100,000 euros: Harnden takes home the top downhill prize
The Downhill World Cup in Les Gets has two new winners: Max Alran and Harriet Harnden secured their first-ever Elite World Cup victories amid changeable conditions. At the same time, Valentina Höll clinched her fifth overall title with a third-place finish, two races before the end of the season. In the junior category, Jonty Williamson also clinched the overall title early.
After heavy rain during qualifying, the course became increasingly dry on race day. As a result, conditions changed constantly, making line selection difficult. In the men’s race, Austria’s Andreas Kolb initially set the decisive fastest time. He had already finished second twice at Les Gets and was particularly impressive in the technical forest sections. World champion Jackson Goldstone made up time in the lower section of the course and moved up to third place.
Things didn’t go as well for some contenders for the overall World Cup title. Amaury Pierron was on track for a top result but crashed in the lower section of the course. Overall leader Jordan Williams, despite a controlled run, couldn’t finish higher than seventh. Martin Maes lost his chance at a podium finish after a mistake and finished ninth. This put Kolb in the lead with only Max Alran left in the starting gate.
The 19-year-old Frenchman, who had already won the qualifying round, held his nerve in front of his home crowd. In the final two sectors, Alran posted the fastest time in each and clocked a time of 3 minutes and 27.9 seconds. That put him 1.6 seconds ahead of Kolb, and he celebrated his first World Cup victory in his debut elite season. Goldstone rounded out the podium. In the overall standings, Williams leads by 143 points over Asa Vermette and Finn Iles with two races remaining.
The women’s race also marked a first. Harriet Harnden capped her switch from enduro to downhill with her first elite World Cup victory. The 25-year-old British rider had only fully switched to downhill last season and has since consistently established herself among the world’s best. She now secured her first victory in Les Gets.
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