What a drama. Greg Minnaar is the big loser of the World Cup downhill final. He goes into the final race as the penultimate starter with a 23-point lead. But after setting the fastest time on the second split, he suffers a rear wheel defect, gets tangled up in the barriers and loses all chances of defending his white jersey.

Minnaar continued to ride through the sometimes deep dust, dragging the rim, tires and flutter tape with him as a souvenir, mastering difficult passages confidently until the rear wheel locked 200 metres before the finish. He crosses the finish line to huge applause from the crowd. However, this is only a small consolation for the crowd favorite.

Aaron Gwin, the fastest qualifier, starts after him and rides with nerves of steel to win the day and the overall victory. He beat Minnaar's intermediate best time by two tenths of a second after just under two minutes of riding time - just two tenths of a second! It would have been exciting.

The surprise of the day, however, was Frenchman Amaury Pierron. With a ride on a knife's edge, he clearly took the lead. In the end, Pierron is delighted with second place.

Four Swiss finalists

Best Swiss is Janis Lehmann. "I don't think it was too bad," said Lehmann, who, like most of his competitors, struggled with the deep dust. He finished in 44th place, 20.175 seconds behind Gwin (3:32.905).

Jérôme Caroli finishes 63rd (+27.59), a result that cannot satisfy him after 31st place in qualifying.

Constantin Ruetsch finishes 66th (+28.009). He likes these kinds of conditions. For the optimal run, he rode "too tense at the top" for himself. "I may have braked a little too much," said Ruetsch. However, it is also difficult to keep your balance on the course, where the surface becomes looser and the dust deeper almost from rider to rider.

The newly crowned Swiss champion Lutz Weber suffers a puncture and therefore only finishes 78th (+1:11.174).

DH World Cup Val di Sole/ITA, results men
1.	Aaron Gwin (USA - THE YT MOB)	3:32.90
2.	Amaury Pierron (FRA - COMMENCAL - LAC BLANC)	3:34.31	+1.407
3.	Loic Bruni (FRA - SPECIALIZED GRAVITY)	3:34.95	+2.052
4.	Loris Vergier (FRA - SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE)	3:35.50	+2.596
5.	Troy Brosnan (AUS - CANYON FACTORY RACING DH)	3:36.69	+3.794
6.	Laurie Greenland (GBR - MS MONDRAKER TEAM)	3:37.05	+4.153
7.	Mark Wallace (CAN - CANYON FACTORY RACING DH)	3:39.18	+6.284
8.	Luca Shaw (USA - SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE)	3:39.93	+7.052
9.	Adam Brayton (GBR- Hope/ Scott)	3:40.11	+7.205
10.	Jack Moir (AUS - INTENSE FACTORY RACING)	3:40.43	+7.530
44.	Janis Lehmnann (SUI)	3:53.08	+20.175
63.	Jérôme Caroli (SUI - JC Racing)	4:00.49	+27.589
66.	Constantin Ruetsch (SUI)	4:00.914	+28.009
78.	Lutz Weber (SUI - NS-Bikes Factory Racing)	4:44.079	+1:11.174
Overall ranking
1.	Aaron Gwin - 1149 pts
2.	Troy Brosnan - 990 pts.
3.	Greg Minnaar - 974 pts
4.	Loic Bruni - 752 pt.
5.	Loris Vergier - 700 pts
6.	Danny Hart - 692 pts.
7.	Jack Moir - 682 Pt.
8.	Mark Wallace - 641 pts.
9.	Laurie Greenland - 587 pts.
10.	Alexandre Fayolle - 490 pts.
56.	Noel Niederberger - 193 pts.
76.	Jérôme Caroli - 110 pts.
84.	Janis Lehmann - 87 pts.
111.	Felix Klee - 35 pts.
120.	Basil Weber - 28 pts.
122.	Constantin Ruetsch - 28 pts.
144.	Lutz Weber - 3 pt.