One would think that World Cup Downhill racing might get old after awhile. A loan rider and their bike racing the clock down a French mountainside isn't anything new, especially in Les Gets, France, site of this week's race. Despite decades of this exact thing happening, the drama of race day Les Gets 2024 was unparalleled. Not just because the Junior race was canceled due to a weather forecast, but because Amaury Pierron humbled an entire Elite Men's field for the second race in a row and a brand new winner stood on the top of the box in the Elite Women's class. Experience a weekend of proof that downhill mountain bike racing will never get boring.
photos and interviews by Jack Rice
If we had the skills of Amaury Pierron, we'd be smiling, too. He's not smiling, but he's on his way to decimating the Les Gets Elite Men's field by 6.4 seconds...in the wet. Unstoppable.
Wet or dry...
Pierron knows how to fly.
Those chainstays must really work!Welcome to the top of the box, Eleonora Farina! The Italian pinner held nothing back, kept it in one piece and BLITZED the final off-camber speedway section. She won by 6.7 seconds in sticky mud conditions. Respect!
Eleonora's Intense M1Andreas Kolb put down a face-melter of a run in some of the worst conditions. 2nd place thanks to mustache power.Mille Johnset with a personal best in 2nd place. Everyone knows she has the skills and today she paired those skills with aggression and went 14 seconds ahead of 3rd place. BOSS.From 30th to 3rd. Greg Minnaar had his work cut out for him all week, squeaked his Norco into finals and used his hundreds of race runs to stay composed, upright and on the podium once again.Minnaar was 45th in qualifying and pushed it to 30th in semis to make the show. The GOAT never stops working for it.
It wouldn't be a race feature without an old-man joke for Greg. Which is older? That French church in the background or Greg Minnaar? #zingerTahnee Seagrave was theoretically on her way to a win with fastest times through the first 3 splits. The chute from hell took her down (like so many others), but she stayed focused to earn 3rd place.Tahnee sits in 2nd in the overall with two races remaining.Tahnee sees all.Remi Thirion. 4th place. Consider racing among 30 of the best downhillers in the world and being the only one to successfully hit the drop into the chute from hell on your way to the podium. True Jedi shit.Remi. French flag. Rain. Les Gets. No doubt there's a baguette in the crowd somewhere.And not only is Remi a skills master, he's a steeze master, too.No, no. Thank YOU, Remi. Thank YOU!Myriam Nicole with a hard-fought 4th place, just about a half-second off of Tahnee. For 3rd through 5th, it literally amounted to how fast a rider could get back on their bike after a crash.It's a celebration.When Thomas Estaque laid down a heater and stuck around in the hotseat zone to the end, all mountain bikers rejoiced. Just like Remi, Estaque is a style aficiando and he nabbed personal-best 5th place in front a home crowd.Thomas EsDabue.
Is the Michelin man posing for a YouTube thumbnail or in disbelief about the Junior race being canceled?Asa Vermette takes another win by the skin of his teeth. .075 seconds was all it took to get that W in qualifying over Max Alran. A few hours later, the world would learn that qualifying win meant race win.Heather Wilson jumping for joy when she learned the Junior finals were canceled because of incoming weather. Her .5-second victory over Ella Svegby (sorry, we don't have her photo) in qualifiers gave her a 1st place result. Confidence going into Worlds!Max Alran was ready to win at home, and there's a fantastic chance he could have done it if Union Coddling Internationale didn't intervene.
Mozell mashing it into 3rd!
Ellie eager for the exit.
Erice dropping off some Starlink satellites in orbit before returning to earth.
Insane in the MemDane Jewett.
Just a few onlookers.Now imagine being Dak Norton, last man down the mountain, and all those onlookers start chasing you before you finish! Dak still went 9th.
Anna Newkirk, muddy.Austin Dooley, muddy and loose.Benoit Cool-ange with the rotor guard. Last year's winner couldn't hang on in the mud this time around.#AllHailWynMastersHealing vibes to #USDH Tyler Zenoni who was airlifted out after a crash in qualis.Soline Besson with an 8th place in Junior Women.Ollie Davis apparently not impressing the local onlookers with his berm blast.
Bad race day for Finn, epic day for this frothing fan.Louise-Anna Ferguson holding it down for 6th!Lucas Dedora flossing a 9th in Juniors.Troy Brosnan can ride anything. He was just shy of a podium finish with a 6th in the slippery, sloppiness. More vlogs, please.Danny Hart didn't make the show, but he's always one to "grind it out". We'll "file" this one under bad luck. #zinger2Who wouldn't want to drop in to a run like this?Not-common thing #124 - Loic Bruni in 7th place.
Bernard Kerr
Jake Jewett
Frida Ronning made the show and crossed the line into 9th place.Insert Heart Emoji here.Don't wanna be one of those tech dorks on race day, but what's that thing by Ronan Dunne's seatpost?Monika Hgrasstnik.Marine Cabirou was 1st a year ago and this year she was last. It happens. The difference in conditions from this photo to race day are remarkable.Abby RoncaThumbs up if you hate chainsaws in the crowd as much as everyone but the guy with the chainsaw.Nina Ninth.
And Andreas Kolb and Greg Minnaar were never to be seen again.So long from France. Let's just remember it like this. We'll see you in Andorra for World Champs in a few weeks!
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