The long wait is over as for the first time in 2023 the world’s best downhill riders go against the clock as they try and qualify for the new Semi-Final format. The racing threw up plenty of surprise results as the fresh Elite riders moving up from Juniors proved they will be threats this year while some favorites from past seasons struggled to find speed.
As the dust settles on the first qualifying session of 2023 let’s get into the results and stats.
Overall:
1st. Camille Balanche: 3:12.135
2nd. Rachel Atherton: 3:17.178
3rd. Vali Höll: 3:18.153
4th. Monika Hrastnik: 3:19.404
5th. Phoebe Gale: 3:19.703
1st. Andreas Kolb: 2:44.411
2nd. Loris Vergier: 2:44.893
3rd. Angel Suarez: 2:45.234
4th. Loic Bruni: 2:45.466
5th. Benoit Coulanges: 2:46.155
Full results, here.
While we would normally track the fastest five riders for each individual split this data has not been released for the opening round. Instead, we have tracked how the overall top five changes as they passed through each timing gate.
Sector 1
1st. Camille Balanche: 53.161
2nd. Rachel Atherton: +0.146
3rd. Vali Höll: +1.140
4th. Phoebe Gale: +1.737
5th. Mille Johnset: +1.884
Sector 2
1st. Camile Balanche: 1:39.759
2nd. Rachel Atherton: +1.029
3rd. Vali Höll: +2.628
4th. Phoebe Gale: +2.869
5th. Monika Hrastnik: +4.211
Sector 3
1st. Camile Balanche: 2:08.525
2nd. Vali Höll: +3.081
3rd. Phoebe Gale: +4.146
4th. Rachel Atherton: +4.200
5th. Monika Hrastnik: +5.105
Sector 4
1st. Camille Balanche: 2:47.451
2nd. Rachel Atherton: +4.626
3rd. Vali Höll: +5.138
4th. Monika Hrastnik: +6.789
5th. Phoebe Gale: +6.857
Finish
1st. Camille Balanche: 3:12.135
2nd. Rachel Atherton: +5.043
3rd. Vali Höll: +6.018
4th. Monika Hrastnik: +7.269
5th. Phoebe Gale: +7.568
Sector 1
1st. Andreas Kolb: 45.488
2nd. Angel Suarez: +0.017
3rd. Loic Bruni: +0.215
4th. Charlie Hatton: +0.566
5th. Oliver Zwar: +0.588
Sector 2
1st. Angel Suarez: 1:24.782
2nd. Loic Bruni: +0.144
3rd. Andreas Kolb: +0.155
4th. Benoit Coulanges: +1.087
5th. Loris Vergier: +1.118
Sector 3
1st. Loic Bruni: 1:49.437
2nd. Andreas Kolb: +0.246
3rd. Loris Vergier: +0.986
4th. Benoit Coulanges: +1.076
5th. Angel Suarez: +1.122
Sector 4
1st. Andreas Kolb: 2:21.843
2nd. Loris Vergier: +0.889
3rd. Loic Bruni: +1.223
4th. Angel Suarez: +1.384
5th. Benoit Coulanges: +1.912
Finish
1st. Andreas Kolb: 2:44.411
2nd. Loris Vergier: +0.482
3rd. Angel Suarez: +0.823
4th. Loic Bruni: +1.055
5th. Benoit Coulanges: +1.744
Elite Women
Elite Men
The top 15 qualifying margins were plotted before including results at positions 20, 25, 30, 35 and 37.
The top 15 qualifying margins were plotted before including results at positions 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 and 170.
Camille Balanche Continues to be the Rider to Beat
After finishing a dramatic 2022 season with the overall series title Camille Balanche is kicking things off in 2023 in a similar fashion as she dominated qualifying. Camille held the overall lead through all splits building a lead of just over five seconds by the finish line. The Swiss racer just missed out on the win here last year and it looks like she has come back to Lenzerheide with speed to take home the top spot.
Rachel Atherton is Back & Looking Fast
Rachel Atherton may have been saying she was struggling at Lenzerheide this week but the clock says otherwise as she makes her return to racing in 2023 with a 2nd in qualifying. Rachel just missed out on the podium when she attempted to race Lenzerheide last year and it is looking like she is a real threat for not just the podium but maybe even the win this weekend.
Last Year’s Juniors are Coming into 2023 Strong
Every year there’s always the question of how the previous season’s top Juniors will fare as they move up to Elites. This season it looks like the conversation may hold some weight as in the first qualifying session of the season we saw plenty of last year’s fastest young riders really put the pressure on the usual names at the top. In the Elite Women’s qualifying session, Phoebe Gale really shook things up and she made her way into the top five with Izabela Yankova and Gracey Hemstreet just missing out on the top ten.
In the Elite Men’s qualifying Jordan Williams left the biggest impression scoring an incredible sixth position. An injured Jackson Goldstone managed to get himself into the top ten beating out his teammate Laurie Greenland who finished in 11th. The real test for these riders will be tomorrow as they face the new double bill of Semi-Finals followed quickly by Finals if they make it through.