Jackson Goldstone lands his first elite World Cup podium in Leogang

After a weather-affected qualifying round, Saturday’s downhill semi-finals and finals had much more consistent weather, making for fantastic racing. Also consistently fantastic were Canada’s Jackson Goldstone and Finn Iles. Both ended up on the elite men’s podium on a thrilling day of racing.

The day turned out even better for the Austrian crowd, though, who were treated to a double Austrian win. Vali Höll and Andreas Kolb dominated on home soil, taking the elite men’s and women’s wins.

Elite Men: two corners away from victories

Start order for the final was determined by Saturday’s semi-final. Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) won that, putting him in the pressure seat as the last man on the mountain.

Before the Canadian could drop in, Andreas Kolb (Continental Atherton) laid down a heater of a run on his home course for the roaring Austrian crowd. That left the the top eight riders all chasing the European champion’s time.

Goldstone was the first Canadian to put pressure on Kolb. The Syndicate’s first-year elite was up at every intermediate timing split on course and looking fast until the final corner. With half a second to play with, Goldstone pushed just a bit too hard on the last corner before the finish line and washed out his back tire. The Squamish racer remarkably held it upright and pedaled hard enough to cross the line with a time still good enough for a podium finish.

Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) was the second last rider to drop in and, while his run looked incredible, it was not quite enough to unseat Kolb. Only Bruni’s Specialized teammate, Iles, remained in the start hut.

Iles looked fast and, with the help of some absolutely wild high-speed scrubs on the motorway, was briefly in the green. A close call just meters above where Goldstone’s run almost ended, this time on the second last corner, also took Iles out of contention for the win. The Specialized racer also recovered and crossed the line without touching the dirt, but still slid into fourth overall.

Andreas Kolb wins his first elite men’s downhill World Cup in front of a wildly appreciative Austrian crowd.

“It’s hard to talk to be honest, it’s so emotional for me. It’s my ninth Elite season, it took me ages to get here, and I will never forget this day, it’s unreal. I don’t know where I found the time. I made a few mistakes, but I was going so fast and just kept pushing. The bottom woods were insane, the crowd, that’s why we go fast. When I saw Vali take the win by four seconds, I just went for it.”

Loic Bruni takes second place and, with that result, moves into the World Cup leader’s jersey.

Jackson Goldstone takes third place, earning his first elite World Cup podium in just his second race since moving up from juniors. A fantastic result for the young Canadian and surely a sign of more to come.

“This was amazing. I felt good all week from the first lap. It was definitely one of my best race runs I’ve ever had until that last corner where I slid out. I just overcooked it. I can’t be mad at the result; it was an amazing race and I’m stoked for Andi. I need to iron out the small mistakes I guess but I’m so happy to be on the podium.”

Finn Iles earns fourth and moves into second behind his teammate in the overall standings.

Luca Shaw (Canyon Cllctv) makes it three North American riders on the podium with a fifth place finish.

Elite Women: Höll’s redemption

Leogang is Vali Höll’s home course but, ever since turning elite, it has not been kind to her. Injuries and crashes have ended the young Austrian’s chances at a home course win in years past. After finishing first in qualifying and in the semi-finals earlier on Saturday, the RockShox Trek racer looked poised to turn that around.

Before Höll had her chance at redemption, the other nine riders in the elite women’s final had their turn.

Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Factory Team) was the lone Canadian in the final. The first-year elite looked stylish and confident and, with the help of a massive turn of pace on the motorway’s high-speed jump section, pushed up into seventh overall.

Rachel Atherton (Continental Atherton) looked set to repeat her surprise win from last weekend in Lenzerheide, posting the fastest time at all the intermediate splits. The iconic Brit, who already has 40 World Cup wins to her name, also slid out in the Goldstone-Iles zone. Atherton was able to put a foot out to save her run, and a podium, but it was not enough for a second win.

Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal) also looked consistent, but could not manage more than second place. Nina Hoffmann’s (Syndiacte) run effectively ended when she missed a corner in the steep woods and blew into the netting on the side of the course.

Only Höll remained. The Austrian was dominant her entire run, exorcising past bad luck she’s put up on her home track with a massive win. The Rockshox-Trek racer finished an impressive 4.303 seconds ahead of Balanche’s second place time.

Valentina Höll wins her first elite World Cup of 2023, giving the Austrian fans a double home-team win.

“Leogang is such a hard race for me, last year was a disaster. I’ve never been so down or doubted myself more. The years before I had an injury, then a crash in the last turn. Every time I was so close… After Lenzerheide I was lost, I didn’t know what to do. It all just clicked this week. All my friends are here, everyone I love is here, so I am so stoked that they are all with me. I have massive expectations of myself to do it here finally, it feels so good. My bike was going so much faster in the finals, my mechanic did a really good job making my bike much firmer but that helped me go faster and carry the speed to the finish.”

Camille Balanche is second, and moves into the World Cup leader’s jersey. Rachel Atherton finishes third, Nina Hoffman fourth, even with a brief off-the-bike to get out of the fence, and Monika Hrastnik (Dorval AM Commencal) fifth.