In the women's downhill world championship race, the focus is also very much on the strong British riders, especially Rachel Atherton. But the exceptional athlete does not have an easy time of it. Despite dislocating her shoulder in training, she will be at the start. Tahnee Seagrave is also starting as one of the favorites. Although she came second in qualifying, she had a horror crash over the finish line. Seagrave and Atherton are therefore gritting their teeth to give themselves a small chance in front of their home crowd. It was enough for a respectable sixth and eighth place. The performances of their younger compatriots Louise-Anna Ferguson and Phoebe Gale, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, were also impressive.

French rider Marine Cabirou was the first to set a clear record of 5:00.603 and took the bronze medal. Camille Balanche then takes to the track. The Swiss skier is initially 1.6 seconds behind. She gradually gains ground and ends up just over three tenths of a second ahead of Cabirou. Nina Hoffmann is a different story. The German raced through the upper sections at an incredible pace and was clearly ahead - she rode the fastest first intermediate time. But after the easy road gap in the lower half, of all places, she crashes and loses the important momentum before the motorway section shortly before the finish. An almost certain medal turns into a disappointing 19th place for her.

Defending champion Valentina Höll is the last skier to take to the track. The Austrian soon lights up the split times in green. However, her lead of over two seconds shrinks to six tenths of a second in the middle section, which gives the previous leader Camille Balanche hope again. On the motorway section, however, the 22-year-old caught the jumps perfectly, built up a lot of speed again and extended her lead to two seconds. Höll becomes world champion once again and says: "I had no idea how it would turn out, because I completely messed up one corner. At first I thought that was it, but I fought all the way to the finish line and it paid off. The fact that I was able to defend the title is just awesome!"

"I'm happy with my silver medal, but of course there's also a bit of melancholy about missing out on gold. I rode really badly at the top. That section doesn't really suit me, and the crash yesterday didn't make it any better. But after that I gave it my all, felt great and that's why I'm very happy with my time," says Camille Balanche. Marine Cabirou is also happy: "I'm so happy to be on the podium again. I made a mistake at the top, but then gave it my all. However, with such a close gap, I'm a little disappointed with the mistake, as I could have done even better."

Lisa Baumann, the second Swiss, sold herself short on this day

Results

1. Vali Höll (AUT)
2. Camille Balanche (SUI)
3. Marine Cabirou (FRA)
4. Louise-Anna Fergusson (GBR)
5. Phoebe Gale (GBR)
6. Tahnee Seagrave (GBR)
7. Gloria Scarsi (ITA)
8. Rachel Atherton (GBR)
9. Eleonora Farina (ITA)
10. Anna Newkirk (USA)

Surprising home victory

The weather almost played spoilsport in the men's world championship race. The onset of rain prevented the riders from achieving better riding times for a long time. Despite the difficult conditions, the Spaniard Angel Suarez, who led for a long time, was put under pressure by Greg Minnaar. The South African was within striking distance at least until the third split time, before he suffered a tire failure. However, it shows that the fastest time can still be set despite the rain. In fact, the top split times are undercut, first by Brit Matt Walker, who crashes at the halfway point, then by his compatriot Danny Hart, who finishes just behind him.

British rider Charlie Hatton was then the first rider to take his lead from the top section of the course to the finish, pushing Suarez out of the lead by 2.464 seconds. But Hatton seems to be the exception. The closer the top favorites get to the start, the more often the top time seems to be in danger. However, none of them managed to get anywhere near the top three by the finish line, as riding errors and crashes are not far away in these difficult conditions, even among the world's best.

When the last five riders arrive, Brit Laurie Greenland attacks the fastest time. Initially with success, but then he loses ground slightly and takes second intermediate place. Andreas Kolb delays the lead even longer and finishes just behind his leading team colleague Hatton. The Austrian is just under 0.6 seconds behind and loses the lead in the challenging forest section, where he brakes slightly and puts a foot down. Undeterred, he then rode a top line and carried a lot of speed into the final section. Defending champion Loic Bruni makes a decent mistake after taking the lead at the first intermediate time and ends up in fourth place behind the medal ranks.

Frenchman Loris Vergier was the last rider to start. He also leads in the upper section and loses time in the crisp forest sections - sixth place for him. The British, with the new downhill world champion Charlie Hatton, but also the Austrian Andreas Kolb, who also won silver on the British Atherton bikes, had plenty to cheer about. Laurie Greenland rounded off the national celebrations with a bronze medal.

"That was absolutely crazy, I'm lost for words. I rode well, but didn't think it would be enough to win. Fort William is actually good to ride in the rain, so I just attacked. When the other riders ended up behind me, I was a bit taken aback," says Charlie Hatton, who didn't have any easier conditions than the top favorites who started later.

"When I saw Charlie's ride, I knew he could do it. That's so cool," said Kolb, almost more pleased about his team-mate's victory than his silver medal. "A super bike, super tires and a great atmosphere, that definitely helped, and the decisive factor for me was that I had a great time in the forest section for the most part."

Best Swiss rider was Janis Lehmann in 23rd place, with Germany's Simon Maurer in 28th place.

Results
Charlie Hatton (GBR)
Andreas Kolb (AUT)
Laurie Greenland (GBR)
Loic Bruni (FRA)
Troy Brosnan (AUS)
Loris Vergier (FRA)
Angel Suarez (ESP)
Greg Williamson (GBR)
Benoit Coulanges (FRA)
Dakotah Norton (USA)