The race in miserable weather conditions and an extremely slippery course showed the English juniors who would be allowed to take the reins in the downhill in the future. Seventeen-year-old Brendan Fairclough was only just beaten by Sam Hill and Greg Minnaar. In the women's race, Rahel Atherton is another junior who is always in the top ranks; in Pila in the Aosta Valley, the sister of World Cup riders Gee and Dan Atherton came second. Both are among the top favorites for the World Championships in Livigno.

Swiss ray of hope: Lars Peyer
Among the Swiss, it is also a junior who is making a name for himself: Lars Peyer is the best Swiss racer in 29th place, which would have placed him fourth in the junior classification. Incidentally, junior Swiss champion Peyer is the same age as Fairclough and is contesting his first season as a junior this year. The results of the remaining Swiss are not exactly optimistic for Livigno: Marcel Beer in 53rd place, Damien Mermoud in 54th, Claudio Caluori in 61st and Thomas Ryser in 69th.

Always Chausson...
In the women's race, it happened as it had to: When Anne-Caroline Chausson starts, she wins. No different in Pila. The battle for the title of overall World Cup winner will be interesting: at the World Cup final in Fort William, Sabrina Jonnier and Tracy Moseley will decide the title between themselves. The Frenchwoman is currently leading with 105 points. Rahel Atherton in third place and Marielle Saner in fourth place are no longer in contention for victory. Saner is currently fourteen points off the podium.