Best Images and Race Highlights from the 2024 Leogang World Cup DH
Austria’s Vali Höll produced a masterclass to claim victory at the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in Leogang as she finished seven seconds ahead of her nearest rival, while Frenchman Loïc Bruni carried on his incredible form to claim a second win of the season.
Having claimed victory in Leogang last year, Höll proved that she would be the rider to beat after securing victory in the semi-finals, finishing well clear of American Anna Newkirk. When the women’s finals got underway it was French rider Myriam Nicole who laid down an early marker as she set the time to beat. Lisa Baumann came close to taking the lead but a poor final sector meant she missed out on the hot seat. When the finals got underway it was French rider Myriam Nicole who laid down an early marker as she set the time to beat. Lisa Baumann came close to taking the lead but a poor final sector meant she missed out on the hot seat. A series of riders then slipped up with Nina Hoffman, Jess Blewitt and Tahnee Seagrave all falling foul of the slick conditions. Nicole maintained the lead with just two riders remaining but Anna Newkirk produced an incredible run to move into first place. The only person who could deny the American was the home favourite and Höll duly delivered as she made light of the testing conditions to claim victory by 7.1 seconds.
In the men’s race, Loïc Bruni set the standard in the semi-final as he finished 0.7 seconds ahead of US rider Luca Shaw. When the finals got underway on Sunday, the greasy course caused plenty of problems for a host of riders before Canada’s Finn Iles produced a stunning run to storm into the lead. Loris Vergier and Amaury Pierron threatened to take the lead but both made big errors that proved costly and with just two riders remaining it was Bruni who held the hot seat. Shaw was next up but got caught up in the woods and could only claim sixth place after a fall. That left Bruni who was simply sensational as he demolished the time of Illes to claim victory by a massive margin of 2.394 seconds – meaning he is yet to finish outside the top two in finals in 2024. Enjoy our photo epic:
Results
Elite Women
1st. Vali Höll: 3:40.141
2nd. Anna Newkirk: 3:47.243 / +7.102
3rd. Myriam Nicole: 3:47.980 / +7.839
4th. Lisa Baumann: 3:48.087 / +7.946
5th. Marine Cabirou: 3:49.848 / +9.707
Elite Men
1st. Loic Bruni: 3:05.523
2nd. Finn Iles: 3:07.917 / +2.394
3rd. Lachlan Stevens-Mcnab: 3:08.638 / +3.115
4th. Oisin O’Callaghan: 3:08.757 / +3.234
5th. Benoit Coulanges: 3:08.784 / +3.261
Race Highlights
Images: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool