Nothing new in the women's race: Rachel Atherton wins the first World Cup race of the season in Lourdes. The Trek rider is now unbeaten in all races since the 2015 race in Lourdes, winning by 2.5 seconds ahead of Tracy Hannah and qualifying winner Tahnee Seagrave (2.37 seconds back). The weather conditions at the women's start were the same for everyone...nice weather, dry course. There was a small disappointment for the Swiss women who had qualified for the final. Carina Cappellari remained in her eleventh qualifying place, Emilie Siegenthaler started with the seventh best top intermediate time, but then fell back continuously and finished the race just inside the top ten in tenth place. For the first time, the women's race was broadcast live and not delayed on RedBull TV.

The miracle of Lourdes

The 52nd qualifier wins the first race of the season. The story is quickly told. the rain and, above all, the wind set in for the top 15 riders, making it impossible for all riders to compete on equal terms. What remains to be mentioned, however, is Alexandre Fayolle's literal hussar ride. In an interview, the Frenchman explained: "It was probably almost too much of a risk at times and I was close to crashing a few times". Fayolle would have finished well ahead even if the conditions had been fair for all riders. However, Frenchman Fayolle is anything but an unknown quantity: the "Polygon UR" rider finished fourth in Vallnord/Andorra last year at the end of the season. The riders who failed to qualify yesterday were rewarded. Marcello Gutierrez was 38th in qualifying and ended up third, while Mark Wallace was 19th after qualifying, finishing second on the podium in his first World Cup race on a Canyon bike. The French celebrated a home victory. However, not Vergier or Bruni as expected, but Alexandre Fayolle.

"29ers" without a chance

The question of whether there will be the first Downhill World Cup victory on a 29-inch bike also had to be postponed. Yesterday, Loris Vergier won the qualification on the new 29-inch "Santa Cruz V10", while teammate Luca Shaw came third. Today, due to the late start time, both were left without any chance of a top result. The question of whether the 29ers are faster or better will be answered at the next race in Fort William (June 3-4). And if rumors are to be believed, the "Santa Cruz Syndicate Team" will not be the only crew with the big bikes at the start in Scotland.