After her World Cup victories in Fort William and Val di Sole, Atherton once again leaves nothing to be desired in Vallnord. Although her lead over the runner-up is not quite as big as it was at the first two World Cups, the 26-year-old is still 1.617 seconds ahead of Carpenter. Third-placed Myriam Nicole is already over eleven seconds behind.

Emilie Siegenthaler, who finished a promising sixth in qualifying, crashed twice in the race. Her rear wheel slipped off in the first crash. "During the crash, the brake was so misaligned that it was difficult to reach afterwards. The steep sections were so difficult to ride that I went over the handlebars again," explains Siegenthaler. As the gaps are very large, a lot would still have been possible for the fast Swiss rider even with the one crash.

Miriam Ruchti also falls in the steep section. At the last World Cup in Val di Sole, she dislocated her shoulder and tore the ligaments in her shoulder. "I'm glad that I can ride again at all. I still lack the strength to stabilize due to the injury," says Ruchti, who finished in 20th place. That's one place better than Carina Cappellari, who got through "without making any huge mistakes". "I could let go of the brakes a bit more here and there," says Cappellari.

Ranking World Cup 2013, #3 Vallnord/AND
Women
1.	Rachel Atherton (GBR)	4,47,778
2.	Manon Carpenter (GBR)	+0.01,617
3.	Myriam Nicole (FRA)	+0.11,450
4.	Emmeline Ragot (FRA)	+0.12,673
5.	Floriane Pugin (FRA)	+0.18,052
6.	Morgane Charre (FRA)	+0.18,262
7.	Tahnee Seagrave (GBR)	+0.26,659
8.	Jill Kintner (USA)	+0.29,914
9.	Fionn Griffiths (GBR)	+0.43,519
10.	Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI)	+0.47,261
20.	Miriam Ruchti (SUI)	+1.09,601
21.	Carina Cappellari (SUI)	+1.10,586