First up was the Junior Women’s race where we saw some rapid runs with French racer Lisa Bouladou taking her first World Cup win after an impressive run. The young French racer Lisa Bouladou laid down a storming run and was the only rider today to beat yesterday’s fastest qualifier as she bested the field by over five seconds. Pinkbike Racing’s Aimi Kenyon also had a great run to secure 2nd place. Riley Miller wrapped up the top three as she piloted her bike to a top position. Top qualifier Erice Van Leuven would sadly crash out at the top of the course.
After the race race winner Lisa Bouladou said: “I’m very happy to take the win today, I felt very good on the bike all week. The guys from Commencal have helped me a lot on the bike, on the tracks. I had fun all the week and I am very very happy.”
The Junior Men’s racing saw Léo Abella take the win as he managed to get down in the wet before high winds picked up and caused a weather delay on the course. While the live broadcast ended early the racing definitely didn’t as Henri Kiefer and Bodhi Kuhn smashed out some wild runs despite worse conditions compared to the top times. Bodhi Kuhn’s run could have been a classic (if we had seen it), as he managed to cross the line in 2nd and only 2.447 off the pace. Daniel Castellanos Liberal ended the day in third, 2.899 off the pace. Henri Kiefer was another wet weather master managing to get fourth place and even joined Bodhi Kuhn in going green at split two. A real shame we were not able to see the dramatic conclusion to the racing in Leogang.
Check out the results below.
Junior Women
1st. Lisa Bouladou: 3:41.640
2nd. Aimi Kenyon: 3:46.724
3rd. Riley Miller: 3:49.225
4th. Valentina Roa Sanchez: 3:50.530
5th. Vanesa Petrovská: 3:51.468
Junior Men
1st. Léo Abella: 3:11.177
2nd. Bodhi Kuhn: 3:13.624
3rd. Daniel Castellanos Liberal: 3:14.076
4th. Henri Kiefer: 3:14.803
5th. Rafaël Pelletier: 3:15.575
3:45 am PDT: The Junior Women’s Race is Now Underway
The Junior finals are kicking off in Leogang with Transition Factory Racing’s Taylor Ostgaard starting proceedings.
3:50 am PDT: Taylor Ostgaard Sets the First Time
Taylor Ostgaard was on a great run before a crash right at the bottom of the course. Taylor’s time is only two seconds off the top five from qualifying so we expect some rapid runs as we make our way through today’s racers.
3:51 am PDT: Amelia Dudek Goes Fastest
Amelia Dudek takes the leading position as she goes 1.258 seconds up.
3:54 am PDT: Emma Iten Takes the Top Spot So Far
Emma Iten puts together a smooth run to move into the top spot by just over a second.
3:56 am PDT: Vanesa Petrovská Goes 3 Seconds Up to Hold the Lead
Vanesa Petrovská is another rider reducing the fastest time as she finds 3.3 seconds to go fastest. We still have five riders left and around eight seconds to reach yesterday’s fastest qualifying time.
3:57 am PDT: Another New Leader as Riley Miller Takes the Lead
A strong run from Riley Miller places her in front and closes in slightly on the top qualifying run.
3:59 am PDT: Aimi Kenyon Flies into the Top Spot
Aimi Kenyon puts down a great ride to take the fastest time so far by two and a half seconds. We are still around three seconds back from Erice Van Leuven’s fastest qualifier.
4:01 am PDT: Lisa Bouladou Sets the Fastest Junior Women’s Time of the Week
Five seconds into the lead sees Lisa Bouladou go nearly two seconds faster than the top qualifying run. We still have two riders left but this was a huge run from the French rider.
4:03 am PDT: Valentina Roa Sanchez Goes 8 Seconds Back
Valentina Roa Sanchez looks to had some issues losing over five seconds in the first split. Valentina goes across the line in fourth.
4:04 am PDT: Erice Van Leuven Crashes
Erice Van Leuven has a big crash in the off-camber section at the top of the course. Erice does not finish her run but she is up and walking around. We hope she is not seriously injured.
4:05 am PDT: Lisa Bouladou Wins in Leogang
After Erice Van Leuven’s crash it means Lisa Bouladou takes the win today by over five seconds. Pinkbike Racing’s Aimi Kenyon takes 2nd with Riley Miller in 3rd.
4:14 am PDT: Heavy Rain in Leogang
Rain is now falling in Leogang which could make things a little wilder as the Junior Men prepare to take on their final run of the week.
4:20 am PDT: Rafaël Pelletier Sets the First Time
The rain seems to be letting up and isn’t affecting the times so far as the first run of the day would have placed just outside the top ten in qualifying.
4:22 am PDT: Daniel Castellanos Liberal Goes into the Lead
Daniel Castellanos Liberal is the new race leader as he finds 1.499 seconds to move into the hot seat.
4:27 am PDT: Léo Abella Goes Green at Every Split
French Champ Léo Abella lays down a great run to take the fastest time so far. It’s raining hard and because of high winds at the top, there is a course hold. Léo Abella’s time would have taken 2nd in qualifying yesterday.
4:34 am PDT: Conditions are Massively Changing
As the heavy rain continues to fall the rest of the Junior Men are expected to restart in around five minutes. Track conditions could be pretty sketchy with the rain and high winds.
4:41 am PDT: High Winds Delay Race Restart by Another 10 Minutes
Winds are still very high at the top of the course. The decision has been made to further delay the race restart to ensure the safety of the riders.
5:02 am PDT: Despite No Live Coverage the Junior Men are Back on Course
Rider are back on course in Leogang but it doesn’t look like anyone will be able to compete with the current leader following the heavy rain.
5:04 am PDT: Riders are Around 22 Seconds off the Lead
With the now wet conditions the fastest rider down so far after the restart is 22.366 off the pace.
5:09 am PDT: A Wild Run from Mike Leon Huter
It would have been great to watch Mike Leon Huter’s run as it looks like the wet weather hasn’t affected him too much coming across the line only 8.9 seconds back.
5:16 am PDT: Henri Kiefer is Green at Split 2
If only there was a Junior live Broadcast as Henri Kiefer is on a great run.
5:18 am PDT: Henri Kiefer Takes 3rd Despite the Wet Weather
Henri Kiefer has laid down a very special run managing to get himself onto the podium against riders who raced in the dry. Would have been a good one to watch live…
5:20 am PDT: Hugo Marini Goes 12th
Hugo Marini was looking fast at the top but he loses over 11 seconds in split four and goes across the line in 12th. Only Christian Hauser and Bodhi Kuhn are left.
5:22 am PDT: Christian Hauser Ends his Run in 12th
Christian Hauser has a steady run in the wet to go 15.813 seconds back in 12th place.
5:24 am PDT: Bodhi Kuhn Takes 2nd!
What an incredible performance from Bodhi Kuhn as he manages to battle the conditions and still cross the line only 2.447 seconds back in 2nd against riders who raced in the dry. We have said it a few times already but what a missed opportunity for some wild runs and talented riders to be featured on the live broadcast that appears to have ended before we saw all the riders.
Junior Women
Junior Men
