The rainy weather makes the already difficult World Cup course in Val di Sole, the "Black Snake", particularly challenging. The slippery sections are gradually drying out, but this only reduces the difficulty of the dreaded descent to a limited extent. It becomes more treacherous and this provokes riding errors for many athletes.

Tahnee Seagrave conquers the root-strewn descent with virtually no mistakes. The Brit said before the race that she was going to win. She takes the lead with just under a second ahead of Monika Hrastnik (SLO) and now has to wait for the remaining top racers. First, Anna Newkirk (USA) clearly beat Seagrave's 4:31.471 minutes. But then Marine Cabirou caused anxious minutes in the hot seat, which the Frenchwoman missed by just three tenths of a second. Top favorite Vali Höll (AUT) also fails to match Seagrave's time and loses further seconds after a crash. Myriam Nicole (FRA) was the last rider to have the chance to snatch victory, but finished fourth.

There was no big showdown between the leader and semi-final winner Jess Blewitt. The New Zealander injured her hand in the final training run and was unable to compete in the final. Seagrave wins a World Cup race in Val di Sole for the first time since 2019, her third on this legendary course. "It's incredible. Yesterday I was so off the pace that I didn't think I could win today." The 29-year-old won ahead of Marine Cabirou and Monika Hrastnik.

Results Women Elite

Pierron prevents Norton's first victory 

Just in time for the men's race, dark clouds gathered again and it started to rain again in the upper part of the course. However, this seemed to have little effect on the conditions. After eleven of the 32 final riders, it is Danny Hart who sets the first serious time on the Black Snake. The Briton's 3:51.449 minutes were first beaten by Dylan Maples (USA), then by Maples' compatriot Dakotah Norton, and by a wide margin. Norton leads the race by over six seconds. 

With the starts of the top favorites, the time gaps are now also narrowing. However, nobody can really match Norton's time, not even World Cup leader Loic Bruni. Only the second-to-last starter, Finn Iles, is ahead in the first three split times. The Canadian then suddenly loses time and also remains above Norton's 3:43.897 minutes. The latter is now on the verge of his first World Cup victory when Amaury Pierron starts the race. The Frenchman sets an incredible pace and is over a second ahead at the first split time. There were hardly any mistakes and Pierron continued to build on his lead. At the finish, the 28-year-old is almost five seconds faster than Norton, who has to postpone his victory celebrations once again. 

Pierron is celebrating his comeback at the highest level after suffering a broken neck vertebra a year ago during training for the World Cup in Lenzerheide.  "It's simply amazing to be back at the top, a year after my accident. During this time, I had my doubts as to whether I would ever be able to do it again. Now it has worked out," said Pierron jubilantly.

Results Men Elite