Cabriou and Greenland take first elite World Cup wins in Val di Sole DH
Forrest Riesco 15th as unpredictable racing puts new names on top
Val di Sole delivered two days of unpredictable downhill racing, resulting in two first time elite World Cup winners.
Heavy rain unsettled many of the elite men’s favourites on Friday. Sun on Saturday did little to restore order on the notoriously rough downhill track, dubbed the “Black Snake.”
In the end, it was Laurie Greenland and Marine Cabirou who proved best at charming the snake under wildly changing race conditions. For both riders, it is their first elite World Cup win.
Sunshine Coast’s Forrest Riesco (Commencal Canada) was another new name to make the most of challenging conditions. The Canadian had luck on his side in Friday’s qualifiers, getting his run in before the rain started falling to qualify fourth. Riesco showed it was more than luck, though, backing that up with a big 15th place finish in finals on Saturday.
Elite Women’s World Cup downhill – Val di Sole, Italy
Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) has been pushing close to her first World Cup win for a while now. Racing at home in at Les Gets, she just narrowly missed the winning for the French home crowd.
At Val di Sole, it was finally Cabirou’s turn. The French rider won by a huge 11.776 second margin over current World Cup leader Tracey Hannah (Polygon UR). Hannah, who has been on a tear this year, held on down the rough track to take second. Switzerland’s Camille Blanche finished third, Veronika Widmann (INSYNC) fourth and Emilie Siegenthaler (Pivot Factory Racing) rounded out the podium in Italy.
Elite Men’s World Cup downhill – Val di Sole, Italy
French riders have dominated the elite men’s World Cup downhill so far in 2019. After five rounds of racing, a French rider had been on the top step of every single time.
At the sixth round, Laurie Greenland finally ended the French winning streak. The young MS Mondraker rider has been on the elite podium before, following a wildly successful junior career, but had yet to win a World Cup in the elite category.
In Italy, the “Black Snake” seemed to suit Greenland’s on-the-limit racing style. Greenland takes his first elite World Cup win in Val di Sole, by a 2.854 second margin.
Three French riders surrounded Greenland on the podium, with another two in the top ten, showing that while the streak may have ended, the French are still on top of World Cup downhill. Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity Racing) claimed silver, Loris Vergier (Santa Cruz Syndicate) bronze and Amaury Pierron (Commencal / Vallnord) fourth. Making for two British riders on the podium, Danny Hart (Madison Saracen Factory Team) claimed the final spot on the extended podium in fifth.
Canadians in Val di Sole
After his fourth in qualifying Friday, Forrest Reisco was the fastest Canadian again on Saturday. Riesco finished a career-best 15th in Val di Sole.
Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity), newly crowned Canadian elite downhill national champion, finished two spots behind Riesco, in 17th. After a big crash in practice saw Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory Racing) opt to skip Friday’s qualifying run, the Vancouver Island rider rallied to cross the line 29th in Val di Sole. The result preserves Wallace’s top-10 overall standing, putting him in ninth with two rounds remaining. Iles is not far behind, ranked 15th in his second year racing in the elite category.
Kirk McDowall (Unior Devinci Factory Racing) finished 36th and Henry Fitzgerald (Norco Factory Team) 46th in Val di Sole.
