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The 2022 UCI Downhill MTB World Cup season kicked off over the weekend at Lourdes in France. A technical course tested the riders throughout the weekend’s practice, qualifying and finals making for an exciting season opener.
In the Elite Men’s race, Luca Shaw produced a super smooth run to storm into an early lead before French rider Benoit Coulanges bettered his time by a full second. Another local favourite, Thibaut Dapréla attacked the first section but a heavy crash halfway through his run ruined his chances of picking up a victory. The noise levels went through the roof as Amaury Pierron attacked the course to put down a serious run finishing in a stunning time of 2:47.711. Finn Illes looked to be on the charge as he held nothing back during his run, but despite going flat out he had to settle for 2nd, finishing 0.847s behind Pierron. Finally, it was the turn of Loïc Bruni, who had the full support of the roaring French crowd but could only slot into 3rd place.
Amaury Pierron
The Elite Women’s race saw Nina Hoffman lay down an early marker with a tidy run before a series of riders struggled to tame the challenging course. Mille Johnset looked to be putting together an impressive run before crashing out. Marine Cabirou delighted the noisy crowd by taking the hot seat. Camille Balanche showed her attacking style, finding a creative line that allowed her to move into 1st place with an impressive time of 3:19.983s. Tahnée Seagrave looked to be on course for something special, a couple of mistakes in the later sections saw her finish in 2nd. Myriam Nicole wasn’t even sure she would race (after a big crash in the morning’s practice) but showed no signs of nerves as she went all-out and moved ahead of Seagrave into 2nd. The final rider down the hill was Valentina Höll who was unable to challenge Balanche’s time and eventually had to settle for 4th place.
Camille Balanche
Men’s Results (Top 10)
1st Amaury Pierron 2:47.711
2nd Finn Iles 2:48.558
3rd Loic Bruni 2:48.797
4th Benoit Coulanges 2:49.177
5th Luca Shaw 2:50.142
6th Danny Hart 2:50.406
7th Reece Wilson 2:51.084
8th Laurie Greenland 2:51.567
9th Antione Vidal 2:51.871
10th Matt Walker 2:52.174
*16th Greg Minnaar 2:55.167
Women’s Results (Top 10)
1st Camille Balanche 3:19.983
2nd Myriam Nicole 3:20.607
3rd Tahnee Seagrave 3:20.980
4th Vali Höll 3:21.657
5th Marine Cabirou 3:25.620
6th Mathilda Bernard 3:32.340
7th Nina Hoffmann 3:33.799
8th Eleonora Farina 3:34.527
9th Monika Hrastnik 3:37.205
10th Veronika Widmann 3:38.255
Photos by Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool.
