in the final sector!
6:41am PDT Bruni wins by 0.4!
Why stop at signing rappers?
#wrangleronmybooty
“HE’S UP!”
“Oh my world”
“Oof that was fawst”
It's a sign... Life of Nina
youtu.be/Ka9mfZbTFbk
Maybe not this season, but seeing as Minnar is still competitive at his age think he has a great chance to find the top spot again.
Maybe not this season, but seeing as Minnar is still competitive at his age think he has a great chance to find the top spot again.
He may not be the outright fastest compared to the younger pilots but he damn sure still has the pace.
Funny to completely discount the current and past pilots impact.
YT Mob = 1 guy (Angel) in your def. a TEAM
Vali, Erik and David are not part of the Mob
Now you are fishing pretty hard lol
First - Loris is way more badass than I thought! I knew he was fast, but to be fast on THAT track... Real Deal.
Second - Jordi needs a raise!
Even the final berm after the drop is getting torn to pieces, I wonder if it's going to hold up to a whole field of men railing it at race pace?
Vergier premier ministre.
Pierron ministre de l'extérieur.
Vive la République et vive la France !
Where the hell is Gwin and Minaar, someone send out the Bat signal?
Was he back on 27 both ends does anyone know?