To win, all you have to do is not screw up for about 4 minutes. No biggie. What a day in Leogang!
The 2020 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Downhill race was not canceled due to snow. In fact, there were only snow flurries at the start hut. Rain and temperatures not too far above freezing made this race "a lottery" according to Danny Hart and a "war zone" according to Wyn Masters in pre-race interviews. Slimy, unpredictable conditions threw line choice out the window and claimed victims. For some riders, front wheels were locked up with mud jammed in fenders. Something as trivial as front fender choice could have been a deciding factor in this race.
Not trivial was a race strategy to send or remain conservative. Vali Holl suffered an ankle injury casing the river gap jump in practice before the race and did not start. This is her first year as an Elite racer and she qualified fastest on her home track.
Elite Women
The Elite women suffered through the peanut butter mud in the woods. At times, there were three downed riders in a single section, trying to get back to their bikes as they fumbled in the greasy mud. Myriam Nicole put down the first "real" run and still went OTB once with two dead stops in the process. Tahnee Seagrave was on a quick run, taking the gnarly, inside line to drop in the woods only to crash and tumble down the hillside. It took her a full minute to get back to her bike in the ice-rink-like conditions, dashing any medal hopes.
Camille Balanche, the first women to finish a top-to-bottom run without a crash, took the leading time from Myriam Nicole with just Marine Cabirou and Tracey Hannah to go. Marine Cabirou was looking hopeful, despite a horrendous crash in the stump section. In the woods mud gooped up in her fender locked her front wheel, causing crashes and time loss in the steep woods. Elenora Farina suffered this same fate of a mud-locked front wheel. Tracey Hannah was close keeping it clean until the woods also took her down and out. Staying upright was the key to winning the women's Elite race today and Camille Balanche earned a gold medal by remaining conservative with a 3-second victory. She is the first Swiss rider to win a World Championship Downhill. Props to #USDH Anna Newkirk for just finishing this disaster zone of a course!
Elite Men
The Men's race had no shortage of drama and preparation. Here's the play-by-play of runs thanks to the webcast.
Junior Men
No stranger to slop, Irish youngster, Oisin O'Callaghan, took the Junior Men's World Championship gold medal. #USDH rider and fastest qualifier, Matt Sterling, crashed and ended up 43rd. Chris Grice showed up for a respectable 14th with Dante Silva (28th) and Austin Dooley (35th) staying in one piece and doing their best for the stars and stripes.
Junior Women
Lauryn Chappaz of France decimated the Junior Women's field with a 46-second victory. Ella Erickson, while on a sufferfest of a run, managed to finish 5th for #USDH. YEW!
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