Favourites dominate qualifying mud battle in Saalfelden Leogang

Austria's downhill aces had to pay tribute to the difficult conditions, with only Manuel Gruber (23rd) and Markus Pekoll (26th) qualifying for tomorrow's final of the top 80.

Today's qualification in Saalfelden Leogang turned into the expected mud battle. The "Speedster" World Cup course was slippery, muddy and above all one thing: a technical challenge for all skiers. In both the women's and men's races, the difficult conditions were a case for the current best in the World Cup. In recent years, US World Cup leader Aaron Gwin caused a sensation after riding with a flat tyre (2014) and without a chain (2015), but today he impressed with the most uncompromising line, especially in the lower section of the Leogang Speedster course.

Even though the favourite came out on top, tomorrow's show down in Leogang will be no walk in the park for the American: just 4.2 seconds separated the top five in today's qualifying. Frenchman Loris Vergier finished second ahead of Briton Michael Jones. Also in contention for tomorrow's final are Britain's Danny Hart in fourth place and the 2012 Leogang World Champion and winner of Fort William, Greg Minnaar, in fifth.

 
Pekoll and Gruber in the final
 
The Austrians struggled with the wet conditions today, with only two Austrian riders qualifying for the final of the top 80. The fastest Austrian in qualifying was Styrian Manuel Gruber in 23rd place: "It was really difficult today and there were a lot of crashes. That's why I slowed down a lot, but there were still two or three situations where I almost crashed. You can really talk about a mud battle today, but I'm satisfied that I was able to qualify." After yesterday's training session went anything but to plan for compatriot Markus Pekoll, the Schladming native was satisfied with his qualifying run in 26th place: "The run certainly wasn't perfect, but it was okay. There were some pretty good moments, which is important for the final." David Trummer had bad luck, crashing right at the start of the run and ruining his chances of qualifying with a damaged rear derailleur and brakes.
 

In contrast to the tight time gaps in the men's race, Rachel Atherton dominated today's women's qualification with a lead of over eight seconds. She could make history tomorrow with win number 10 in a row: "It was very difficult today because of the rain, but the course is brilliant, really slushy, you have to react incredibly quickly. I'm not thinking about the record. I don't want to put any pressure on myself, but of course it would be incredibly cool to achieve something that no lady has managed before me," explained Atherton. Second and third place in qualifying went to Atherton's compatriots Tahnee Seagrave and Manon Carpenter.

 
FMB Gold Event 26TRIX is turning into a talent factory

As the finals on Saturday literally fell through, the results from qualifying count for the dirt jumpers at the 26TRIX. Italian Diego Caverzasi made his international breakthrough with his victory. He was followed by last year's winner Antoine Bizet from France and his compatriot Mehdi Gani in second and third place. Best Trick winner was the German Nico Scholze.

 
Exciting show down tomorrow from 12.00 noon
 
Tomorrow, Sunday, the big final spectacle of the downhillers will take place from 12.00 noon. The final of the best 80 men and 20 women, which is once again expected to attract around 10,000 spectators, will be heralded by shows from trial world champion Tom Öhler and the Red Bull Skydive Team. The best spectator spots are the finish area and the hot spot on the course, where fans won't miss a thing thanks to the video wall and live moderation. During the day, the team and expo area will once again offer lots of interesting and interesting facts for young and old. Competitions, autograph sessions, exclusive glimpses behind the scenes of mountain biking and the very special bike flair make every visit to the Out of Bounds Festival an experience.

For all those who can't be there live tomorrow, the race will also be broadcast live on RedBull TV