Valentina Höll surpasses herself in Lake Placid and wins her first UCI Downhill World Cup race of the season, securing overall victory at the same time. In Lake Placid in the US state of New York, the Austrian celebrates her twelfth World Cup success and wins again after 474 days. For Höll, it is the fourth overall World Cup title of her career and the third in a row, with one race still to go.

In the men's event, Luke Meier-Smith caused some emotional scenes. The Australian celebrates his first World Cup victory in the elite category, preventing Luca Shaw's hoped-for home win.

The battle for the overall men's title remains open ahead of the final race. Loïc Bruni and Jackson Goldstone  continue to fight an exciting duel, but both miss out on the podium in Lake Placid.

The Lake Placid Olympic Region is hosting the penultimate round of this year's Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series. After last year's premiere, downhill is also on the program this time. The two-kilometre course on Whiteface Mountain in the majestic Adirondack Mountains demands everything from the riders.

In the junior categories, Max Alran sets another exclamation mark. The junior world champion dominates the competition and wins with a time of 3:06.5 minutes, only elite winner Meier-Smith is faster. In the junior category, Aletha Ostgaard secured an American victory and had the crowd cheering.

Höll celebrates first World Cup victory of the season and secures the overall World Cup

After seven podium places in this UCI Downhill World Cup season, Valentina Höll finally achieved the victory she had been longing for and also won the overall World Cup.

Gracey Hemstreet had to compete in Q2 after a faulty first qualifying lap to even qualify for the final. Marine Cabirou also needs the extra run, but uses her experience on the technical course and sets a strong benchmark time of 3:34 minutes early on in the final.

After her bad luck in qualifying, Canadian Hemstreet starts the final day early. She initially shows a good ride through the rocky start section in the forest, but loses speed on the open passages and almost misses the course in one corner. In the end, she finished in 10th place and lost important points to Höll. Anna Newkirk, who is fighting her way back after breaking her hand, is the only American in the final. She struggled to find her rhythm, had to click off in the first bend and finished in 13th place.

Tahnee Seagrave was also one of the title contenders and started the race strongly. However, the Brit was unable to keep up with Cabirou's pace in the middle section and lost crucial seconds, dropping her back to 6th place. Switzerland's Camille Balanche, on the other hand, delivers her best performance of the season. With plenty of speed in the lower section of the course, she beat Cabirou's time by three tenths of a second to take 4th place.

Nina Hoffmann, winner of La Thuile - Valle d'Aosta (IT), also struggled on the loose surface. After a fall in the final training session, she loses confidence and rides off the course shortly afterwards.

The experienced Myriam Nicole has not been able to win a World Cup so far this season. After 414 days without a win, she shows a strong ride, masters the technical passages confidently and sets the best time, which is only beaten by Höll.

Sacha Earnest, second in qualifying, confirms her strong form. Despite losing time in the technical section, the New Zealander rides strongly in the lower section and finishes in third place, just three hundredths of a second behind Nicole, securing her best career result.

As the last starter, Höll knows that a place in the top 4 is enough to secure overall victory. The reigning downhill world champion gets off to an explosive start, shows a perfect line choice in the loose terrain and is already over a second ahead after the second sector. She extended her lead on the fastest sections and won the race with a commanding time of 3:30 minutes, two seconds faster than her closest rival.

Rankings Elite Women

Luke Meier-Smith celebrates first Downhill World Cup win of his career

Luke Meier-Smith makes a successful return to the downhill circuit after his time in enduro and celebrates a well-deserved victory. The 23-year-old is on the podium for the first time this season and right at the top. The new course on Whiteface Mountain in the Lake Placid Olympic Region (New York) suits the Australian perfectly. He qualified second fastest and went one better in the final.

In the first runs, the leading times changed several times as Luke Wayman and Ronan Dunne set early best times. The unpredictable, loose surface favors riders with enduro experience, but Richard Rude Jr. crashes in training and is unable to compete in the final.

All eyes are on Jackson Goldstone, the reigning downhill world champion. The Canadian pushes hard in the technical passages to compensate for his smaller physique with aggression and rides two seconds faster than his nearest competitor. He flies through the lower section of the course with a lot of confidence and sets the new best time of 3:07 minutes.

Loris Vergier wants to consolidate his third place overall, but loses valuable points after a crash. Goldstone's time seems beatable. Henri Kiefer stays close in the upper part of the course and uses his strength in the lower section to push the best time to 3:06 minutes. Loïc Bruni is also in the thick of the title fight. The Frenchman rides strongly in the upper section and is on a par with Goldstone at the intermediate times. But a botched jump shortly before the finish costs him seconds and he finishes sixth, two places behind his Canadian rival.

Andreas Kolb also attacks, shows a strong ride, but ends up in fifth place. Amaury Pierron, who recently won in Lenzerheide, is more than a second ahead at the halfway point, but crashes in a steep turn and loses all chances.

Then comes Luke Meier-Smith. Already second in qualifying, he put in a flawless ride in the race, leading from the first split time and extending his lead in the lower section of the course. With a time of 3:05 minutes, he sets the new record.

The fastest qualifier Luca Shaw is the only one who could still challenge Meier-Smith for victory, but loses two seconds in the upper section. The American catches up in the final section, but misses out on victory by a wafer-thin margin, with just seven hundredths separating him from Meier-Smith.

Rankings Elite Men

Aletha Ostgaard closes the gap in the overall standings with third win of the season

Aletha Ostgaard  strengthens her ambitions for overall victory with her third win of the season. The 17-year-old American, who has already triumphed in La Thuile - Valle d'Aosta and Pal Arinsal (Andorra), puts herself in an excellent starting position for the season finale with her success.

Ostgaard put in a flawless and dominant performance, setting the fastest time in the first two sectors and winning by over three seconds. The top three juniors were already close together in qualifying the day before. The fastest was Eliana Hulsebosch in 3:43 minutes, followed by Marie Rosa Jensen and Lina Frener. The two contenders for the overall World Cup, Rosa Zierl and Ostgaard, only finished fifth and sixth in qualifying.

In order to keep her title chances alive, Ostgaard is the first skier on the course and delivers a fearless, precise ride, finishing in 3:34 minutes. The reigning junior world champion Rosa Zierl is no match for her rival. Small mistakes in the technical section cost her crucial seconds and she finished five seconds behind in fifth place.

Matilda Melton put in a strong performance to secure an American double victory and finish second. Marie Rosa Jensen confirmed her good qualifying form and finished fourth.

As the last starter, Hulsebosch once again showed courage and technique, but lost valuable time in the third and fourth sectors and had to settle for third place. With this home win, Ostgaard moves to within 50 points of overall leader Zierl. Next weekend's final promises to be an exciting duel for the overall World Cup title.

Ranking list juniors

Max Alran celebrates fourth win of the season and extends overall lead

Max Alran had another perfect weekend in the junior race. His winning time even puts many of the elite riders in the shade. The junior downhill world champion qualifies fastest and once again proves his class in the final, riding to his fourth World Cup victory of the season.

His brother Till Alran, on the other hand, suffers a setback in qualifying. He loses 15 seconds to Max and finishes 25th. As there is no second qualifying round for the juniors, his hopes of overall victory are over.

The American Asa Vermette thrilled the home crowd with a risky yet strong ride. The winner in Lenzerheide is in top form and sets a new record with a time of 3:07 minutes.

New Zealander Tyler Waite wants to keep his chances in the overall standings and is on a par with Vermette in the first two sectors. But a small mistake costs him valuable seconds. In the end, he finished third, two seconds behind.

Max Alran was the last to start the race. The Frenchman rode confidently in the technical passages and passed the intermediate time with a two-second lead. He loses some time in the lower part of the course, but with a winning time of 3:06 minutes, he saves a narrow one-second lead to the finish. With this triumph, Alran celebrates his fourth World Cup victory of the season and leads the overall standings by 32 points ahead of Vermette.

Ranking list juniors