Höll and Bruni dominate in Leogang, Newkirk and Hutter top 3 for the first time
Baumann with best performance
After a torrential storm swept over Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland overnight, the final presented a different challenge and required a different approach to the semi-final. However, the spectators were not deterred by the conditions. Around 20,000 fans watched the races over the weekend.
In the women's final, Mille Johnset (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) was first on the drying but still somewhat treacherous course. The Norwegian chose her lines well in the first sections, but then lost her rear wheel and crashed briefly in the later forest passage. However, she was able to recover quickly and crossed the finish line with a solid best time of 3:47.9 minutes. Johnset was followed by Louise-Anna Ferguson (Intense Factory Racing), whose cautious approach cost her valuable seconds and prevented her from taking the lead.
The third in the bunch was French rider Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Muc Off by Riding Addiction), who showed no signs of letting up and had every chance of finishing on the podium. She took advantage of the faster sections and crossed the finish line 5.6 seconds faster than Johnset.
After a crash in the semi-final on Saturday, Camille Balanche (Dorval Am Commencal) decided not to take part in the final on Sunday. Instead, her compatriot Lisa Baumann produced an excellent run to the finish, putting the young Swiss rider just behind Nicole in second place.
Could Tahnee Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) challenge Nicole for supremacy? The first signs were positive, as the British rider did everything right in the leading group. She lost a few tenths halfway through the run, but gained whole seconds in the next section. Her dreams of victory were shattered in the forest when she opted for a riskier high line and came off her bike. Despite the drama, she remained largely uninjured and was at least able to set a time.
When Anna Newkirk (Beyond Racing) left the starting gate, Nicole knew that she was at least guaranteed a podium place. Newkirk rode with her eyes open the entire time, staying upright and rolling all over the course where others had previously lost momentum. Despite trailing for most of her run, she stayed in touch with the front of the race and had a 0.8 second lead at the final split time. In the final corners, the American lost none of her composure and barely a fraction of her time, finishing in the lead.
With one rider remaining, the provisional podium was Newkirk, Nicole, Baumann.
UCI World Champion and home favorite Valentina Höll (YT Mob) was the only rider who could challenge Newkirk for the win. The Austrian did the rainbow stripes justice with a stylish, fast first half of the race. She was the only rider to master the first two jumps and went into the wall run with a three-second lead. At this point, all she really had to do was roll down safely, but she wasn't content with just taking the win. Precise jumps and impeccable skiing behavior gave her even more advantages in the lower parts of the course, which had frustrated some of her competitors. The Austrian fans erupted in cheers as Höll crossed the finish line to take the win by a huge margin of seven seconds.
Despite the dominant manner in which she secured her second win of 2024, Höll said afterwards that the course was anything but easy: "I don't think anyone expected Leogang to be so technical, she said. All the riders complained that it was too easy, but man, this course is not easy at all. It's so rough and it's hard to find a good line. I'm just glad I was able to secure it at home. I love it."
New Zealander's debut
UCI World Champion Charlie Hatton (Atherton Racing) needed a result. Hatton was trailing throughout his run but stayed within striking distance, stopping at the penultimate timing point when he needed to make up 0.5 seconds. He didn't make it, but it was enough to put him on the provisional podium and finish 18th at the end of the day.
A withdrawal from the start by Cube Factory Racing's Max Hartenstern meant a particularly long wait at the start for Lachlan Stevens-McNab. However, this did not detract from his commitment, as the Kiwi already had a lead of almost a second at the first split. After entering the "motorway", he was on the verge of doubling his lead and rode the highest speeds of the whole day on the jumps.
Stevens-McNab, who was on the limit and riding at full throttle, had a three-second lead at the last split and gained another 1.5 seconds to ride the fastest time of 3:08.6 minutes. Whether it would be enough for a podium finish or even victory seemed to depend on how much the track would dry out in the final hour of the weekend's racing.
Austrian rider Andreas Kolb (Continental Atherton) kept his cool while the spectators around him made some noise. A solid first half and a consistent second half meant there was nothing to play for with a few corners to go, but even the Austrian support wasn't enough to take the lead. At least it was sixth place for the Austrian.
With Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) out of qualifying and the semi-final with a hand injury, the final was the first opportunity of the weekend to send Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) out onto the track. The Canadian, who had a secured starting position, rode strong and took every opportunity to pick up speed. He was in the lead for most of the run and reached the fourth sector with a one-second advantage. He crossed the finish line 0.7 seconds ahead of Stevens-McNab and secured the hotseat.
After that, riders such as Troy Brosnan, Oisin O'Callaghan, Ronan Dunne and Loris Vergier failed to match the times of Iles and Stevens-McNab. Then came Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity). If time could be found on the course, it seemed likely that the five-time UCI World Champion would find it. Bruni rode light-footedly and was already in the lead at the first intermediate time. He briefly relinquished this lead, but reached the steepest section of the course with a 0.6 second advantage. With a heart rate of 170, the Frenchman chose the perfect places to push and knew when to be patient. By the fourth intermediate time, he had made up another second on teammate Iles.
A few corners before the finish, Bruni had everything under control, jumped over the last jump and crossed the finish line in 3:05.5 minutes - more than two seconds faster than anyone else on the day.
"I really thought I didn't have it today," said Bruni afterwards. "The conditions today were completely different to yesterday, when it was more to my liking. I tried everything I had - I was banking on the track drying out a bit. I was glad that I started last. I pushed so hard and made small mistakes at the front. After the Motorway, I finally got going."
After three races, Bruni leads the overall standings by 320 points from Luca Shaw. Finn Iles is in third place with 647 points.
World champion back in the lead
In the junior women's race, Erice Van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) denied Great Britain's Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) her third win in a row.
After what she described as a "tough start to the season", the win felt great for the reigning world champion from New Zealand. She enjoyed the slippery conditions more than some of her competitors. "My main goal was to get through the forest safely. I made a few small mistakes, but basically it was a pretty good run," said a delighted Van Leuven.
Four seconds behind in second was Eliana Ulsebosch (Union - Forged by Steel City Media), while Wilson left the podium just 25 thousandths of a second behind. Wilson retains her 1st place in the overall standings, while Van Leuven is second, 10 points ahead of Ulsebosch.
Hutter top-3 for the first time
In the junior race, Max Alran relegated Canadian Dane Ewett (Pivot Factory Racing) to second place by less than half a second. For Alran, it was not only his first win, but also his first podium finish of the season. "I'm really happy. I managed a pretty good run. I only made one small mistake in the forest, but I'm really thrilled." Swiss rider Mike Huter (Gamux Factory Racing) finished third, almost three seconds behind the leader, who also climbed onto the podium for the first time.
Despite his 21st place due to a heavy crash in the early stages, series leader Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing) remains at the top of the overall standings.
The UCI World Cup series continues next weekend in Val di Sole, Trentino, where races in cross country, short track and downhill will take place.
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