RESULTS - Leogang World Cup Downhill Final 11

​Leogang provided arguably the most dramatic race we've ever experienced from the UCI World Cup Downhill with incredibly close racing and unbelievable race run tales. The Elite Men Top 5 were separated by less than 2-seconds. The Leogang downhill course included new, natural steep sections compared to 2014 which livened up the historically-described "bike park" course.

The Junior Men raced first with dry conditions but overcast skies. Andrew Crimmins (Kona Factory Team) backed up his 1st place qualifier with a considerable 3-second victory over Jacob Dickson (Orange/Dirt) and Laurie Greenland (Trek World Racing).

Elite Women's racing was drama-filled with windy conditions on the upper part of the course, so spotty rain showers and a DSQ for the current World Champ, Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen). Carpenter, just feet from the finish line, hit the final jump and ran too far inside, breaking the tape and re-entering the course further down than where she left. She crossed the finish line before she could even try to stop and re-enter the course. An inspired Tahnee Seagrave finished in 2nd place with a strong run, edging out 3rd place Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) by less than .2-seconds. Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) finally broke her non-winning streak at Leogang with a top-of-the-box performance in Austria. Confident and collected, Rachel put together a run without any major mistakes to earn gold with a 4:04.10 time, 2-seconds faster than her qualifying result.

Loic Bruni (Lapierre Gravity Republic) ran early due to a crash in qualifying and held the fastest time by 2-seconds before the Top 20 dropped. His run was consistent, but he admitted to riding tight and did not think his time would hold up for the victory. His 3:38 was 3-seconds slower than Aaron Gwin's qualifying time from the day before. Bruni's time held up to the performances of the next 10 riders down the track and he remained in the hot seat. Brook MacDonald (Trek World Racing) described the strong winds on course, specifically in the motorway, proved to be a challenge. The riders continued to drop in, falling short of Bruni's time until Troy Brosnan (Specialized Racing), the 8th place qualifier, took out Bruni by 2.5-seconds with a 3:35.92. 7 riders remained. 2014 Leogang winner, and arguably the last rider to win a World Cup Downhill on 26-inch wheels, Josh Bryceland was nearly 2-seconds off Troy's pace. Last week's winner, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) who was looking for his 18th World Cup win, was on pace to beat Troy, but made some minor bobbles right before the finish drop which may have cost him the .3-second deficit that kept him from taking the lead. Gee Atherton (GT Factory Racing), also chasing his first-ever Leogang win could not match the pace of Brosnan and went into 3rd with 3 riders remaining. All eyes were on Remi Thirion (Commencal Andorra). A stylish fan-favorite, the French rider had the pace at the top of the course and a slight edge at the 2nd split. Brushing trees and taking some unique lines, Thirion pushed Brosnan out of the hot seat by just .2-seconds. Young Australian, Connor Fearon (Kona Factory Racing) dropped in and left everyone in his dust. 1.5-seconds up at the 2nd split, he finished his run 1.2-seconds ahead of Thirion, but he rode outside of the tape on the finish drop leaving everyone questioning a DSQ. With cat-like reflexes, however, he managed to stay within the poles which kept his run legal. Aaron Gwin (Specialized Racing) left the start gate in and instantly snapped a chain and had to coast his entire run. AARON GWIN WON THE RACE WITHOUT A CHAIN by just .04-seconds over Connor Fearon in a mind-boggling feat of flow.

Gwin retains the 2015 World Cup overall lead with Loic Bruni in 2nd and Greg Minnaar in 3rd.

Elite Men's Results

Elite Women's Results

Junior Men's Results