The Canadian claimed his maiden Elite World Cup win, and did it in the temple of Downhill. World Champion Vali Höll smashed the competition among women. Tomorrow, Sunday, the XCO show will finalize the Val di Sole MTB World Cup’s programme
The noise of the chainsaw and the unmistakable roar on the final kick overlooking the parterre in Daolasa di Commezzadura mean only one thing in Mountain Biking: in Val di Sole that’s the day of the Black Snake.
On Saturday July 1st, Daolasa di Commezzadura lived one of the most anticipated days of sports in the whole Trentino: Downhill in Val di Sole is more than a tradition, it’s pure-bred passion. A feeling that is clearly shared by the athletes, all of them hoping to leave a mark on the temple of Downhill at least once in their career. It feels a little bit like a World Championship, every time.
Talented and gutsy riders like Valentina Höll can even dare to win in the rainbow colors. The Austrian, 2022 World Champion, delivered a faultless run, as she didn’t let the berms nor the emotion carry her away, like a 21-year-old veteran. Another young gun shone among Men, as Canadian Jackson Goldstone was the best at drawing lines and creating speed on treacherous terrain, due to the rain that fell in the early part of the final run, clinching his maiden Elite World Cup win in the process.
Tomorrow, Sunday July 2nd, Cross Country will take the stage for the final day of the 2023 Val di Sole MTB World Cup round, with all the best of the World’s sport looking primed to put on a show before the series hit the breaks for a few weeks.
GOLDSTONE LEAVES HIS FIRST MARK IN ELITE DOWNHILL WORLD CUP
It’s been the leitmotiv of this UCI Mountain Bike World Cup so far in the DH discipline: the breakout of exciting young guns capable of hitting the ground running and leave the most established veterans behind. It was the case for Jordan Williams and Chris Hauser in Lenzerheide, both winning in their debut World Cup race in the Elite and Junior categories, respectively, while in Val di Sole it was the time for another 19-year-old sensation to seize his emotional day.
On Saturday July 1st, Canadian Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndacate) took his maiden Elite World Cup win, and it won’t arguably be the last. That was the perfect way to wash away last year’s disappointment for seeing a likely win vanish due to a crash in Val di Sole’s Junior World Cup Grand Finale.
Between Friday and Saturday, the 19-year-old from Squamish, British Columbia, looked in great swing in all of his three official runs: fast, clean and effective. In Saturday’s final, his only mistake came right after the start, possibly for his desire of giving his best on what he felt could be his perfect day. Goldstone ended his effort in 3.34.926, floating on a terrain made treacherous by the rain that poured at different times from Friday night, also during the Elite Men’s final itself, but stopped before the last 15 starts.
Another Canadian, Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity, +2.224) came in second. Third position for the always-spectacular Thibaut Daprela (Commencal/Muc-Off): the Frenchman found the right vibe on the Black Snake and ended his run only 2.440 behind the winner.
“I have no words; I am so excited. My run was on the edge all the time, right off the first corner I was pushing really hard, I escaped all the mistakes I made and somehow kept the flow going, then I had a really good bottom that I think is where I made up all of that time. I am so stoked, I have no words”, said Goldstone.
I made a mistake at the very beginning, but I was so in the zone that I even forgot about that: I was pushing too much but I got away with it. The rain scared me a bit, but we have a big break after this, so I thought I could try and make something special. I can’t believe it happened.”
It was hard to find the limit today, fortunately I had my teammates like Laurie Greenland and Greg Minnaar who had finished quite before my run and gave me some tips on where it was wet and stuff, and that was really helpful”, ended the new Downhill World Champion.
Fourth came Aussie Troy Brosnan, fifth position for 2022 Val di Sole winner Loris Vergier, just ahead of European Champion Andreas Kolb. No glory this time for reigning World Champion Loic Bruni, who raced with a wet terrain and ended up 14th. Following brilliant displays in the qualifications and the semi-finals, Brit Jordan Williams made a crucial mistake halfway through the course, ending with no consequences besides his disappointment.
Thanks to today’s success, Jackstone Goldston is the new World Cup GC leader with 786 points, ahead of fellow Canadian Iles (774) and French Vergier (742).
WORLD CHAMPION HÖLL QUEEN OF THE BLACK SNAKE
The rainbow shone in the Downhill Women Elite thanks to one of the most awaited riders of this Val di Sole weekend. Valentina Höll smashed the competition on the Black Snake track, repeating as Elite the success conquered in 2019 in the Junior category.
The 21-year-old Austrian, the current Downhill World Champion, clocked the fastest time in each sector of the Final Round. With a 4:07.440 tine, the Rockshox Trek’s athlete preceded Swiss Camille Balanche (Dorval Am Commencal), second at 2.943, whilst New Zealand’s Jess Blewiss rounded out the day’s top-3 at 4.770.
Vali Höll made the difference in the central section of the Black Snake, finding the ideal line and flow in the most technical section. Her closest rival on the day, Camille Balanche, was more conservative in such stretch, and ended up surrendering two seconds in the stint.
“It was so hard to keep the momentum and keep the strength on this track, it’s so physical and rough, so hard to hold on”, said Vali Vali Höll. – “Going back-to-back after Leogang and keeping this run going was always in me, I just needed the right headspace, put it together and find that mojo.”
World Cup defending champion Balanche maintained the overall lead with 1020 points, ahead of Valentina Höll (982) and Brit Rachel Atherton (616).
KIDS FESTIVAL IN THE AFTERNOON WITH THE GIANT MINI WORLD CUP
The present and the future of mountain bike got together in Val di Sole’s Saturday afternoon. After the Downhill races, the Giant Mini World Cup involved more than 100 kids, from 2 to 12, competing on a short Cross Country loop, just next to the battlefield of the greatest XC performers.
4X PRO TOUR: SLAVIK SERIAL-WINNER IN VAL DI SOLE
Yesterday, an intense Friday in Daolasa di Commezzadura (Trentino, Italy) on June 30th came to a close with the classic 4X Pro Tour’s stage.
The winner of the last two editions of the Val di Sole event, Czech Tomas Slavik preceded in the big final Italian Stefano Dolfin and German Janis Lehmann. In the women’s competition, Swiss Jolanda Kiefer crossed the finish line in first place, ahead of Brit Louis-Anna Ferguson and a fellow Swiss Ramona Kupferschmied.
SUNDAY THE CONCLUSION IN THE NAME OF XCO, LIVE ON EUROSPORT
After celebrating the wins of Goldstone and Höll in the Elite Downhill, tomorrow, Sunday, July 2nd, Val di Sole will stage the final day of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup with the Cross-Country competitions. The Elite races will be aired live on Eurosport/GCN.
The schedule will be opened by the Under 23 Women’s race at 8.30 AM followed by Under 23 Men (10.30 AM), Elite Women (1.00 PM) and Elite Men (3.30 PM).
On Friday, XCC specialists had emerged in swing in the Short Track format: Luca Schwarzbauer and Laura Stigger will start in the first row on Sunday, hoping to close the weekend with a double, but the likes of Swiss legend Nino Schurter, France’s Joshua Dubau, Jordan Sarrou and Pauline Ferrand-Prèvot, and Dutch Puck Pieterse have all showed solid shape, and promise to feature big in the XCO battle.
Daolasa di Commezzadura (Italy), July 1st, 2023
