Rémi Thirion (FRA), the winner of the Andorra World Cup, is the strongest rider in the final race of the "iXS European Downhill Cup". Although Thirion has nothing directly to do with the outcome of the overall classification, the race for series victory is still wide open. The leader Joe Connel from Australia is under pressure from the two Slovenians Miran Vauh and Ziga Pandur. In their home race, Vauh and Pandur will try everything to knock the Australian off the top step of the podium.

Lars Peyer could also make it onto the podium. The starting position of last year's Swiss champion is good. Currently in fourth place, the Bernese rider is 28 points behind third place. Other contenders for the race win include Markus Pekoll (AUT), Ruaridh Cunningham (GBR) and Robin Wallner (SWE). Lutz Weber is no longer in contention for the podium. Although he is still in a good seventh place, Weber will have to miss the race. A crash in training put the young Bernese out of action. With a bit of luck, Weber will be able to ride the final of the "iXS Swiss Downhill Cup" a week later.

The women's race will also be enhanced by World Cup celebrities. Great Britain's Manon Carpenter recently finished third in the overall World Cup. Carpenter therefore also has the best maps for winning the race. However, the 20-year-old will not get it for free. With Myriam Nicole from France in fourth place in the World Cup, an equally strong racer has announced her ambitions for victory. The leading Slovenian, Zarja Cernilogar, will not be able to compete for the race win according to paper, but she should take a relaxed approach to the race. After all, she has already won the overall standings and is also probably the participant with the shortest journey.

The female Swiss downhill guard will be represented by Miriam Ruchti and Carina Cappellari. Ruchti is currently in third place overall. With a top result, last year's Swiss champion could still work her way up to second place. To do so, however, Jana Bartova (CZE), who is currently in second place, would have to finish well behind Ruchti in the race. Carina Cappellari, in fourth place overall, is hardly under any pressure from behind.

The global downhill scene associates Maribor with top-class racing. A perfect location, a challenging course, the ideal backdrop and a tried and tested organization are the ingredients for this year's finale of the iXS European series. On September 28 and 29, around 300 riders from over 20 nations will take on the 450-metre elevation gain on the 2,600-metre course. The list of pre-registered riders includes many well-known downhill riders. Not least because of the still open outcome in the overall standings of the elite men's category, it will be a worthy conclusion to this season.www.ixsdownhillcup.com