In Saturday's qualifying session, it became clear that four to five riders would be battling it out for victory. It was Frenchwoman Marine Cabirou who set the first serious time on the course. But she is soon replaced by Camille Balanche from Switzerland, who is over five seconds faster on the rougher downhill. The value of her time gradually became apparent, as both Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) and Myriam Nicole (FRA) were close to Balanche's best time. Only qualifying winner Valentina Höll was able to catch her and the Austrian was even faster in some sections. On the last section, where Balanche made the difference to Nicole, Höll lost time again to finish fourth.

I never felt really good this weekend. But I didn't put any pressure on myself, I didn't want to push unnecessarily so as not to do anything stupid during the ride," says Balanche. In qualifying, she lost three seconds in one section and tried to ride better in the race. "It felt really wild in places, but it was a very good run overall. To start the season like this is fantastic!"

World champion Myriam Nicole rightly celebrates her second place: "I'm more than happy with second place. I had a hard crash in the morning, maybe had a little concussion because I was a bit dizzy. So at first it wasn't certain whether I could even start the race," Nicole looks back.

Ranking

Pierron wins first race after 2019

"The level is extremely high. Every team works hard to get every possible hundredth of a second. To be the fastest is just crazy," said a delighted Amaury Pierron after his winning drive. A good result was predictable for him, but victory was not. Pierron had to take almost two weeks off during the preparation phase for Lourdes due to illness. This makes the victory all the more overwhelming for the Frenchman.

Canadian Finn Iles already shone in qualifying with second place. While in the past he was often unable to match his qualifying performances in the final, he proved to be much more solid in Lourdes. Iles even led at the start, but then fell back a little and was just behind Pierron. In the final section, it becomes clear that he will not be enough to win. Nevertheless, the young Canadian has every reason to celebrate, as second place is his best result in the Elite World Cup to date.