Bruni and Seagrave win with perfect runs in Andorra
Loïc Bruni wins again on his home track in Andorra almost ten years after his first of five downhill world championship titles, securing his twelfth World Cup victory. The Frenchman has not won a World Cup since the opening race in Bielsko-Biała. The young Colombian Fernando Juan Muñoz caused a stir in qualifying with a time of 2:40.275. Thibaut Daprela, reigning French champion and last year's winner in Pal Arinsal, also qualified for the final via the second round.
Daprela set an early exclamation mark with the fastest time of the weekend to date (2:37.401), which ultimately earned him sixth place. Loris Vergier, the current world champion, once again proves his class. After a consistently strong start, he shows all his speed in the lower section of the track and undercuts the best time by eight tenths - new benchmark: 2:36.534. European champion Andreas Kolb uses his strong physique effectively on the upper part of the track, but loses time in the technical passage and finishes seventh, nine tenths behind. Martin Maes, once an enduro specialist, enters the final Rock Garden with a small lead, but loses a crucial three tenths there and finishes in fourth place. Italian champion Davide Palazzari was in the lead by over a second at one point, but crashed in the final rock garden and was disqualified. Local hero Amaury Pierron is faster than teammate Vergier, but after a driving error in a corner, he leaves the track and squanders his chance. Jackson Goldstone tries to make history. The Canadian is chasing his fifth World Cup victory in a row. He leads by five tenths at the second intermediate time and rides a perfect line to set a new best time: 2:35.646. But Loïc Bruni, the penultimate rider on the track, strikes back. He takes over a second off Goldstone in the first sector and defends this lead with a furious middle sector. In the end, he is 1.2 seconds faster.
The last starter, Fernando Juan Muñoz, also wants to make history and become the first Colombian World Cup winner in the downhill. After falling six tenths behind in the first sector, he crashed while trying to risk everything. Despite his defeat, Goldstone remains the overall leader with a 137-point lead over Bruni ahead of the seventh World Cup race.
Loïc Bruni said after the race: "This means a lot to me. The duels with Jackson this season have motivated me to give my all. After my crash at last year's World Championship, I wanted to make amends here. The track was demanding and brutally fast, you just had to go full throttle. A lot of guys were really fast today, so it's even nicer that I was able to ride a bit crazier than them. Jackson was incredibly strong again, it feels great to beat him fair and square. I saw Loris' time - 2:36, which was the fastest of the weekend and thought: I don't know if I can beat that. But I gave it my all. It was clear in my head: no more playing around, now it's time to attack. I didn't make any mistakes, took full risk in one section and it paid off."
Seagrave triumphs after dramatic final
Tahnée Seagrave now stands on top of the podium in Andorra after her third place last year and celebrates her eleventh World Cup victory in the Elite. Canadian Gracey Hemstreet, who is the fastest in qualifying with a time of 3:00.955, is aiming for her third World Cup win of the season. Seagrave is just a tenth of a second behind her in qualifying and is already putting pressure on her rival.
Colombian champion Valentina Roa Sanchez starts second and sets the first benchmark at 3:02.389 with an aggressive run, which ultimately earns her sixth place. New Zealander Jess Blewitt improves this time significantly and stops the clock at 3:01.106, which is good enough for fourth place. Nina Hoffmann, winner of the previous week and also winner in Pal Arinsal in 2023, crashed in the upper section and had to bury her hopes early on. World champion Valentina Höll, who has already won twice on the new course in Pal Arinsal, gets off to a flying start. She is three tenths ahead in the first sector, carries her speed confidently through the Rock Garden and extends her lead in the lower section. With a time of 2:58.651, she is the first rider to break the three-minute barrier. Mille Johnset, who started third fastest in qualifying, is on course for Höll's time, but loses valuable time due to a small mistake in the second sector. She gives everything in the final section and ends up in third place, just one tenth of a second behind. Seagrave puts in a strong performance and is 2.3 seconds faster than Höll after two sectors. She brings this lead to the finish with a flawless run and sets a new record of 2:56.835. Hemstreet, who starts last, loses six tenths to Seagrave in the upper section. However, the young Canadian played to her strengths in the technical sections, catching up and leading by two seconds before the finish. However, she crashed at the exit of the final section and slipped to fifth place, more than five seconds behind. Camille Balanche was the best Swiss racer in 14th place.
Despite her illness, Höll rode to an important second place and remained the overall World Cup leader. After the race, Seagrave said: "I was sure Gracey would win. She was so fast at the bottom, I was really excited and it's a shame that she crashed so close to the finish. I'm happy with my own performance. In the Rock Garden I wasn't quite as determined as some of the others, so I had to step on the gas where I'm strong. Gracey was a bit slower in the top part yesterday, so I knew she would show something special today. This season has been frustrating, but in such a long season I guess you have to sacrifice a few races. I hope mine are through now."
Alran and Ostgaard storm to junior wins
Due to weather forecasts for heavy thunderstorms, the junior finals are canceled and according to regulations the rankings from qualifying are counted. Max Alran regains the lead in the overall standings of the UCI Downhill World Cup juniors. The Frenchman crashed last week in La Thuile (Italy), finishing the race in 14th place and losing important points. But he managed to respond in Andorra. With a qualifying time of 2:39.151, he collects the maximum number of points. Asa Vermette remains hot on his heels in the title race. The American is only five tenths behind Alran in qualifying and also collects valuable points. New Zealander Tyler Waite is also still in the title fight. With third place in qualifying, he remains within striking distance. Till Alran, the overall leader so far, only finished fifth in qualifying and had to hand over the lead to his brother Max.
In the juniors, Aletha Ostgaard once again showed that she is currently the measure of all things. After her victory in La Thuile, she followed it up in Pal Arinsal. Her qualifying time of 3:04.470 was enough for victory, with a lead of 1.909 seconds over private rider Marie Rosa Jensen. Overall leader Rosa Zierl remains clearly on course for the title thanks to third place in qualifying, even if she does not take victory on the day this time.
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