BRUNI

Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll’s (YT Mob) series wins might have lacked the dominance of previous seasons, but the pair secured their spot at the top of the individual standings in Fort William, Scotland (UK) and stayed there to the final round in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec (Canada).  Downhill mountain biking is fast, furious, and extremely unpredictable. The courses on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series circuit are some of the most gnarly tracks on the planet, putting riders against technical terrain and terrifying jumps, while weather conditions can upend a finals run – wind and rain wreaking havoc on proceedings and ramping the difficulty up even more.  Putting together solid runs across qualifying, semi-finals and the finals requires supreme skill. Staying consistent across the season is nigh-on impossible. But in Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Valentina Höll (YT Mob), the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series has two athletes who can defy reality.  The pair were overall series winners in 2023, with Höll also the UCI Downhill World Champion, and entered this season as the runaway favourites. From strong starts in Fort William to fighting their way to podiums even on bad weekends, here’s how they retained their titles in 2024.  BRUNI BATTLES TO FOURTH OVERALL SERIES  Loïc Bruni only turned 30 this year, but the Frenchman has already been at the top of the sport for almost a decade, winning his first UCI Downhill World Championship in 2015 before adding another four rainbow jerseys and three overall series to his collection.  The reigning title holder got his defense off to the best possible start, breaking his winless run in Fort William to build a 35-point lead in the overall standings on Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team). In Bielsko-Biała (Poland), his second place was enough to extend his lead over the closest chaser, race winner Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing), while his second victory of the season, in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland (Austria), saw Super Bruni build a seemingly unassailable lead of 320 points just three rounds into the series.  Minor blips in Val di Sole, Trentino (Italy) and Les Gets, Haute-Savoie (France) where he finished ninth and fifth respectively saw his lead eroded to 216 points by a resurgent Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction), who won both rounds. But fans’ hopes of a title battle reminiscent of the 2019 series were quashed by the series’ penultimate round in Loudenvielle - Peyragudes (France). Pierron couldn’t make it three in a row, finishing 10th to Bruni’s 4th, and the 2023 series winner had an uncatchable 311-point lead going into Mont-Sainte-Anne. When Pierron broke his metacarpal in training in Canada, the overall was guaranteed with no other rider within the maximum 400 points of Bruni. The Frenchman could take things easy on finals day, rolling home in 26th with nothing else on the line having already secured his fourth overall series.  HÖLL SHOWS GRIT TO COMPLETE BACK-TO-BACK OVERALL AND UCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE  While Valentina Höll hasn’t been around as long as Bruni, the Austrian pinner has been just as dominant in the women’s field, winning two out of three overall series since 2021 and back-to-back UCI Downhill World Championships. Her 2023 was going to be a tough act to follow too – Höll only finishing off the podium once (in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie), and winning four out of eight rounds.  Her supremacy didn’t appear to have diminished after her team move to YT Mob in the off-season – Höll storming to victory in Fort William where she had clinched the rainbow jersey the previous summer. But a crash in her finals run in Bielsko-Biała and sixth-place finish put a dent in her lead in the individual standings – the top five separated by just 70 points.  Höll put her Polish disappointment behind her a few weeks later in Saalfelden Leogang - Salzburgerland, scoring the maximum 400 points by winning qualifying, semi-finals and finals at her home UCI World Cup to put herself back in control of the overall. While her lead was cut in Val di Sole, Trentino by race winner Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD), she still had a 229-point cushion entering the second half of the season.  The Brit got the better of the Austrian again in Les Gets, Haute-Savoie, shaving another five points off Höll’s lead by finishing third to her fifth. But Seagrave’s title challenge faltered in difficult conditions in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes. A slip in the second sector brought her race run crashing down, while Höll showed her steely consistency regardless of the weather to finish second behind Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) and clinch her third overall title with one round to go.  Unlike Bruni, the newly crowned three-time UCI Downhill World Champion didn’t take things easy in Mont-Sainte-Anne either, fighting her way to third and a sixth podium of the season to finish with a 418-point margin over next-best Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory).

Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) and Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing) scored victories in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Bielsko-Biała. The Frenchwoman returned to winning ways after a disappointing start to the season in Fort William, while Dunne recorded his first-ever UCI Downhill World Cup on the new Polish track. Meanwhile, Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) and Asa Vermette (Framework Racing) made it two from two in the Women’s Juniors and Men’s Juniors. The 2024 WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series made its Polish downhill debut this week as the best Gravity-fuelled athletes took to the Bielsko-Biała track’s smorgasbord of jumps, roots and rock-filled forest sections. After a heavy downpour in the morning, the sun came out in full force for the Elite UCI Downhill World Cup finals, but the conditions weren’t without their own difficulties. On the track’s drying exposed top sections, the dirt was breaking up because of the constant pounding of race rigs, while the wood sections remained damp, making tyre choice extremely difficult. It didn’t faze Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) and Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing) though, who used all their UCI World Cup-winning experience to get to grips with the unknown course and push their bikes to the limits to take the wins. CABIROU STORMS TO VICTORY WITH HÖLL CRASHING IN FIRST SECTOR   Marine Cabirou had a disappointing Fort William by her own high standards, finishing outside the podium places and leaving herself with a lot to do to challenge Valentina Höll (YT Mob) in the UCI World Cup overall championship. She appeared to have put the Scottish season opener behind her though, arriving in Poland as one of the most consistent riders on the Beskid Mountains’ course. Third place in Saturday’s Qualifying and Semi-Finals was a sign that Cabirou wasn’t in Poland to make up the numbers and dropping in on her Finals run with just Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) and Höll to come, she knew she’d have to find more than three seconds on her Semi-Finals time to knock then-race leader Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal) out of the hot seat. After a steady top section, the 27-year-old grew in confidence throughout her run, laying down the power to set a blistering pace in the lower section that was good enough for top spot. Seagrave looked like she was on a heater, finding almost a second at the first intermediate split, but the resurgent Brit came unclipped from her pedals in the technical wood section, losing momentum and crossing the line fifth. And then there was Höll. The 2023 UCI Downhill World Champion put a snapped chain in Qualifying behind her to set the fastest time in the Semi-Finals, with Aaron Gwin saying in live commentary that it was “hers to lose”. The 22-year-old set off incredibly powerfully from the start gate, but her run was over as quickly as it had started – a crash in the first sector sending her down hard. Last year’s overall series winner isn’t a quitter and was quickly back on her bike, but it was damage limitation rather than a miraculous recovery – the Austrian coming home in sixth. Her win in Poland was Cabirou’s eighth UCI Downhill World Cup of her career, and speaking after the race, she said: “I’m super happy to win here on this new track in Poland. It’s crazy because the track has changed a lot all week. It was difficult to manage the race run because we had a lot of rain at the start of the afternoon, so I didn’t know if I could push or not, so I just tried to do my best. At the beginning, I saw that the track was kind of dry so I tried to push. I made a mistake but I think everybody made a mistake, so I just had a good run.” DUNNE WINS FIRST UCI DOWNHILL WORLD CUP Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing) put in an assured, controlled performance to take his first-ever UCI Downhill World Cup win in Poland – the Irish 21-year-old piloting his prototype Mondraker down the course in his signature, knife-edge style. It was another Irishman who was in the hot seat for most of the men’s final – Oisin O’Callaghan (YT Mob) fourth on the hill and laying down a marker that would be strong enough for 10th on the day. Benoît Coulanges (Dorval AM Commencal) finally broke the 21-year-old’s dreams of a second UCI World Cup win. The Frenchman’s race run was the first to go inside the 2:57 barrier and enough to see him finish on the podium in fourth – an improvement on his 6th place in Fort William.   Coulanges’ time in the hot seat was short-lived though. Enter Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity). The 2023 UCI Downhill World Cup overall series winner had kicked off his season with victory in Scotland and looked to have overcome a crash in yesterday’s Semi-Finals. He was 1.2 seconds up on Coulanges in the first split alone and would hold on to break the 2:55 barrier. But would it be enough for his 10th UCI Downhill World Cup win? Saturday’s surprise qualifier Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Union - Forged by Steel City Media) appeared to be backing up his strong Semi-Finals run, gapping Bruni deep into the fourth intermediate split until he was brought crashing back down to earth with a front wheel washout on an innocuous piece of track. The 20-year-old New Zealand national champion had shown that there was time to be made on Bruni’s time though, which Dunne exploited to the max. The Irishman laid down a final run where he was fastest in three out of four intermediate splits (and second-fastest in the other), narrowly beating Bruni by 0.64 seconds. The three riders left on the hill didn’t have an answer to Dunne’s dominant run – Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) finishing sixth, Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) rescuing third despite dabbing his foot down, and team-mate Dakotah Norton (Mondraker Factory Racing) down in 31st after sliding out at the top of the first sector on a wet patch. Speaking after his win, Ronan Dunne said: “I was loving the track in Poland. The crowd was insane. It’s the second [UCI Downhill World Cup] with the new team. It’s been perfect and I had myself in the mindset of either I was going for a helicopter trip, or I was coming down in first. We didn’t take the helicopter trip, but we took the win. Usually, I don’t look at the times, but this time I was. I saw the time that Bruni put down and I thought ‘OK, we’re going for it, we’re not messing around’. I was ready to fight someone. It paid off.” Overall series leader Loïc Bruni said: “I’m pretty happy with the result. I don’t think I deserved more because my weekend wasn’t so good. Some of the boys were riding better than me. I’m happy with second. I didn’t think it would be possible to go top three. The run was good, the bike was good, and everything is really nice so hopefully we can carry the momentum. I’m really happy for Ronan. It’s so good to see. WILSON AND VERMETTE RETAIN THEIR 100% RECORDS While the Elites had scorching sun, it was a different story for the Juniors, with rain midway through proceedings making for wet and wild conditions on course.  In the Women’s Juniors, Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) used all of her experience of growing up on Scotland’s sodden tracks to take her second win of the season, edging out Erice Van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) by 0.069 seconds, while Sasha Earnest (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) finished third. Speaking after her win, Heather Wilson said: “I can’t believe it. At the top I was just laughing, and I wasn’t feeling nervous. I was like ‘OK, I’m just going to have fun and try and ride my bike’. It was so loose, and I was really enjoying it. It was so fun. The whole track everywhere is so blown out. It’s so physical.” The Men’s Juniors was a far more clear-cut affair, Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing) dominating from the second intermediate split onwards to win by almost four seconds. Mylann Falquet (Goodman Santa Cruz) was the next most consistent rider, with Dane Jewett (Pivot Factory Racing) completing the top three.   Speaking after his race win, Asa Vermette said: “It was a loose run. I honestly didn’t think it was going to be the best run. I was sliding all over the place in the woods. I just kept pedaling to the bottom. In my qualis I did crash, so maybe it was good that it wasn’t pouring rain like before. But it was a good run.” STANDINGS AFTER THE UCI DOWNHILL WORLD CUP ROUND IN BIELSKO-BIAŁA: UCI Downhill World Cup | Women Elite Valentina Höll (YT Mob) – 560 Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) – 550 Camille Balanche (Dorval AM Commencal) – 540 Nina Hoffman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) – 506 Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) – 490   UCI Downhill World Cup | Men Elite Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity) – 627 Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing) – 467 Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing Gravity) – 454 Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) – 447 Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) – 441   UCI Downhill World Cup | Women Juniors Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) – 120 Sacha Earnest (Kiwidh) – 95 Erice Van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) – 85 Eliana Hulsebosch (Union - Forged by Steel City Media) – 85 Matilda Melton (Transition Factory Racing) – 70   UCI Downhill World Cup | Men Juniors Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing) – 120 Luke Wayman (The Gravity Cartel – Rogue Racing) – 80 Dane Jewett (Pivot Factory Racing) – 80 Daniel Parfitt (BNC Racing) – 73 Till Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) – 54   The third rounds of the UCI Downhill World Cup and the UCI Enduro and E-Enduro World Cups will take place in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland, Austria on June 7-9, while the Endurance championships resume next weekend (May 24-26) in Nové Město Na Moravě, Czech Republic.

The 2023 UCI Downhill World Champion continues her early-season dominance while the American pinner steers his high-rise handlebars to the top of the Semi-Finals pile. The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series is a fan of firsts, and this weekend is no different as Poland hosts its debut UCI Downhill World Cup. After tackling Fort William’s iconic course during the season opener two weeks ago, riders were tasked with a complete unknown – the trail builders at the Bielsko-Biała venue crafting a brand new track packed with jumps and plenty of flow for the arrival of the world’s best downhill athletes. Today (Saturday, May 18) saw 311 riders take to the Beskid Mountains for qualification, with the Elites having to go through two rounds to secure their spot for Sunday’s final.  HÖLL CONTINUES HER STRANGEHOLD Not since Rachel Atherton was in her pomp have we seen a more dominant rider than Valentina Höll (YT Mob). The 22-year-old kicked off her overall series defense with a win in Fort William and has given herself the best shot to do the same in Poland. Even a crash in Qualifying couldn’t hold the 2023 UCI Downhill World Champion back, and she dusted herself off and laid down a marker in the Semi-Final, leading in the three final intermediate splits to post a 3:27.8. Tahnée Seagrave (Canyon CLLCTV FMD) continues her return to form, the Brit posting the second-fastest times in Qualifying and the Semi-Final on the jump-heavy course, while Marine Cabirou (Scott Downhill Factory) looks to have put her disappointing sixth place in Scotland behind her, going third in both of Saturday’s races. Höll predicted that there would be surprises on the unknown course in Thursday’s press conference, and Veronika Widmann’s (Continental GT Racing) did just that – the Italian’s fourth place in the Semi-Finals the highest-placed non-protected rider. Fort William’s second-placed rider Nina Hoffmann appeared to struggle, finishing more than nine seconds behind Höll after a mistake in the second sector, while Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) is set to miss out on finals for a second UCI World Cup in a row – the two-time UCI DH World Champion also losing time on the track’s second sector. NORTON EDGES OUT VERGIER TO QUALIFY FIRST There was a lot of talk in Fort William about Dakotah Norton’s (Mondraker Factory Racing) handlebars. The American rider unveiled a cockpit featuring 75mm height, which raised more than a few eyebrows. He silenced the keyboard warriors with a lightning-fast fourth place on finals day in Scotland, and it’s clear that the steering set-up is still working for him in Bielsko-Biała. After finishing narrowly behind Loris Vergier (Trek Factory Racing) in Qualifying, the 32-year-old did it the hard way in the Semi-Finals, recovering from 14th fastest in the first intermediate split to record a 2:59.8 – edging out the Frenchman by 0.128 seconds. The pair were the only riders to go sub-3:00 all day, with Luca Shaw (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) the next closest rider in the Semi-Finals with a 3:00.6. Other highlights were Ronan Dunne’s (Mondraker Factory Racing) super consistent ride to 4th, Lachlan Stevens-McNab’s (Union - Forged by Steel City Media) storming lower section to finish fifth in the Semi-Finals and Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) looking close to his best in sixth. Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) and Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory) appeared to have continued their early season form with fourth and fifth respectively in Qualifying, but Fort William’s top two have had to rely on their protected status to make it through to tomorrow’s finals having finished down in 38th and 41st in the Semis. Notable absentees on tomorrow’s start list include Greg Minnaar (Norco Factory Racing), who didn’t make it through Qualifying, Reece Wilson (Trek Factory Racing) and Matt Walker (Madison Saracen Factory Team), with both Brits off the pace in the Semis. HULSEBOSCH AND ALRAN LEAD THE WAY AS THE BEST YOUNG RIDERS The other highlights from Saturday’s qualifying were the Men’s and Women’s Junior Qualifying, where the best young riders took to the new Bielsko-Biała course. In the Women’s Junior, Eliana Hulsebosch (Union - Forged by Steel City) and the reigning UCI Downhill Junior World Champion Erice Van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) made it a New Zealand one-two, with Fort William winner Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) in third. In the Men’s Junior, Till Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off by Riding Addiction) took the win with Ryan Griffith (Pivot Factory Racing) the only rider who could get within a second of the up-and-coming Frenchman. The action gets underway with the Women Junior and Men Junior Finals from 11:30 CEST (UTC+2) tomorrow live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel, while the Elite finals TV pre-show broadcast starts at 12:45 CEST (UTC+2). Find out how to watch HERE.