The incredible ride of Titouan

In the men's cross-country race, Andri Frischknecht is in the lead right from the start lap, but falls back after a crash and jam at a bottleneck. Titouan Carod sets the pace from then on. The Frenchman soon pulls away and rides a good 20 seconds ahead of a five-man chasing group, which includes two-time World Cup winner Luca Braidot and Swiss rider Filippo Colombo. Meanwhile, Nino Schurter is slowly fighting his way into the top 10, with his compatriot Marcel Guerrini not far behind.

On the slippery course, the pursuers struggle with difficulties and sometimes hinder each other, while Carod obviously feels at home and masters the difficult passages with confidence. On lap three, the six-man chase group begins to crumble, while a new one forms behind it with Schurter and slowly robs the first group. The chase group is reduced again on lap four when Mexican Jose Ulloa's pedal falls off. Meanwhile, Titouan Carod is well over a minute ahead of Braidot, Colombo and Schurter, the Belgian Pierre De Froidemont and the Spaniard David Valero, who form a new chasing group.

However, there is no chance of getting closer. Carod goes into the final lap with a lead of over two minutes. Behind them, however, the battle for second place begins. First Schurter, then Valero and then Colombo, Carod's team colleague, attacked, who ultimately made the BMC victory perfect behind Titouan Carod. It is the first World Cup victory for the Frenchman and also the best World Cup result for the Swiss rider.

"I don't know what to say. It was just a great day where the wet conditions played into my hands. I said in Snowshoe that I was going to win here, but I wasn't really sure. I just knew that I was in great shape and that it was possible. These results give me great confidence for the World Championships in Les Gets," says Titouan Carod. His team colleague is delighted with second place and has words of praise for Carod: "To be second behind Titouan is brilliant, to share the podium with him is simply special. He's simply the best downhill rider in cross country, which is why I let him ride."

In the battle to catch up with the top three, Nino Schurter makes a riding mistake that throws him back and he finds himself fighting for the last podium places. He didn't have enough energy left and had to concede defeat to Braidot and De Froidemont - a respectable result, mind you, considering that he had not yet fully recovered from his crash in Snowshoe.

Marcel Guerrini also has a personal best to celebrate. He was around 13th position for the entire race, improved at the end and finished in ninth place. Just a little behind him, Lars Forster rode to twelfth place and Joel Roth finished 18th.

Results

The long-awaited victory

After a good start from short-track winner Jolanda Neff, it is Rebecca McConnell who sets the pace and already distorts the field somewhat. Neff is slightly behind, but then catches up with Alessandra Keller, Haley Batten, Martina Berta and consequently McConnell on the second lap and immediately takes the lead. A little later, the Olympic champion pulled away.

Starting in dry conditions, the heavens opened the floodgates towards the end of the second lap, turning the technical sections into tests of courage. While Neff was already half a minute ahead, Keller fell behind due to a crash. The chasing group gradually disintegrates and constantly regroups in small groups.

The course becomes increasingly difficult to master and Jolanda Neff even considers stopping in the tech zone to change to wheels with grippier tires. However, she decides against this shortly beforehand and opts for a more cautious riding style, as she later explains.

After a solo ride over four out of five laps, Jolanda Neff wins her first World Cup race in a long time - one minute ahead of Mona Mitterwallner (AUT), who achieves her career best, and Haley Batten (USA).

"It's a huge pleasure. It's been almost four years since I last won a World Cup," says Jolanda Neff. "I was able to get something out of this difficult course compared to the others everywhere, ride my own pace and that's what made the difference."

Italy's Martina Berta also achieved her best World Cup result with fourth place. Alessandra Keller recovered well after her crash and fought her way back. In the end, she secured the last podium place with a big grin on her face. Steffi Häberlin, the third Swiss rider, finished in 15th place.

Results

Buri in second place

In the U23 women's race, Switzerland's Noëlle Buri is once again the measure of all things. She shares the lead with Madigan Munro from the USA until lap two, when Buri breaks away. She completed her laps alone and took her second U23 World Cup victory on the technically demanding Mont Saint Anne course.

Results

In the U23 men's race, Chile's Martin Vidaurre demonstrates his strength and breaks clear in the first full lap. After 1:08.31 hours, Vidaurre wins his eighth World Cup in a row. Second and third place went to David Domingo Campos Motos (ESP) and Carter Woods (CAN). Switzerland's Luke Wiedmann rides to fifth place.

Results

Iles causes a Canadian frenzy

At the penultimate World Cup, the classic in Mont Saint Anne, Canada, Jolanda Neff and Filippo Colombo take the victories in the short track. In the Downhill, Canadian Finn Iles wins his first World Cup. With the first Canadian victory since Steve Smith, Iles puts his compatriots in a celebratory mood. Valentina Höll takes her second win of the season in the women's race.

The downhill course in Mont Saint Anne is one of the physically and technically toughest in the world. With riding times of over four minutes and technical challenges until shortly before the finish, staying power is required.In the men's race, Irishman Ronan Dunne's time will be the first reference. But the Brit Laurie Greenland, who follows, immediately proves that this is not the case. Greenland takes the lead with a lead of over seven seconds. Whether that can still be made up can only be guessed by the fact that the last riders usually get close again. But for the time being, the riders behind are left behind.

Aaron Gwin (USA) is the first to get close to Greenland, but remains in second place, just under six seconds behind. Austrian Andreas Kolb seems to be mixing it up again and is close in the split times. However, a puncture prevents another podium finish. In the second race after his injury, the Australian Troy Brosnan comes closest in the intermediate times, but also remains behind Greenland in the end, and Amaury Pierron should not make it either. The Frenchman is probably the most dangerous candidate for victory, but will be at his most dangerous. Pierron crashes at the halfway point and cannot win the overall World Cup early.

But world champion Greg Minnaar seems to be serious about taking the best time from his team colleague. He soon took the lead and extended his lead at every intermediate time - up to a second. But shortly before the end of the last forest section, the South African gets out of control and buries his chances of victory in the mats. Now the Canadian fans are getting nervous, as their compatriot Finn Iles is the last rider at the start. The young Canadian is riding his best season, but it hasn't been enough to win so far. Now things are looking good again, he is leading all the intermediate times and is building up to 0.5 seconds. But where others were still pedaling, Ile's feet remained still - the chain was down. Nevertheless, giving up is not an option and so two tenths of a second are enough for him to celebrate his first World Cup victory in front of his home crowd.

Results

Höll for second - Balanche injured

The women's race takes place without World Cup leader Camille Balanche. The Swiss athlete crashed in training and broke her collarbone. According to her own statements, the fracture is not complicated and the World Cup final in Val di Sole is not yet off the table, at least not on paper. The operation is scheduled for Monday.

In the race, it is the Italian Eleonora Farina who sets the clear best time of 5:00.522 minutes. However, this time was already beginning to wobble again when world champion Myriam Nicole threw herself down the mountain. However, Farina's time was only in danger until halfway down the course when the Frenchwoman suffered a puncture. Should Balanche return in Val di Sole, the defense of the World Cup lead is still possible.

It is then the German Nina Hoffmann who beats Farina's best time. But even Hoffmann's best time was not to last, as the fastest qualifier Valentina Höll was ahead at every intermediate time and took her second win of the season by over three seconds. As a result, she slipped past Myriam Nicole to second place in the overall standings, just 120 points behind Balanche.

Results