The final World Cup DH of the year took place in Canada. Here are the results, race report and highlights vids from Mont-Saointe-Anne.
RACE HIGHLIGHTS, Elite Women, MSA Round 10:
RACE HIGHLIGHTS, Elite Men, MSA Round 10:
DH World Series Rd10 MSA: Women’s Elite results
| # | Rider / Team | Time | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marine CABIROU (FRA)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 04:01.617 | – | 250 |
| 2 | Nina HOFFMANN (GER)SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | 04:02.333 | +00:00.716 | 210 |
| 3 | Myriam NICOLE (FRA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 04:03.913 | +00:02.296 | 180 |
| 4 | Lisa BAUMANN (SUI)COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES | 04:06.340 | +00:04.723 | 150 |
| 5 | Sacha EARNEST (NZL)TREK FACTORY RACING DH | 04:08.824 | +00:07.207 | 120 |
| 6 | Lisa BOULADOU (FRA)GOODMAN SANTACRUZ | 04:10.128 | +00:08.511 | 90 |
| 7 | Jenna HASTINGS (NZL)PIVOT FACTORY RACING | 04:11.654 | +00:10.037 | 80 |
| 8 | Phoebe GALE (GBR)ORBEA / FMD RACING | 04:12.812 | +00:11.195 | 70 |
| 9 | Veronika WIDMANN (ITA)MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING DH | 04:14.537 | +00:12.920 | 60 |
| 10 | Monika HRASTNIK (SLO)AON RACING – TOURNE CAMPERVANS | 04:15.269 | +00:13.652 | 50 |
DH World Series Rd10 MSA: Men’s Elite results
| # | Rider / Team | Time | Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson GOLDSTONE (CAN)SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | 03:30.096 | – | 250 |
| 2 | Luca SHAW (USA)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 03:32.340 | +00:02.244 | 210 |
| 3 | Andreas KOLB (AUT)YT MOB | 03:32.341 | +00:02.245 | 180 |
| 4 | Dakotah NORTON (USA)MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING DH | 03:32.646 | +00:02.550 | 160 |
| 5 | Ryan PINKERTON (USA)MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING DH | 03:33.052 | +00:02.956 | 140 |
| 6 | Troy BROSNAN (AUS)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 03:33.176 | +00:03.080 | 125 |
| 7 | Amaury PIERRON (FRA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 03:33.193 | +00:03.097 | 110 |
| 8 | Luke MEIER-SMITH (AUS)GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM – DH | 03:33.971 | +00:03.875 | 95 |
| 9 | Loris VERGIER (FRA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 03:35.332 | +00:05.236 | 80 |
| 10 | Dylan MAPLES (USA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 03:35.388 | +00:05.292 | 75 |
Race reports and photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports:
Goldstone and Cabirou Take Wins After Downhill Finale Drama in Mont-Sainte-Anne
Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) clinched the Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup overall title in the most dramatic of circumstances in his home country at Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada), presented by Events.com. Meanwhile, Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) took her 11th career UCI World Cup victory following an enthralling end to the women’s Elite category.
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Coming into the weekend Goldstone was locked in a battle for overall honours with quickest qualifier Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity). However, a crash for Bruni in a training run resulted in the Frenchman suffering a thigh injury and not taking to the track for finals.
In front of his home crowd Goldstone rose to the pressure and put down a winning run, putting Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) into second and early starter Andreas Kolb (YT Mob) into third.
The women’s Elite event was equally as dramatic after the top three riders overall all had issues on the Mont-Sainte-Anne (Canada) course. Valentina Höll (YT Mob) suffered a flat tyre in the finals, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) crashed out, and Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) pulled out of qualifying with a back injury. Cabirou had no such problems narrowly beating Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) into second, while fastest qualifier Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) finished third.
American riders Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5DEV) and Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) replicated their quickest qualifying runs to win the men’s and women’s Junior categories respectively. Vermette also finished in the quickest time of the weekend of 3:29.7 – over three tenths quicker than Goldstone. Proving their consistency Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) and Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) also held their nerves to seal the junior overall victories.
GOLDSTONE RISKS EVERYTHING AND MASTERS HOME COURSE
Youngster Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) completed the perfect season as he wrapped up the overall UCI Downhill World Cup series. The 21-year-old also matched the record of five Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup wins in the same season of Aaron Gwin.
The previous day Bruni set the quickest qualifying time of 3:33.5 and had to finish on the podium to seal the overall title. However, after Goldstone flew down the slope in 3:30 and took the lead. Bruni then opted not to start due to a thigh injury sustained in practice, stunning his rival and handing him the overall honours.
After qualifying through Q2 the previous day, Ryan Pinkerton (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) had a point to prove early in the field. The young American set a benchmark time of 3:33.05, which was quicker than Bruni’s quickest qualifying time the previous day and earned him a fifth placed finish. Andreas Kolb (YT Mob) crashed in the previous day’s Q1 and had to book his final spot through Q2. The Austrian showed no fear with huge jumps into the rock garden and was one second faster than Pinkerton in a new benchmark time of 3:32.3.
The rock gardens caused havoc all weekend, with Martin Maes (Orbea/FMD Racing) suffering a flat tyre before Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory Racing DH) crashed out. Kolb’s blistering time stood the test of time until Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) made his mark on the course. The Irish rider led by seven tenths before his tyre exploded on a rock following a heavy landing to end his run. American Dakotah Norton (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) was next to challenge the time of Kolb, but despite gaining time on the final rock garden with his high-rise bars he finished just three tenths slower to finish fourth.
All the pressure was on young UCI Downhill World Champion, Goldstone, who flew out of the starting gate on his home course and was in contention from the opening turns. Fighting through the trees Goldstone maintained his speed with huge jumps as he tripled over the difficult rock garden to maintain his speed. Goldstone mastered the final sector to finish two seconds faster than Kolb to go quickest and send the Mont-Sainte-Anne crowd wild.
Penultimate starter Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) showed his experience with a controlled performance and was a second slower than Goldstone in the top sectors. Shaw gained momentum and charged through the rock garden to finish runner-up just two seconds behind Goldstone.
The drama then unfolded as all eyes were on the starting gate for the final competitor of this year’s series. However, Bruni did not appear, and his team later announced the earlier injury suffered in practice. The result gave Goldstone the overall series victory by 178 points ahead of Bruni in second and Shaw in third.
Following his victory Goldstone said: “I’m completely speechless. That was the run of my life. I knew I had to give it absolutely everything, it wasn’t pretty, I was making so many mistakes and getting super sketchy. The crowd were so amazing and cheered me on every step of the way. It didn’t feel quite right not battling with Loïc (Bruni) and I have no clue what happened. It’s not the way I wanted to win. I was hoping it to be a good fight right to the bottom, but we got it done at the end of the day.
“I hardly got any sleep last night, it was staring at the roof for two hours as my mind was racing. I just had to try and focus on myself. It was quite testing for me.
“I hope Loïc (Bruni) is alright. It was such a good battle with him this year, he’s someone I’ve looked up to my whole career and what an amazing rival to compete with.
“It’s such a cool and friendly rivalry we’ve got and we’ll be battling again next year.”
CABIROU FINISHES SEASON IN STYLE WITH VICTORY
Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) repeated her win at Mont-Sainte-Anne from 12 months earlier by building her speed through the lower sections of the Canadian course and finishing her season in style.
Young New Zealander Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory Racing Downhill) has overcome several injuries this season. The youngster showed her talent to set a blistering opening two sections and posted an early benchmark time of 4:08.8 which was good enough for fifth overall.
Last weekend, UCI Downhill World Champion, Valentina Höll (YT Mob) won her first UCI World Cup of the season and with it, the overall series. Höll looked determined for more success and put down an impressive top two sections which were four seconds faster than Earnest. The Austrian continued to build her speed down the track and led by 6.5 seconds, until suffering a punctured front wheel and had to walk the remainder of the track.
Meanwhile, Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) was looking for her first victory in Mont-Sainte-Anne after finishing runner-up last year. The Canadian started on the front foot and was 2.4 seconds faster than the quickest time before crashing out at the bottom.
Like 12 months earlier Cabirou mastered the Canadian course and built speed throughout her run to post a winning time of 4:01.6.
Nina Hoffmann (Santa Cruz Syndicate) won in La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta (Italy) earlier this season and was also bidding to sign off the campaign in style. The German competitor matched the time of Cabirou through the opening sections before finishing just seven tenths of a second slower.
Meanwhile, Camille Balanche (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was in the thick of the podium battle in the final ride of her career, before crashing.
Final starter Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) was quickest qualifier and was hoping to end an indifferent season with victory. The French woman showed aggression through the technical section as she looked to repeat her UCI World Cup win at the same venue in 2019. Nicole was four tenths behind after the second sector and had everything to do in the second rock garden. However, the Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction rider finished 2.2 seconds behind in third.
Following her victory Cabirou said: “I’m happy to take the win today, it’s incredible.
“I tried my best the whole week to have a good result today, as last week was not very good for me. I have had some good races today and some really bad.
“I’m happy to take the win. I couldn’t have hoped for a better race to end the season. I made some mistakes during my qualification run and I wasn’t too happy with my qualification.
“Today I knew I had more in the bag so I just focused on myself and tried to give the best I could. I’m really happy to get my 11th win here, I love this track and this crowd.”
Höll topped the UCI World Cup overall standings followed by Hemstreet in second and Seagrave in third.
VERMETTE SIGNS OFF JUNIOR RANKS WITH VICTORY, WHILE ALRAN CLINCHES OVERALL
Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5DEV) clinched the North American victory he desired and won the men’s junior category by over four seconds. The 18-year-old, who also took victory in Bike Kingdom – Lenzerheide (Switzerland), will move up to the Elite ranks next season and his winning time of 3:29.7 was faster than all the men. After finishing runner-up in Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York last weekend the American was fired up to go one better in Canada.
Jonty Williamson (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) set a benchmark time but left time on in the bottom two sections as he eventually finished third. Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team teammate Tyler Waite then put pressure on the later starters by going three seconds faster, and was runner-up. The precarious nature of the course was evident when Till Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) crashed on the last section and placed 14th.
Before the finals session, Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) had suffered a crash in the rock garden during his last practice. However, the Frenchman had the overall title at stake and needed a top five finish to secure it. Max Alran held his nerve and despite placing fourth his time was enough to secure the overall series title.
Final starter Vermette was not to be denied and posted an impressive winning time.
Following his win Vermette said: “I didn’t think it was going to be a that good of a run, I didn’t feel any quicker than yesterday (in qualifying).
“I was off-line in a few bits. I’ll have to watch my GoPro back, but it felt pretty good. I really wanted to get the win after not getting it last weekend at basically home in Lake Placid.
“It felt great. In the start gate my mindset was just to win. I wasn’t that worried about the overall as I knew it was going to be hard.
“I just tried to put down my best run. I’m stoked to go and battle with the elites next year.”
Max Alran took the overall series, finishing 12 points ahead of Vermette, while Waite placed third.
After winning the overall series Alran said: “This morning was pretty bad.
“On the last run of practice I crashed in the rock garden and dislocated my finger on the left hand, but it was not the worst.
“My wrist was already sore after crashing in Lenzerheide and it was just feeling better at Lake Placid and all the week. I crashed again and it hurt.
“I’m super stoked to make it to the bottom. We did it pretty good with fourth and to keep the overall. I just had to keep riding as I know and try to be safe.”
OSTGAARD FINISHES WITH DOUBLE AS ZIERL SEALS CROWN
Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) secured back-to-back victories in North America to finish the season on a high. Quickest qualifier Ostgaard also took victory in Lake Placid Olympic Region, New York, last weekend and was again triumphant following a well-paced run.
Meanwhile, Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) did enough to secure the overall series title with a third placed finish. Zierl qualified fourth quickest and knew that a top eight finish world secure the UCI Downhill World Champion the UCI World Cup series overall. The title was never in doubt for the 16-year-old who was quicker than those before her at every split and her time was enough for another podium finish.
Penultimate starter Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Syndicate) threw down the gauntlet to her rivals with an aggressive top section in a search for her first UCI World Cup win of the campaign. The New Zealander held on to her early advantage and finished one second quicker than Zierl.
Final starter Ostgaard was in touch with Hulsebosch on the first two sections before building pace throughout her run. The American carried her speed and finished over a second clear of Hulsebosch in a winning time of 4:04.2.
Following her victory Ostgaard said: “I just gave it everything I had.
“This course is easy to make mistakes, but there is a lot of time to make it up. I just gave it everything, even though I had a scary moment.
“I kept pushing as hard I could. It was about pacing myself and not killing myself on the top section. Ellie (Hulsebosch) is so strong on the top section and she could muscle her way through it, that was really impressive.
“I know I can’t do that quite yet, I’m going to try. I just had to pace myself at the beginning and get faster during the run.”
With eight podium finishes in 10 rounds the consistency of Zierl was enough for her to clinch the overall UCI World Cup by 35 points, ahead of Ostgaard in second and Hulsebosch in third.
Women Junior UCI Downhill World Champion, Zierl said: “I just enjoyed riding my bike so much this season.
“With the wins, I was quite often on the podium. It was perfect. It’s even more of a confidence boost to know that I’m fast, but I still have to work a lot to get even faster.
“I’ll enjoy the first few weeks of the off-season before we start training again. It’s good to know how consistent I was.
“Also, for the World Championships that I could deliver on that one race too. I’m just super happy.”
DH World Series Overall Standings: Women’s Elite
| # | Rider / Team | Total points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valentina HÖLL (AUT)YT MOB | 2139 |
| 2 | Gracey HEMSTREET (CAN)NORCO RACE DIVISION | 1727 |
| 3 | Tahnee SEAGRAVE (GBR)ORBEA / FMD RACING | 1604 |
| 4 | Nina HOFFMANN (GER)SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | 1282 |
| 5 | Marine CABIROU (FRA)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 1280 |
| 6 | Camille BALANCHE (SUI)YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM | 1176 |
| 7 | Anna NEWKIRK (USA)FRAMEWORKS RACING / 5DEV | 737 |
| 8 | Sacha EARNEST (NZL)TREK FACTORY RACING DH | 660 |
| 9 | Phoebe GALE (GBR)ORBEA / FMD RACING | 630 |
| 10 | Jess BLEWITT (NZL)CUBE FACTORY RACING | 615 |
DH World Series Overall Standings: Men’s Elite
| # | Rider / Team | Total points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackson GOLDSTONE (CAN)SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | 1946 |
| 2 | Loic BRUNI (FRA)SPECIALIZED GRAVITY | 1768 |
| 3 | Luca SHAW (USA)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 1366 |
| 4 | Loris VERGIER (FRA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 1199 |
| 5 | Amaury PIERRON (FRA)COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 1170 |
| 6 | Troy BROSNAN (AUS)CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 1018 |
| 7 | Andreas KOLB (AUT)YT MOB | 1002 |
| 8 | Oisin O CALLAGHAN (IRL)YT MOB | 888 |
| 9 | Ronan DUNNE (IRL)MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING DH | 848 |
| 10 | Luke MEIER-SMITH (AUS)GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM – DH | 826 |
How was it for you?
How many of y’all watched the racing live this year? From some deeply anecdotal ‘research’ (ie. our riding buddies) it seemed like not many folk renewed their subscription to Discovery+ once the price went up so massively.
Talking points then…
Belts eh? They didn’t seem to trouble the podiums much. Possibly more to do with racing being about riders rather than the bicycles.
Weight matters. But not lighter weight it seems. A whole swathe of riders adding weights to the bikes to make them up to 2kg heavier. A possible side effect of the racers riding e-bikes so much when training?
Vermette and the Alrans going up to Elite next year. Oof. Not to mention the rise of Henri Keifer who’s already in there.
The whole sorry YT saga. Hopefully the riders (Holl, O’Callaghan and Kolb) have secured spots on other teams for 2026. And kudos to the whole YT Mob race team itself for keeping on going (and stumping up their own cash to do so).
Next year’s Elite Women’s field is going to get even better. As well as the interest in what team Holl will end up, the resurgence of Seagrave, Cabirou and Nicole – combined with the impressive racing from the new Elite racers Hemstreet & Earnest – all makes for a fascinating field.
Like the race season itself, let’s end with Goldstone vs Bruni. It’s safe to say that no-one wanted the Overall to be decided with an injury (or crash, or mechanical) but it is a reminder that DH racing is a sport that is partly about crashing. Crashing was how Goldstone lost his seemingly unassailable mid-season win streak.
As well as crashes, DH racing is now very much about qualifying; it was Bruni’s superior qualifying that got him in the lead going into the final round. But to be honest, as with crashing, I don’t think many folk want to see the Overall title effectively won by the best qualifier. With a record-equalling total of 5 race wins it does feel right that Goldstone took the Overall, no matter how frustrating the final race day turned out to be.
Talking points for me…
I hope that the spectators that Gracey Hemstreet went into are OK. There was at least one woman I saw limping away in the immediate aftermath. It’s pretty rare for this to happen at real pace, so hopefully there are no bad injuries and no knee-jerk reactions re crowd safety.
Bruni – well, that’s is an interesting one. Jackson put down a run for the ages. He risked it all-in, it paid off. He won at home with a barnstormer of a run and sealed the overall in the process. It worked out for the best all-round. If Jackson had crashed, suffered a serious injury and DNF’d then Bruni DNS and still won the overall… would anyone be asking awkward questions about the psychology of applying pressure in such a high risk sport? Thankfully, that’s all just whataboutery now. Hopefully Loic can get home and enjoy some family time and the more important things in life.
And Camille Balanche. Wow, she is as hard as nails (we already knew that anyway), but it is such a crazy contrast between her taking a slam like that, a quick dusting off and completing the run vs footballers with all their pseudo gang/jail ink rolling about on the grass feigning injury. I hope she stays involved in some way as she is such a calm, tough competitor that she will have oodles of advice and help to give others.
For me this was the best race I have watched on the old tellybox for a while.
We knew Jackson was going to go all in… title race, great conditions and a home crowd meant he was going to make it count. But I was not prepared for just how on edge he would be and those few sketchy moments were edge of the seat stuff. Then he sent the drop and was so close to not making the corner… incredible. On top of that we got the absolute looks of befuddlement when Loic was not in the start hut. I know neither of them wanted the season to end that way but considering the top players were a full 2.5 seconds behind Jackson I am not sure an uninjured Loic could have made it stick enough to guarantee the overall win.
Absolutely echo what @Ragmop said about Camille and extend that to Gracey. She was clearly in a huge amount of discomfort but she still went and stood on that podium. I really thought Camille would DNF after that slam but no, dusted herself off and cracked on. How many times do we see it though – riders with injuries just strapping up and dropping in anyway.
Coverage was pretty good too.
The Bruni moment is a contentious one for me. Jackson put down and absolute heater, no denying that. But Bruni was either fit to ride or not. Was he hovering around the start gate to keep a bit of psychological pressure on Jackson? If he’d declared he was unfit to ride before Jackson went down, then Jackson could just piddle down, roll in around 10th with a safety run and take the championship.But it strikes me as a bit sour to turn up at the start hut with no intention of taking the run.I love Bruni’s riding but for sheer entertainment, the best man won in my opinion.
They can/could, but IMO Loic was 100% right to make Jackson think he had to put down a heater, absolutely correct. He was leading the title and he’s got every right to make the other guy think he needs to give 100%.
Others may completely disagree with me, but i’m 100% in my mind.
Bruni was probably in a state that he could roll down (I mean, a Bruni ‘roll down’) but not in a state where he could bother the top 10. If Jackson had punctured or crashed that might have been all it took for the overall.
As it was he was quite right to be at the top ready to go but pull out when it became clear Jackson had just won the race.
Also, he’s got a kid due in 2 days or something, doesn’t he? Totally agree with making a business decision in this case.
sleeper edit is here 😀 , and soundtracked by one of the fav songs of my teenage years…..I haven’t listened to it for over 35 years but I can still remember every word…
forum not letting me paste link to sleeper on YouTube, someone else can do it…..
I think only Loic will ever know what the tipping point was for him to run or not. If Jackson had been conservative/slower than Luca (and whatever other permutations there were mathematically) at what point would Loic have thought he could finish high enough to take the Championship with a run of some sort? And when would he have known whether that was the case, I’d assume not before going up the hill in any case.
Or a less cynical view was he just up there in pure denial/hope that he’d be putting a run in regardless and some time at the top by himself gave him the clear head to realise it wasn’t happening and with a child due imminently look again at the risk vs. reward of attempting a run injured and ending up in hospital.
If he knew he wouldn’t be taking the start but wanted to keep the pressure on Jackson, is that really any less sporting than all the athletes turning up full of painkillers/bandaged up and putting a brave face on in front of their rivals despite illness/injury/mental fatigue etc. but hoping that your opponent is secretly in worse shape than you?
FWIW I’m a big Jackson fan in general and would have preferred him to win with a straight shootout but don’t personally feel there was anything that out of order in what Loic did.
I’m with @weeksy although it seems many on PB disagree.
Of course Loic was going to hold his cards to his chest until Jackson was done. Loic wouldnt be an elite, world champion level sports person if he’d done anything else. There was absolutely nothing immoral or unsporting about it. Goldstone could have flatted. Crashed. Just had a bad run.
JG has even said himself that what he loves about the sport is that his run, does not affect what others do, and vice versa. I genuinely believe thatJG will be gutted that Loic didnt get to race him fair and square. They have been pushing each other all season, its been great.
Well deserved win for Jackson. Gutting for Loic but he’ll come back.
Cami Ballanche = Hard. As. Nails. Absolute hero.
Also completely agree with this.
Loic wasn’t giving the title away for free. Whatever his mind was, by being at the top seemingly ready to drop in he made it a race that Jackson had to win.
Congratulations to Asa for the fastest time of the day.
Also completely agree with @weeksy. Nothing wrong with LB doing what he did.
Do we know why LB didn’t make the podium for the overall? Probably mentioned somewhere but I’ve not seen off so.
I don’t think he could walk tbh. There are some clips of him heading to a medical centre and he is moving very gingerly.
Totally agree Loic did the right thing, although maybe he could have stood in the start gate or rolled to the first camera and said something rather than just pull the “Irish goodbye".
See he’s got quite a bit of hate for his actions, which I could only image would be worse if Jackson crashed/punctured and Bruni only needed to ride down gently* for 29th to take the overall – I’m sure some people, unaware of the injury, would have been even more critical of him for not trying to win the race.
*Don’t know if this would mean bike-park-pro-pace, or a 10 minute bimble and walk.
Also Luca Shaw. With no quali points this round, I would imagine most of the field were aiming for a safe top 20, like 95% effort, rather than going all out? With the exception of JG and LB who both would benefit from going last meaning for them this is the most important quali run of the year. But despite this Luca still manages to slot inbetween them. And in doing so, gives Loic the chance to watch Jacksons run
I didn’t like it at first, but then I though about it and Bruni has to see what JG does before saying if he’s going to ride or not.
I don’t know what the permutations were exactly, but if Jackson comes down 4th or something maybe Bruni needs a top ten finish to win the overall, he’s going to give that a go! But gunning for 1st wasn’t possible in the state he was in.
Agree he should probably have maybe come to the start gate or got on the podium though.
The hate brunis copped for this is ridiculous. its a competition its completely fair to make jackson go out and win it. Also he needed to put in P3 i dunno what the maths says but I think p10 was a long way back maybe he felt he could do that.
What a race – both Men’s & Women’s.
Camille getting up and carrying on after that slam was amazing.
Gracey’s crash was something else, real heart in mouth time – not seen anyone go into the crowd for a long time. Hoping the spectators are OK.
Vali seemed somewhat liberated – shorts, a heater of a run, and then just having a f*** it moment and enjoying the crowd. It really came across in her interview after the race too – seems like she’s had a massive weight lifted. Guessing she’s not short of offers for next season.
Andy Kolb seemed in good spirits, and already has a new team lined up – rumour is he might be in pink & blue……
Jackson’s run was on the edge – he really wanted that, a pity that Loic didn’t race, but as others have said he was quite right to get to the top and wait and see what Jackson did.
Did I imagine it or did Ronan pretty much land to flat off the Stevie Smith drop?
Looking froward to next season already!
All very fair and reasonable. I think as I typed my comment, I knew it’s the racers approach to psyche out the opposition. All’s fair in love & war.Would’ve been nice to see Loic give the fans a bit more but if the missus is about to drop, he probably judged the PB hate to be slightly less impactful than the wife’s reaction.Great results all round and a fantastic season of racing
Yes, I’m definitely of the view that this is hard-nosed professional sport and all Bruni did was to make Goldstone work for it. There’s no way he should cop any hate for it. Even Loic’s head might be a bit scrambled as he has a huge smash in practice, is carrying a lead in the series, has a baby due in a couple of days etc.
Exactly – perfectly reasonable to my mind. Watching the highlights last night I was concerned that it was something family related rather than a simple crash/injury situation.
I usually watch the mens first then the womens. To open the full replay on discovery plus and the mens start with the women walking up to the podium really ****** me off!