Because of the heavy rainfall, it looks set to be a similar mud disaster to the 2020 World Championships on the same track. With her fifth place in qualifying, Camille Balanche shows that both the track in Leogang and the wet conditions suit her and that her success was no coincidence.

However, it is gradually drying out and the track is in much better condition on race day, but that doesn't make it any easier, not even for the Swiss racer. She mostly rides cleanly, has a few small, inconsequential slips, but moves very confidently, especially in the difficult forest section. Unsurprisingly, Balanche took the lead at the finish, just 1.5 seconds ahead of her team colleague Monika Hrastnik, who had already made an announcement with her time - she ended up in third place.The following riders also had to take risks, but with less success. Marine Cabirou (FRA) led for a while, but had too many slides and stoppers that cost her time. She ends up in fourth place. But it's not just the difficult forest section that is looking for victims. France's Myriam Nicole, second in the qualification, crashes in the first section. However, she catches up again impressively, but then crashes again in the forest. It was only eighth place.

An almost perfect run "messed up"

All eyes are on local hero Vali Höll. She hasn't raced since injuring her foot just before the 2020 World Championships, but has made an impressive comeback as a qualifying winner. And she left no doubt about her strength in her race run either. She leads all the intermediate times and rides towards her first World Cup victory. In the decisive forest section, she doesn't take the full risk and loses a little time. But shortly before the finish Höll crashes and victory goes to Camille Balanche. It is the first World Cup victory for a Swiss woman since Marielle Saner's win in Champéry in 2007.

"I felt really good the whole time I was here and had a really good run today. The fact that it was enough to win here in Leogang is awesome - a dream, many people said I was just lucky at the World Championships, but I wasn't interested and I didn't want to prove anything here, I just wanted to do my best. I managed to do that and that's why I'm so happy," said a delighted Balanche.

The fact that Höll, at just 19 years old, still managed to secure her first Elite World Cup podium is little consolation for the Austrian, as she reveals: "It's so hard. I could have won but I messed it up. I should actually be happy about my second place, my first elite World Cup podium, but I'm probably just too competitive. Maybe I just need to digest it a bit more, then I'm sure I can be happy about this great result again."

Like Höll, Emilie Siegenthaler was also injured at the World Championships a year ago. This was her first race in a long time and she finished in a respectable seventh place.

Results

Australians against the French superiority

Top times are set early in the men's World Cup race. Laurie Greenland starts from midfield after a cautious qualification. It is no surprise that the Englishman, one of the world's best riders, sets the fastest time. But it doesn't last long, as Frenchman Amaury - who also had a slow qualifying run - undercuts the Brit's time by over a second. Then it stays quiet for a while.

The world champion from Leogang, Scotland's Reece Wilson, comes very close to Pierron, but is unable to catch him and takes fourth place. Only Pierron's compatriot and team colleague Thibaut Daprela - third in the qualifying race - beat his time by two tenths of a second. You would expect something similar from the second-last rider, Danny Hart. However, the man for difficult tracks is unable to play to his strengths and just misses out on the podium in sixth place.

So the only question that remains is whether qualifying winner Troy Brosnan can withstand the pressure? After all, he won the qualifying run by 6.7 seconds. However, it doesn't look like the Australian will be able to repeat this performance in the first intermediate times, but he is still only just behind. In fact, he puts in an aggressive but precise ride in the extremely demanding forest section and lo and behold, Brosnan is seven tenths of a second ahead at the next intermediate time. On the short section to the finish, he extends his lead to 1.2 seconds and takes his first World Cup victory since 2017.

"That was crazy! After the qualifying win, I was full of confidence again and happy to be able to ride the speed again to be right at the front. And I also tried to attack the race fully, to ride as if it was dry - it was also much grippier than in the morning - I'm just overwhelmed," said an overjoyed Brosnan, searching for words.

From the Swiss camp, only one rider, Yannick Bächler, managed to qualify in the top 60. It is his first World Cup race at the elite level and therefore also his first appearance in the final. Bächler finished 55th in the main race and summarizes: "As I thought it would be more slippery, I rode a bit cautiously and played it too safe, although the surface would have been quite grippy. But I'm still satisfied for the first race."

Results