Luca Shaw demonstrated his strength right from the start and maintained a steady pace and control throughout the challenging Loudenvielle-Peyragudes course. This secured him a narrow victory in the Elite Men’s category.

The fast and rough lower sections of the course caused difficulties throughout the weekend. The winner of the previous round, Loïc Bruni, is absent after a crash in practice. Defending champion Jackson Goldstone also misses the final after mistakes in both qualifying runs prevent him from advancing.

Asa Vermette wins his first Elite UCI Downhill World Cup at MONA YongPyong (South Korea) earlier this month. In Loudenvielle, however, the rookie has to go through Q2 and thus starts earlier in the final. The young rider rides fearlessly on the technically demanding lower sections of the course, but loses valuable time after a crash. 

The slippery conditions make life difficult for all riders. Loris Vergier seemed to be on his way to the fastest time before he crashed and was eliminated. His teammate Till Alran suffered a similar fate, also slipping on the loose surface.

Benoît Coulanges thrills the home fans by taking the corners perfectly and taking the lead with a strong time of 3:27.764 minutes  to finish second. Finn Iles is looking to make amends after a puncture in the previous round. He rides confidently and flawlessly, but loses some time in the final section of the course and finishes fourth, just five-tenths of a second behind the leader. Already in the upper section of the course, Luca Shaw gets off to an explosive start, passes the speed measurement at 81 km/h, and maintains his pace in the lower section as well. This secures him the victory by a margin of one-tenth of a second. For the penultimate starter, Amaury Pierron, Loudenvielle-Peyragudes once again turns into a nightmare. Another crash on the French course costs him valuable time. The fastest qualifier, Jordan Williams, loses more than a second in the first power-intensive section and continues to lose time thereafter. He is already more than two seconds behind before the most technically demanding part of the course and ultimately has to settle for third place.

Höll dominates in the women’s race

Valentina Höll rounds off a perfect weekend with a commanding performance in the women’s race. Last year’s overall winner and reigning UCI Downhill World Champion handles the dusty slopes of the French Pyrenees with ease and confirms her fastest time from qualifying.

Tahnée Seagrave is still absent from Loudenvielle-Peyragudes as she continues to recover from an elbow injury. European champion Lisa Baumann delivers a consistently strong ride. The Swiss rider remains error-free and sets a benchmark time of 3:56.222 minutes, which ultimately secures her third place.

Time can be made up in the upper section of the course, but Nina Hoffmann loses valuable seconds in the technically demanding middle section, while Sacha Earnest is eliminated after a crash. Valentina Roa Sánchez confirms her strong performance from the qualifiers and puts pressure on Lisa Baumann’s best time over the entire course. At the finish, however, she is nine-tenths of a second behind and finishes fifth.

Gracey Hemstreet gets off to a strong start and is, at one point, more than a second faster than the competition. However, after hitting a hole, the Canadian loses momentum. She remains focused and, with an aggressive line choice, still rides one second faster than Baumann, securing her second place. The penultimate starter, Myriam Nicole, hopes for a home victory for France. The experienced rider leads at the split time, but loses time on the lower sections of the course and drops back to fourth place.

Valentina Höll is fighting for her second victory in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes and appears confident right from the start. The Austrian takes the lead in the upper section and extends her advantage to three seconds on the steep sections. With a time of 3:51.920 minutes, she is 3.2 seconds faster than Hemstreet and confidently secures the victory.

Elite Men

1. Luca SHAW (CANYON DH RACING) | 3:27.637 - Overall leader
2. Benoit COULANGES (SCOTT DOWNHILL FACTORY) | +0.127
3. Jordan WILLIAMS (SPECIALIZED GRAVITY) | +0.611

Elite Women

1. Valentina HÖLL (COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES) | 3:51.920 - Overall leader
2. Gracey HEMSTREET (NORCO X ADIDAS RACE DIVISION) | +3.257
3. Lisa BAUMANN (COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES) | +4.302

Juniors

1. Jonty WILLIAMSON (YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM) | 3:32.781 - Overall leader
2. Raoul SCHNEEBERGER (SANTA CRUZ BURGTEC BY GOODMAN) | +0.986
3. Sacha Gabriel BRIZIN (COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES) | +2.129

Junior Women

1. Rosa ZIERL (CUBE FACTORY RACING) | 3:58.237 - Overall leader
2. Lina FRENER (NORCO X ADIDAS RACE DIVISION) | +0.017
3. Aletha OSTGAARD (CANYON DH RACING) | +1.560

Complete results