Teammates Jackson Goldstone and Nina Hoffmann completed a perfect day for Santa Cruz Syndicate by holding their nerve and taking impressive wins in the UCI Downhill World Cup at La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta, Italy.
Men’s Elite overall leader Goldstone, aged 21, equaled the record of four consecutive wins set by Aaron Gwin in 2012 and will have the opportunity to go one better next week in Pal Arinsal – Andorra.
UCI Downhill World Champion Loris Vergier (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) continues his wait for a UCI World Cup win, stretching to over 1,000 days, after finishing second just 0.6 of a second behind, while Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) was third.
Meanwhile, Hoffman took her first Women Elite UCI Downhill World Cup win since 2023, despite still recovering from the injuries from a crash in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland (Austria) last month. The 28-year-old showed a combination of power and experience to win the fourth UCI World Cup round of her career.
Women’s UCI Downhill World Champion Valentina Höll (YT Mob) was 2.9 seconds back in second and quickest qualifier Gracey Hemstreet (Norco Race Division) was third.
There was a first career Women Junior UCI Downhill World Cup victory for Aletha Ostgaard (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team). Meanwhile, Till Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) clinched his second Men Junior UCI Downhill World Cup win in as many rounds.
The alpine ski town of La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta hosted the UCI Downhill World Cup for the first time and the specially designed track provided some exciting racing. The steepest ever UCI Downhill World Cup course faced riders with the 2.3-kilometre course having an average gradient of 28% as the course dropped 641 metres in elevation. The steep course mixed with rain for the men’s Elite competition made for changeable conditions and an intense afternoon of racing.
GOLDSTONE CONTINUES DOMINATION OF MEN’S ELITE CATEGORY
Canadian rider Goldstone came into the event full of confidence following three consecutive Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup victories. Final starter Goldstone had to keep calm as rain resulted in several crashes and delays on the steep track. However, he once again flawless skills on the steep and technical descent to overcome his rivals.
Amaury Pierron (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) came into the event placed fourth overall in the Men Elite UCI Downhill World Cup standings but had surgery on a broken collarbone just a week earlier. After making mistakes during qualifications, the Frenchman sneaked through to the finals by taking the final qualification spot in the second session. Starting first in the finals Pierron struggled to find the required pace but took a credible 10th placed finish.
Youngster Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory Racing) was the fastest of the early starters with a benchmark of 3:30.2. The steep sections of the La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta man-made course resulted in several riders being forced into mistake as Max Hartenstern (Cube Factory Racing) crashed out and Aaron Gwin (Gwin Racing) also made mistakes as he failed to trouble the leaders.
Rain and rising wind hitting the slopes for the quicker qualifiers increasing the tension and resulted in many competitors having problems. UCI World Champion Vergier had been an ambassador in the Downhill event coming to La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta and sent down the perfect run to set the new quickest time. The seven-time UCI World Cup winner went fastest on each split and increased his margin at the demanding bottom section to set a new best time of 3:27.7.
Light rain made way for sunshine as the final five riders entered the course following a short delay. Former Enduro rider Martin Maes (Orbea/FMD Racing) entered the steepest section just one second behind Vergier. In his first season of downhill action slight hesitation cost Maes but his clean run was enough to finish seventh.
Bruni was the closest to the leader on the top sections, despite missing his footing early in the run. The Frenchman showed speed and composure as he went ahead in the second sector before a few mistakes on the tight corners was enough to fall 0.4 seconds behind Vergier’s time.
Quickest qualifier Jackson Goldstone (Santa Cruz Syndicate) remained in touch on the opening power section and was just 0.7 of a second back. The Canadian was battling with his bike as he pushed the limits and pulled almost level in sector two. Coming into the final sector Goldstone had a slender advantage before stopping the clock in 3:27.1 – beating Vergier into second by 0.6 of a second.
“I’m on a roll, it’s such a crazy feeling to be able to do four in a row,” said Goldstone. “I can’t believe that just happened, it felt right during the whole run and I was stoked with everything.
“I had a few moments, the dust is so soft and powdery here that it’s really hard not to get sunk in and have those mistakes. I pushed through, gave it everything to the bottom and it was good enough. I would have been eight years old when that happened [Aaron Gwin won four in a row], it’s a pretty cool statistic.
“I was struggling on Thursday in practice a little bit, but I kept building from there. Qualification was a lot better and I wasn’t expecting that. I’m really happy to be able to bring it home. I try to keep myself as focused and in the moment as possible, I don’t look at the times or watch the live stream.
“What a day for Santa Cruz Syndicate, I’m so proud of Nina [Hoffmann] who won her first race of the year. I can’t believe I have the chance [to go five in a row], saying that is a dream come true, we’ll give it our best shot.”
HOFMANN OVERCOMES INJURIES TO CLINCH ELITE WOMEN’S HONOURS
The controlled aggression of Hofmann resulted in her setting a winning time of a formidable 3:57.9 – the only woman to beat the four-minute mark over the weekend.
After going quickest through the second qualifying round yesterday British rider Phoebe Gale (Orbea/FMD Racing) was fastest of the early starters. Her time of 4:05.05 was an incredible nine seconds faster than the previous day and put her into the hot seat for the final riders, eventually enough for sixth position.
French woman Marine Cabirou (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) won the previous round in Val di Sole – Trentino (Italy) but lost time on the technical section and finished eighth.
After qualifying fifth quickest the previous day Hofmann started quickly and was 0.7 quicker than Gale after the opening split. Hofmann showed her strength to carry speed into the demanding wooded section and kept increasing her pace during a smooth run to set an unassailable time.
UCI World Champion Höll tried her upmost to use different lines in an attempt to better Hofmann. Despite pulling some time back on the second section the Austrian rider lost slender amounts on the bottom section as she battled to control her bike. Höll had to settle for second 2.99 seconds behind as she continues to search for a first Women Elite UCI Downhill World Cup win of the campaign.
British rider Tahnee Seagrave (Orbea/FMD Racing) was looking to rekindle her overall ambitions after crashing in Val di Sole – Trentino. Seagrave went faster than Hofmann through the first split and then held a 0.47-second advantage heading into the steepest section. The British rider made a small mistake which killed her speed and lost important time to her rivals to finish fourth 3.97 seconds behind.
Quickest qualifier Hemstreet had watched her fastest time from the previous day demolished by Hofmann. The Canadian struggled to match the raw power and speed of the leader on the top section and had a gap of 1.9 seconds to find on the top section. Despite matching the speed of Hofmann on the steep descent Hemstreet lost further time on the flatter bottom section and placed third 3.19 seconds behind.
“I’m such an emotional person, I can’t believe it,” said Hofmann. “I came down to the finish and turned around to see my time was under four minutes. I had in my head that the winning time was going to be under four minutes.
“I thought whatever the other girls did that was a really good run and I’m stoked about that already. I don’t know how I ended up in P1.
“I was really nervous when Valentina [Höll] came down because she’s a benchmark, she was slower and then Tahnee (Seagrave) also lost time at the bottom and you could see she was tired at the bottom.
“I was pretty sure either Tahnee or Gracey was going to get me. I know Gracey (Hemstreet) was not the best at the first split, but she was almost two seconds behind. I thought ‘oh my god that’s a lot already’.
“This is why it means so much to me, where I came from in Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland sending it over the wall ride.
“Holding it all back in Val di Sole – Trentino and being so happy just to ride and just trying to build confidence. This weekend I could feel it clicked a bit again, I feel myself again but I still don’t want to push too much and have another crash. It worked out somehow.”
ALRAN RECORDS BACK-TO-BACK WINS IN MEN’S JUNIOR EVENT
Frenchman Till Alran won his debut Men Junior UCI Downhill World Cup victory in Val di Sole – Trentino last month and repeated the feat in La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta. While his twin brother Max Alran (Commencal/Muc-Off By Riding Addiction) crashed out Till had no such problems as he posted the quickest time of the day.
Omri Danon has committed to racing in the UCI World Cup series this season and was rewarded for his fearless run with a time which was good enough for fifth overall. Danon was only briefly in the hot seat as American Luke Mallen took the lead at the first split and managed to hold his bike on the bumpy terrain to set a fastest time of 3:35.2.
Mallen’s time stood the test of time and the American remained the quickest finisher as the top four qualifiers prepared for their runs.
New Zealander Tyler Waite (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) had spent time analysing the lines through practice over the weekend. The Kiwi rider battled back from the fast top section and then used his expertise of the course to pick the right lines and overturned the deficit and set a time of 3:33.05 to post the fastest time.
Boosted by his maiden win two weeks earlier Till Alran was faster than Waite through the opening split and carried his speed with some aggressive riding over the ruts to increase his margin. Alran maintained his composure as he effortlessly increased his advantage to post a winning time of 3:28.2 – the fastest run of the weekend at that point.
Coming into the event as overall leader Max Alran was next down the track and despite going quickest through the opening split the Frenchman was struggling to maintain the same speed and then crashed out.
Men’s Junior UCI Downhill World Champion Asa Vermette (Frameworks Racing/5DEV) was quickest qualifier and showed his speed in the opening sector. Vermett remained in contention in the second sector before being beaten into second by just 1.56 seconds.
Along with the win Till Alran also took the overall series lead from his brother heading into the next round.
“It was pretty cool, amazing and I’m really happy,” said Alran. “The track was good, an amazing new track.
“It’s pretty cool to lead the overall, my brother crashed. I’m pretty stoked, it’s amazing.”
OSTGAARD RECORDS FIRST WOMEN JUNIOR UCI WORLD CUP WIN AFTER IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY
Ostgaard was beaten into second place at both Val di Sole - Trentino and Saalfelden Leogang – Salzburgerland. However, the Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team rider was not to be denied in La Thuile - Valle d’Aosta and used her strength on the constructed course to take a first UCI Downhill World Cup win of her young career.
American national champion Matilda Melton (Commencal Schwalbe By Les Orres) came into the event in third place overall following a consistent campaign which has also seen her finish on the podium at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes (France). Melton set an early benchmark time of 4:10.98 after posting the quickest time through every sector and 13.5 seconds faster than those before her.
French national champion Cassandre Peizerat had qualified well and looked to challenge before crashing on a sweeping corner ending her challenge.
After qualifying second Ostgaard was determined not to be denied again and carried her speed well on the exposed top section into the woods. The American showed fearlessness as she carried big air off the steep jumps and the loose terrain. Ostgaard used her strength to carry her speed onto the bottom section to stop the clock in 4:08.15 - bettering the time of countrywoman Melton by 2.83 seconds.
Overall leader Rosa Zierl (Cube Factory Racing) was the final starter and was targeting her third consecutive Women’s Junior UCI World Cup victory. The Austrian rider matched her opponent in the top section but carried less speed into the woods and found herself 2.6 seconds back on the second sector. Zierl was unable to close the gap on the bottom sections and had to settle for runner-up position 2.445 seconds behind - but keeps a healthy lead in the overall standings.
After taking her first Women Junior UCI Downhill World Cup victory Ostgaard said: “It was gnarly. I was telling myself the whole time, ‘clean run and don’t go fast’. It was so physical and when you add in how long the course is, you were really working by the end.
“I struggled pretty hard in the beginning of the World Cup season, but in the end it made it better. I think if I came out swinging it wouldn’t have been as good and I would have struggled later.
“I’m excited to experience it like this. I liked how physical the course was, it took everything on this course not just skills. I really liked it.”
The WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues in Pal Arinsal – Andorra next weekend (9-13 July) when Gravity and Endurance riders will be in action.
The weekend starts with the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup and UCI Downhill World Cup qualifying on Friday.
The Downhill finals are on Saturday, followed by the UCI Cross Country World Cup on Sunday.
