Ireland races to the top of the downhill world

Oisin O'Callaghan und Ronan Dunne feiern ihren irischen Doppelsieg.

Photo: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool

Marine Cabirou (FRA/ Scott Downhill Factory) and Oisin O'Callaghan (IRL/ YT Mob) tamed the wild downhill course of Snowshoe, USA, to take the victories in the penultimate round of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. Cabirou wins ahead of Nina Hoffmann and Vali Höll. In the men's race, Ronan Dunne took second place for the Irish one-two, while American Dakotah Norton delighted the home fans with third place.

In the women's event, a third-place finish by world champion Valentina Höll (Rockshox Trek Race Team) was enough to secure her the 2023 World Cup series title ahead of next weekend's final in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada.

On this day, however, it was Marine Cabirou who rode to her second consecutive World Cup victory with a flawless run, crossing the finish line just three tenths of a second ahead of Nina Hoffman (GER/ Santa Cruz Syndicate). With her victory, the Frenchwoman remains third in the overall series standings, but reduces the points gap to second-placed Hoffman to just 29, as 250 points will be awarded at the season finale.

Results

Young, Irish, fastest

In the men's race, Ireland's Oisin O'Callaghan celebrated an impressive debut victory in the elite class. This means that a different rider celebrated a victory in each of the seven World Cup races in the 2023 season

.

A breathtaking run by O'Callaghan's compatriot Ronan Dunne (Continental Nukeproof Factory) ensured a historic double victory for Ireland. Dakotah Norton (Intense Factory Racing) from the USA finished third after crossing the finish line to cheers from the home fans.

Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity), who was fastest in qualifying and the semi-final, touched a tree at the end of the tricky lower Rock Gardens, crashed and finished 26th. The Frenchman still leads the series ahead of next weekend's final round, but with 250 points still up for grabs, the title fight will remain exciting until the very end with four riders still in the race.

Results

Home win for the juniors

In the juniors, there was an impressive victory for UCI World Champion Erice Van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres), who won a wild race by just under six seconds ahead of Taylor Ostgaard (Transition Factory Racing) from the USA. Ostgaard's Transition teammate Valentina Roa Sanchez from Colombia came third. Roa Sanchez goes into the final round of the series in Mont-Sainte-Anne just 15 points ahead of France's Lisa Bouladou.

Results

In the juniors, American Ryan Pinkerton (GT-Continental Factory Racing) secured overall victory in the 2023 series with his fourth win in four World Cups. The 18-year-old was just three tenths of a second faster than his compatriot Evan Medcalf (Evolve Racing), who was dominant in the super-technical lower rock garden. Third place went to Frenchman Mylann Falquet (Pinkbike Racing).

Results