How to watch Canadians at World Cup Downhill Lošinj
Miller debuts world champ rainbows and Iles moves up to Elite in Croatia
Canadians are launching into the first downhill World Cup of 2018 on the Croatian island of Lošinj on Sunday and, while the track may be short, the stakes will be high. The newest stop on the World Cup doesn’t look like much on paper, but on the boulder strewn ground it’s causing all sorts of problems for riders, equipment, and mechanics. Time training and qualification runs have already claimed their share of riders, with reigning world champion Loic Bruni (Specialized) being the highest profile rider to succumb to the sizable stones littering the Lošinj track.
RELATED: Preview the newest UCI World Cup downhill course in Lošinj, Croatia
2017 was a stellar year for Canadian downhill, and they’ll be looking to carry that momentum as far into the new season as possible. Miranda Miller (Specialized) was the first Canadian woman to win worlds in 20 years when she took a dusty victory in Cairns, Australia last fall. Lošinj will be the first time she wears her rainbow jersey on a World Cup track. A flat in her qualification run means she’ll start earlier in the order, but her UCI ranking means she still gets a shot a finals run.
RELATED: World champion Miranda Miller: From broken bones to rainbow stripes
Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory Racing) had a breakout year in 2017, scoring several high World Cup placings and looking more at home than ever on track. Wallace qualified 20th today, but a good finals run could see him jump up the rankings. Two time junior world champion and 2017 Junior World Cup overall points winner Finn Iles makes his debut in the elite ranks in Croatia this weekend. He didn’t quite look himself during his qualifying run, and still placed 25th. The exception young rider is has faced more high pressure moments in the start gate than racers twice his age, so he could very well rise to the pressure for Sunday’s race run.
UCI Downhill World Cup Lošinj racing can be watched live on Red Bull TV: HERE
Watch the top three Men’s Elite qualifying runsruns from UCI Downhill World Cup Lošinj: HERE
Watch the top three Women’s Elite qualifying runs from UCI Downhill World Cup Lošinj: HERE
