The “Absolute Abfahrt” has been a staple of German downhill racing for three decades. To mark its 30th anniversary, the 1,500-meter-long natural course on the Lindenberg initially shows its rough side. Heavy rain during the track walk makes the root sections and the rock field particularly slow and slippery. Over the weekend, however, the ground absorbs the moisture well and gradually develops more grip. By race Sunday, conditions are fast as expected.

In the Elite Men’s seeding round, Lino Neumann makes the first big impression. The German sets the fastest time with a lead of nearly two seconds and enters the final as the favorite. There, however, he is slowed down by a technical issue and has to end his run early. Max Becker of the DH Talent Team seizes the opportunity and rides to victory with a strong final run.

In the Elite Women’s race, there’s also a shake-up compared to the seeding round. On Saturday, Hanna Blochberger had posted the fastest time. In Sunday’s decisive run, however, Karla Jörger stepped up her game and relegated Blochberger to second place. As a result, both elite victories in the anniversary race went to German riders.

In the junior categories as well, every tenth of a second was fiercely contested on the “Absolute Downhill.” In the Pro U19 category, Switzerland’s Jayden Hungerbühler of the Epic Racing Team came out on top. With a time of 1:56.060 minutes, the 18-year-old was the only rider in the class to break the 1:57-minute mark, winning by 0.942 seconds ahead of Germany’s Julian Bürger. Justus Kindel rounded out the podium, 2.996 seconds behind. Behind him were Martin Ledwon from the Czech Republic and Mael Arendt of the DH Talent Team.

The comparison with the Elite class is also noteworthy: Hungerbühler’s time would have been good enough for 16th place there and was even 0.042 seconds faster than that of seeding winner Lino Neumann, who was, however, slowed down by a technical issue in the final.

Just as important as the results in Ilmenau is the atmosphere. The legendary fan section is packed for the final and creates the perfect atmosphere along the course for this milestone anniversary. By the time the awards ceremony rolls around, the race has definitively turned into an anniversary celebration: Stage diving and champagne showers bring three decades of “Absolute Abfahrt” to a fitting close.

racement.com