The Champéry downhill course is one of the most spectacular in the world and also one of the steepest descents in the world. The world championships were held in the small Valais town in 2011, after which the infamous descent went quiet. In view of the multi-discipline World Championships in Valais, the steep slope above the Grand-Paradis is now coming back to life. The European Championships on August 11 are also the main rehearsal for the World Championships, and it comes as no surprise that many top riders will be at the start, where European Downhill Championships have otherwise degenerated into B-rider events.

Almost all of the top European riders will be at the start in the women's race, led by world champion Valentina Höll. However, there is another rider in the race who was not first on the list for the title. Lisa Baumann already shone in qualifying with second place and turned up the heat again in the final run on the demanding course. At the first intermediate time, the Swiss rider was still in second place behind Höll, but then became increasingly faster and took the lead at the finish. With her eyes fixed on Cabirou as the last rider, it soon became clear that the Frenchwoman would not be able to match Baumann's time, finishing in third place. Baumann thus wins the European Championship title and the main rehearsal for the World Championships all in one, in front of the assembled world elite.

The top German rider Nina Hoffmann finishes sixth, Camille Balanche makes a mistake, ends up in the catch net and finishes twelfth. Ramona Kupferschmied finishes 14th

Results

Kolb with a clear victory

In the men's race, Frenchman Rémi Thirion sets an exclamation mark at the first intermediate time. After that, the specialist for steep routes crashed and still finished seventh. At the time, Britain's Matt Walker was keeping the hot seat warm and watching as one rider after another failed to beat his time. Behind him in second place is Frenchman Loic Martin. Even riders like world champion Charlie Hatton or the young Irish top rider Ronan Dunne can't match Walker's time. Only Andreas Kolb, the last rider on the course, catches up with Walker's time and extends his lead thanks to a consistent ride. By the time he crossed the finish line, the Austrian was almost three seconds ahead, celebrating another significant success since his World Cup victory a year ago.

Max Hartenstern was the fastest German in eighth place, while Swiss riders Yannick Bächler and Marius Perraudin were just inside the top 30. The two French superstars Amaury Pierron and Loic Bruni, among others, decided not to compete.

Results