Val d’Isere – best World Cup of the year? The course was short, steep and sketchy, the riding fast and furious, and there were some big surprises – including a new face on top of the podium. Here are our highlights.
1 Gwin didn’t win! But he still won
Aaron Gwin knew a good performance at Val d’Isere would hand him the series win with one round still to go. It didn’t go smoothly for him – he crashed in qualifying, rode the finals with five stitches in his hand and only just made it onto the podium. But he gained a 260-point lead over closest rival Greg Minnaar with just 250 still up for grabs, making him the first man to win back-to-back series titles since Nico Vouilloz.
2 Bulldog bash
Minnaar must have been delighted to oust Gwin from the hot seat for the first time since the season opener in Pietermaritzburg, but first Josh Bryceland and then Gee Atherton put in faster times. It was the Bulldog, Brook MacDonald, who was the big surprise though – third in qualifying, he muscled his way to his first ever World Cup win.
Brook MacDonald will have a sore head today after scoring his first World Cup win. Picture from MS Mondraker
3 All to play for in the women’s
Fresh off the back of victories at the British national champs and Crankworx Les 2 Alpes, Rachel Atherton won her fourth World Cup of the year. It puts her 80 points ahead of Emmeline Ragot – not bad considering she missed the first round in Pietermaritzburg – with a maximum of 250 still up for grabs. Rounding out the podium were Floriane Pugin, Myriam Nicole and Manon Carpenter.
4 Stacks of stacks
Once again, the weekend was marred by some big crashes. Tracey Hannah had to be airlifted to hospital after reportedly fracturing her femur and collarbone. Nick Beer and Damien Spagnolo both had spectacular over-the-bars in the finals, Sam Hill went down too, and a crash in practice left Justin Leov needing 19 stitches – nine of them internal. And of course, Gwin nearly missed the podium after injuring his hand.
Source: Aaron Gwin’s Crash at Val d’Isere by Steel City Media on VitalMTB
5 Coverage Bulls-up
RedBull.tv’s coverage of the World Cup has been pretty good this year, although it’s a shame the women’s racing isn’t shown live. Things fell apart a bit this weekend, though, with glitchy live coverage and the replay still not available at time of writing.
View the full Val d’Isere World Cup results here, and DirtTV’s highlights here.