Thirion already caused a stir in Friday's qualifying race with his fifth place. In the race, it was the Canadian Steve Smith who occupied the current leader's "hotseat" for a long time. One rider after the other fails to beat Smith's time until Thirion causes a murmur in the crowd during the intermediate time. Still fastest in the second intermediate time, the 23-year-old really gets stuck in and crosses the finish line a good two seconds faster than Smith.

Some big names were still to come. Qualifying fourth Loic Bruni missed his compatriot's time. Overall leader Gee Atherton (GBR) sets a bombing split time in the upper section, but ruins his chance of victory with a riding error in the final section. World champion Greg Minaar (RSA) is also unable to catch Thirion and has to settle for sixth place at the end. Then all eyes are on the fastest qualifier Sam Hill (AUS). After setting the fastest split time in the first section, the Australian loses ground in the lower section and finishes third.

The fastest Swiss racer Nick Beer is experiencing an upward trend in downhill racing. After zero laps at the World Cups in Fort William and Val di Sole, Beer finally wanted to bring home a solid result again. He achieved this with 22nd place. The man from Bern is satisfied with his run - almost satisfied. "I'm annoyed that I lost time in the last part. That's perhaps the one or two seconds that are missing for a top 15 result," says Beer.

Dreams of victory dashed
After a disappointing 23rd place at the World Cup in Val di Sole, Noel Niederberger wanted to be back on the podium in the junior race in Vallnord. However, a fall in the first section quickly ruined the chances of the race winner. Thanks to a clean ride in the lower section and split times at the top, Niederberger still managed a good tenth place.

The victory goes to Brit Michael Jones, who beats Frenchman Loris Vergier into second place by just under half a minute. Third place went to Spaniard Daniel Algarro Navarro. With a respectable performance, Frenchman Jerome Caroli finished in eighteenth place.

Rankings World Cup 2013, #3 Vallnord/AND
Men
1.	Rémi Thirion (FRA)	4.13,666
2.	Gee Atherton (GBR)	+0.01,350
3.	Sam Hill (AUS)	+0.01,756
4.	Steve Smith (CAN)	+0.02,273
5.	Troy Brosnan (AUS)	+0.02,476
6.	Greg Minaar (RSA)	+0.02,549
7.	Danny Hart (GBR)	+0.02,957
8.	Loic Bruni (FRA)	+0.03,548
9.	Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (COL)	+0.03,979
10.	Aaron Gwin (USA)	+0.04,376
22.	Nick Beer (SUI)	+0.08,536
Juniors
1.	Michael Jones (GBR)	4.23,644
2.	Loris Vergier (FRA)	+0.00,468
3.	Daniel Algarra Navarro (ESP)	+0.06,122
4.	Alexandre Fayolle (FRA)	+0.08,124
5.	Luca Shaw (USA)	+0.08,354
10.	Noel Niederberger (SUI)	+0.13,117
18.	Jerome Caroli (SUI)	+0.19,098
DSQ	Joel Andrey (SUI)	DSQ