FINAL RESULTS - 2020 World Championships Downhill 10

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 Women's winner, Camille Balanche post-race interview

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.

• Men are hitting the river gap.
• Reece Wilson backed up his gnar-gap-practice-steeze with a great time and no one even close with 20 riders to go. Will it hold?
• Aaron Gwin didn't look confident, just losing time the whole way down.
  
• Thibaut Daprela was green and crushing with ludicrous off-camber clawing, ultimately slipping out in the woods. Reece still in hot seat.
• Luca Shaw bobbles and crashes up high. Not today for #USDH. Reece in hot seat, Bernard 2nd, Moir 3rd.
• Matt Walker (GBR) was in touch, then tipped over in woods.
• Finn visited StruggleTown, Austria, in the woods but tobogganed the river gap.
• Not Dak's day either. An early mistake threw the whole rhythm off as he front-flip crashed in the stumps and tripoded the whole way.
• Remi Thirion rode the bucking bronco and trimmed a little time into 2nd with Reece still up by 5.9.
• Amaury's bro, Baptiste into 9th at the time of his run
• Mark Wallace, calm, composed and relatively clean, 6.6 behind Reece into 3rd with 9 riders to go.
• Brook Macdonald caused seismographs in the region to register earthquakes when he hit the ground. The ground shook, Brook didn't. He's ok and finished his run. YEAH BULLDOG!
• Trummer trims it! Only 3 seconds behind Reece with a clean, but aggresive run.
• Fastest qualifer, Loris Vergier with fast first split and then a bobble in the stumps. His flow and rhythm went downhill from there. Not today for Loris. 5 riders to go with Reece in the hotseat.
• Laurie Greenland with an incident off camera and 6-second deficit at first split. He continued on, but with an injured thumb, he wasn't pushing it.
• Minnaar, uncharacteristically, hits the deck at the tricky stump inside line up top.
• Danny couldn't pull a Champery scenario together. Reece guaranteed bronze at this point. Troy and Loic remain.
• Troy Brosnan, in touch at the top, green through the motorway and then slides out right as he jumps into the woods. He got up and smashed the woods, but it wasn't even close. Reece guaranteed silver.
• Loic 1.2 back at motorway. Hits the woods with a 1-second deficit and then BRUNI GOES DOWN! Reece Wilson wins gold.
• Reece Wilson gold, David Trummer silver, Remi Thirion bronze

Elite Men's winner, Reece Wilson post-race interview

Loic Bruni post-race interview

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!

Elite Men's Results

Elite Women's Results

Junior Men's Results

Junior Women's Results