Nine racers from Austria will also be battling it out for a place in Sunday's World Cup final.
The Leogang World Cup course is actually known as a high-speed course, but in today's training the ‘Speedster’ presented itself as technically demanding as never before. The 2.5-kilometre course was adapted by the organisers in collaboration with former pro Markus Pekoll for the World Cup dress rehearsal: ‘First and foremost, we wanted to react to the development towards 29-inch bikes, reduce speed and bring more rhythm back into the rides. There are a lot of directional changes this year, which requires the riders to ride technically clean. There are also some challenging sections. If you get them right, you can really get a lot out of them.’ According to Pekoll, getting the new and very steep forest passage right can be decisive for the race: ‘The route is interesting from top to bottom, but it will depend on the two key sections, the new forest passage and the traverse in the upper part,’ believes the former pro.
Nine Austrians fight for a place in the final
284 riders from 32 nations will start the qualification runs tomorrow, Saturday, in Saalfelden Leogang. Only the fastest 60 men, 15 women and 20 juniors will make it to the finals on Sunday. Nine Austrian athletes will also be battling for a place - first and foremost, of course, Austria's downhill shooting star Vali Höll, who will be competing in Leogang as a hunter for the first time after her torn winning streak in Fort William: ‘The pressure has been immense recently, especially the pressure I put on myself. Now I'm glad that nothing happened to me in the crash. I'm now really keen to step on the gas again and attack.’ The 17-year-old also appeared aggressive and focussed in today's Leogang training session: ‘Of course I know the track very well, but I also had to adapt to the new features first. Now I've trained well and have a good feeling.’
All eyes will be on the young Saalbach racer at this weekend's home World Cup, and not just because of the World Championship dress rehearsal: ‘Of course, next year's World Championships are on my mind. It will be my first year in the elite and I want to make Austria proud,’ says Höll.
Two other local Pinzgau heroes will be flying the red-white-red flag in the juniors: Devid Botter from Zell am See and Ottilia Jones Johansson from Hinterglemm, who competes for Sweden and achieved her first World Cup podium in Leogang last year.
Tightly packed elite field
Styrian David Trummer, the best-placed Austrian in the elite men's World Cup rankings, is considered the most promising candidate for a top place in the elite men's race, and after two top 15 finishes in the World Cup and a bronze medal at the European Downhill Championships, he is starting the home race with a good dose of self-confidence.
Two World Cup stops have already been on the programme this season: last year's Leogang champions Rachel Atherton (GBR) and Amaury Pierron (FRA) won in rainy and wet conditions in Fort William.
However, both the women's and men's fields are more tightly packed than ever before. In addition to the strong French line-up around the current world champion Bruni, the overall World Cup winner Pierron and the young Loris Vergier, four-time Leogang winner Aaron Gwin is once again one of the hottest favourites. However, other riders, such as former champion Greg Minnaar (RSA), Troy Brosnan (AUS), Mark Wallace (CAN), Danny Hart (GBR), Brook MacDonald and Laurie Greenland (GBR) are also lurking for victory in Austria. In addition to Atherton, Tracey Hannah (AUS), Marine Cabirou (FRA), Monika Hrastnik (SLO) and the German Nina Hoffmann are among the favourites in the women's event.
Super Saturday at the Epic Bikepark Leogang
The ninth edition of the Downhill World Cup starts today with the ‘Open Night’ in the large team and expo area, where visitors can take a look behind the scenes.
And tomorrow there will also be plenty going on in addition to the sporting highlights: spectacular freestyle motocross shows, autograph sessions with the stars of the scene and an open-air concert with live band ‘John Diva and the Rockets of Love’.
For all those who can't make it to Leogang, the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in Leogang will be available live and as video-on-demand free of charge at www.redbull.tv/uci/deutsch on the Red Bull TV BIKE Channel: redbull.tv/bike. The Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in Leogang will also be broadcast live on Servus TV.
