The nasty weather hung around for today's qualifying session at the Leogang Downhill World Cup, but the riders started to make sense of it all as they made their bids for qualifying spots and UCI points ahead of tomorrow's final. In the Elite Men's category, Benoit Coulanges capitalized on his recent good form to claim the top qualifying spot, showing just how deep the French talent pool runs. Finn Iles was just 0.5 seconds back though, and there's a fairly big group of riders within just a handful of seconds so it's all still to race for come finals. Troy Brosnan proved just what a capable a rider he really is, coming straight back from a lengthy injury break to claim 6th place on a tricky Leogang course. Aaron Gwin will take some solace in his 12th place finish here today after a string of bad luck marred his season debut. Series leader Amaury Pierron ran into some issues which saw him land further down the leaderboard today - a lengthy stay in the hotseat could well be in the cards for this particular fast Frenchie in the finals (his winning time from yesterday's timed training session was actually 3 seconds faster than Benoit's qualifying time today...although it's hard to know if the conditions were comparable).
In the Elite Women's category, Camille Balanche once again found speed and flow where sometimes others will struggle, claiming the top qualifying spot just ahead of Vali Höll in second. The rest of the women were well off the pace and will need to reset before the finals. Jackson Goldstone once again stomped his authority on the Junior Men's field, while Jenna Hastings took home top honors among the Junior Women.
View replies to: RESULTS - Benoit Coulanges and Camille Balanche Qualify Fastest in Leogang
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