FINAL RESULTS - 2024 Mont-Sainte-Anne Elite World Cup Downhill - Mountain Bike News Story

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The end of the racing season is full of story lines. Who will win the last race of the year, who will take the overall titles, who goes into next year with a spot on a team, who might be looking for a job as the caravan of trucks rolls out of the pits. These stories unfold at their own pace, with some reaching their conclusion before the tires even hit the dirt, and others unveiling their final chapter well into the offseason. In the elite DH category, the 2024 overall titles were secured at the previous race already, with Loic Bruni and Vali Höll adding a pair of fresh trophies to their collections. Amaury Pierron hit a tree during yesterday's practice, leaving him with a broken hand and the French with one less hope for glory on the day. Myriam Nicole was fastest in yesterday's semi-finals, but Vali would surely want to sign off on a dominant season with a win here in Canada, cementing her position as the woman to beat going into 2025. Aaron Gwin finished in 7th place in the semis, signaling his long-overdue return to the sharp end of the results sheets, while the GOAT Greg Minnaar bagged himself a spot in the final of his last-ever World Cup as a racer, setting the stage for a proper send-off. Would Dak finally take his much-anticipated step up onto the top spot of the podium? Troy Brosnan won the semis and would love nothing more than to add another win to a list of achievements that arguably doesn't reflect his true greatness as a racer, while young guns like Ronan Dunne and Jakob Jewett lurked only a couple of seconds off the pace, ready to pounce on any weakness from the established stars. And last but not least, who would take home the ultimate prize in the inaugural Vital Downhill Fantasy game? It's story time!

Misty, foggy conditions and even some sprinkles greeted the Elite Women for their final race runs. Phoebe Gale, who's had a strong season, dropped in first after a lackluster qualifying result and her time remained strong. Canadian Gracey Hemstreet stomped a massive run on home turf besting Gale by nearly 5 seconds. Tahnee Seagrave pushed hard but had some bobbles with an insane save in the rock garden. She mentioned she wasn't even sure if she'd race after soreness from a rough week. Nina Hoffmann put her front wheel over the top of the first berm and went down. Marine Cabirou with a solid run, times yo-yo-ing between green and red at the splits, but she put it together through the last sectors to take the lead over Hemstreet. #USDH Anna Newkirk was on a sold run and went down trying the higher, straighter line in the slabs. Louise Ferguson, 3rd fastest qualifier had multiple off-the-bike issues. Vali Holl looked comfortable with two green splits, but then a .5 deficit before the slabs. When the rocks were finished, she was 2.6 off Cabirou crossing the line 2.3 back. Myriam Nicole remained. Pompon dropped in, .3 off the pace at the first split and then tipped over before the second split leaving her with 8.4 seconds to make up and never overcame the margin. Marine Cabirou takes the win in Mont-Sainte-Anne and secures 2nd in the overall. Gracey Hemstreet makes Canada proud in 2nd place today with Vali Holl in 3rd.

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Rain started to come down as the Elite Men took their place in the lineup. Early on, Richie Rude posted a 3:56 which was about 3 seconds slower than the winning Junior Men's time.

Hats off to Kirk McDowall, engineer at Norco, with a really solid time at 3:59 beating plenty of notable riders.

Laurie Greenland shows the form we're used to seeing from him with a time 2 seconds faster than Richie at 3:54 and it would be the time to beat for many riders to come.

#ALLHAILMINNAAR - Greg Minnaar, The GOAT, took his last World Cup Downhill run in slick, wet, foggy MSA conditions with speed, dignity and even a clip out in the rocks. While his time didn't contend for a podium, he made the massive crowd come to life as he whipped over the last jump. THANK YOU, GREG!

Remi Thirion challenged Laurie Greenland's time just .5 off the pace and with the weather deteriorating meant it would be a clutch performance. Angel Suarez was green in the first two splits then he fell back nearly 3 seconds. The cameras during his runs showed considerable rain on the lenses, too. Visibility was reportedly difficult for the riders at the time. As riders dropped, the rain continued and times were generally slower as the dirt and mud packed up.

World Champ, Loris Vergier, looked fast and aggressive, but the clock proved conditions were challenging as he finished 4.5 seconds off of Greenland.

Benoit Coulanges didn't care about the conditions and ran full mud tires. The fog cleared, but the rain was falling and Coulanges still went green at the first three splits, managed the rocks well but slipped back crossing the line in 3rd at the time, .6 seconds off.

Lachie Stevens-McNab also didn't give a single care about the conditions and rode like a madman with dry-condition tires. Slowly gaining momentum throughout the entire run, he rode loose and aggressively, avoiding catastrophe, knocking Laurie Greenland out of the hotseat by .4 seconds.

Bernard Kerr put in a strong effort, green at the first two splits, but slowly losing time rolling across the line in 5th, 2.2 back.

With conditions reminiscent of his mind-blowing wet-weather win in MSA years ago, Aaron Gwin broke the beam in his first finals of 2024. He showed that he's on his way back to form with a respectable time, not quite 5 seconds off the pace set by Lachie with a 3:59.

Ronan Dunne, slick-conditions dangerman, was on fire at the top with the first two splits in green, drifting corners and attacking, but at split 3, he was 2.2 seconds off the pace and then 4.1 seconds back after the rocks. It wasn't Ronan's day with a 3:58.

Finn Iles, hoping to wow the home crowd went down between the 2nd and 3rd split.

Loic Bruni, with the overall wrapped up, still drifted and floated his way down the greasy MSA track with some inside lines and composure. Brake rotor covers on and white pants getting covered in mud, he finished well off the pace with a 4:02, but in one piece heading home into the off season.

3 riders remain as Andreas Kolb hits the track with full aggressive semi-mud tires (Argotals). High lines and finesse kept him in touch through the top sectors but falling 1.6 back at split 3. As he exited the rocks, he'd dropped to a 3.5-second deficit and crossed the line 4.2 back with Dakotah Norton and Troy Brosnan in line for their runs.

Dakotah with bars in the sky and hair flowing out the back was foot out and aggressive until he went too far. Before the Stevie Smith drop, he came to a stop, turned around and pushed his bike back up the hill after missing a pole. He carried on, styling, but a forgettable result for Dak. Lachie sits on top as Troy Brosnan hits the track.

When the race seemed to be over and the rain and fog continued, Troy Brosnan laid down the run of his life after taking time off from racing due to the birth of a child. His splits were green or slightly out of touch, but he just continued to hammer with doubles, perfect line choice and even a mis-timed hop into one of the rock stepdowns. Through the finish line, the clock showed the victory. Troy Brosan won the race by just .062 seconds over Lachie Stevens-McNab. His result propelled him into 2nd place in the overall ahead of Amaury Pierron, something Troy didn't even know, as seen in his post-race interview.