Race Wrap: 2025 DH World Cup Rd1, Poland
Bruni and Seagrave take the wins!
Rain, wind and snow turned the Polish track and race weekend into a mudder. Riders also had to contend with a new (and contentious) format where two qualifying sessions, held the day before the race, effectively eliminates a huge portion of the field from Sunday’s race. Here’s a look at the race highlights from Bielsko-Biała in Poland.
Elite Women
In the women’s race, Seagrave mastered the rain and snow to get her season off to the perfect start as she looks to get back on top after a series of bad injuries. Only American Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / SDEV) could get anywhere close to her, finishing second 1.711 back. German, Nina Hoffmann, rounded out the podium.
Seagrave, 29 said: “Because of the conditions, my brakes weren’t working very well so I think that helped. You’ve just got to make the best of it, I kept pumping the brake to make it work. I had a little sketchy moment at the end because I forgot to do that, but glad I managed to put it together.”
Results
1) Tahnée Seagrave – Orbea 3:34.340
2) Anna Newkirk – Frameworks 3:36.051
3) Nina Hoffmann – Santa Cruz GER 3:39.075
4) Camille Balanche – Yeti 3:39.835
5) Vali Höll AUT – YT 3:41.817
Elite Men
With the new qualifying format in place, a number of potential race winners never made it through to the final. Big names like Reece Wilson, Charlie Hatton, Laurie Greenland and Matt Walker were eliminated in Q2. South African’s Theo Erlangsen and Rory Kirk rallied through both qualifying sessions but finished a handful of seconds outside of a qualifying position. Just making the cut, by 0.6 of a second, were previous race winners and stars of the sport, Finn Iles, Jackson Goldstone and Danny Hart.
Bruni topped the timesheets in Q1 and would set off last on raceday. From the top, he looked on as compatriot Amaury Pierron put down a fast Sunday race run that looked hard to beat. However Oisin O’Callaghan put it all together to bank a brilliant time, moving into the hotseat. In the end, Bruni was just 0.156 of a second faster and took the win.
Bruni, 31, said: “Last season was a bit stinky with finishing so close to the win. I didn’t think I had it in me with the offseason a bit complicated and the weather being so far from my favourite conditions but I just kept on riding. To me it was not so perfect, it was really rough, and I was getting caught off guard with the braking.” With this podium, he equals his hero, Nicolas Vouilloz, with 44 career podium finishes.
Results
1) Loïc Bruni – Specialized 3:04.867
2) Oisin O’Callaghan – YT 3:05.023
3) Amaury Pierron FRA – Commencal 3:05.675
4) Richie Rude USA – Yeti 3:06.463
5) Thibaut Daprela FRA – Santa Cruz 3:06.886