RESULTS: Loudenvielle Elite Downhill Finals

Hot on the heels of an eventful junior final, the elites lined up in the start gate for the penultimate round of the 2024 World Cup DH season. The low clouds that had moved in during the junior race got darker and more menacing as the day went on, and were to play a crucial role when it all was said and done. The track that had been drying out for two days had settled into a fairly hard-packed and fast state, and any added moisture now would turn it into an ice rink.

The women set off in the dry, and the rain held off for 9 out of the 10 riders. Vali Höll attacked the top parts of the course and took the hotseat with five riders to go, but she looked a bit tight towards the bottom sections which left her time vulnerable. Myriam Nicole rode with her trademark smooth and loose style to take over the lead with two riders left to go. Fastest qualifier Tahnee Seagrave looked like the woman to beat all week, but the weather had other ideas. A light drizzle turned into a full on downpour just as Tahnee left the start hut, and it was all she could do to roll down the mountain into tenth place. An anticlimactic end to the race, which also sees Vali take the overall World Cup title with one race to spare. Not the way she wanted to win it, but that is racing and she was on the lucky end of the weather lottery today.

As the men got underway, the conditions were apocalyptic. Heavy rain instantly transformed the track into a slippery mess, or as the people in Ireland call it, "Tuesday". Oisin O'Callaghan must have felt right at home, because he laid down the early marker and booked himself an extended stay in the (wet) hot seat. Not to be denied on home soil though, the French were not about to go down without a fight, and Benoit Coulanges showed that the track was still rideable as he threw down a magnificent run to take five seconds off Oisin's time. Would this be the fourth out of four race wins for a Commencal today? Game on! Reece Wilson had a good run to get to within two seconds of Benoit, but then we had to wait for quite a few riders to go by before the leading time was under any kind of threat again. Newly crowned Elite World Champion Loris Vergier got his rainbow stripe jersey dirty with a crash but still rode well to cross the line in 9th position at the time. Finn Iles was in touch at the first split, but went down soon after that, and we were left with only three riders at the top of the mountain. Was the track still holding up? Ronan Dunne hit the ground in the same turn that took out Loris earlier, but pieced together an incredible run after that to cross the line in fourth at the time and provide a glimmer of hope for the two remaining riders - the current overall series leader and his closest rival. Amaury was next up, and his first split was green! Riding with trademark aggression, Pierron was not here for second place, but unfortunately he washed the front moments later and he finished ten seconds back, putting a serious dent in his overall title aspirations. What would Bruni do? Green at the first split, and extending his lead at the second! Bruni looked like he then backed off the throttle, riding a smart race to finish 4th and secure his overall title. Congrats to Loic on another championship won, and to Benoit for a brilliant race win. Max Commencal will party hard tonight as well - all four race winners today were on Commencal bikes.

2024 Loudenvielle UCI World Cup Downhill Final Results - Elite Women