RESULTS: Val di Sole World Cup DH Finals 8

Val di Sole took no prisoners today as the world's best battled for the win in Italy.

iceman2058

7/1/2023 4:50am

Just a couple of hours after attempting to wrangle the Black Snake into submission, the top 11 women and top 32 men were back at the top of the hill for another run. The weather held for the first part of the day but the women's race still delivered plenty of drama early on, with Tahnee Seagrave crashing out while Jess Blewitt rode loose and fast to claim her place on the hot seat. Marine Cabirou took over her spot moments later, beating Vali Höll's winning time from the semi-finals earlier in the day. Camille Balanche took over the hot seat with a trademark smooth and fast run, and then all eyes were on Vali - could she win again after her triumph in Leogang a couple of weeks ago? The answer was an emphatic yes, Vali outclassed the rest of the field today, riding with notably more aggression and taking risks through the technical sections. At one point she was up by 3.5 seconds before bringing it to the line 2.9 seconds ahead of Camille.

As the men got underway, the weather moved in. Bernard Kerr laid down a fast run just as the rain was starting to make conditions tricky, and it soon became obvious that he would be in for an extended stay in the hot seat. As the rain intensified, the time gaps grew big, but just as it looked as though the race was done, the sun came back out and the track started to dry out. Loic Bruni gave us hope, going 3 seconds into the green at the top splits before fading away a bit at the line (not pedaling down the last straight, making us wonder if he had another drivetrain mechanical). Troy Brosnan was the first to really make sense of the improving conditions, dethroning Kerr and proving that the win was still in reach for any rider still up on the hill. Thibaut Daprela then laid down one of the loosest runs we've ever seen (and that's saying something when talking about Daprela). He went green at the line despite a near crash in the bottom woods which saw him give back quite a chunk of time. Jackson Goldstone on track, making it look easy! 3:34 at the line, almost 1 second faster than the fastest semi-final time laid down by Loris Vergier a couple of hours earlier. Finn Iles was in touch early on, but lost time to Jackson all throughout his run to go second at the line. Jordan Williams was close as well, sitting about 0.5 seconds back when a big crash ended his bid for glory. Only Loris left standing between Jackson Goldstone and his first ever elite World Cup win! Loris went green at the first split, but 2 seconds back already at split #2. 4 back at the line, Loris finishes 5th. Jackson wins!!! The writing has been on the walls, but it's still absolutely incredible to see. That means that out of the first three World Cups of the year, two first-year elite riders have taken wins - and Jackson leaves Val di Sole with the overall points lead. Old guys, watch out.