The Elite Women kick off finals with another historic win for Rachel Atherton as she takes home her 40th World Cup win. The top result in Lenzerheide makes it Rachel’s first win since Vallnord in 2019 and is one of the most impressive comebacks we have ever seen in mountain biking. Half a second back from Rachel Camille Balanche just missed out on a win at home as she ends the weekend with a 2nd place finish. After not riding in qualifying because of an injured knee Nina Hoffmann has shown her strength coming into the season as she takes 3rd.
Following the race, Rachel Atherton said: ““I just actually can’t believe it. It hasn’t really sunk in. You get so fired up and then it’s three minutes and it’s over.”
“Coming into this I didn’t know if I would qualify, yesterday was mind-blowing. I was like ‘woah’ and this new format is so hard, doing semi-finals, you’ve got to save some energy. It’s mental.”
It was another historic moment in the Elite Men’s racing as Jordan Williams piloted his Specialized Demo to the top spot on the podium at his first Elite World Cup. Loris Vergier was the closest rider to the young talent ended his day 0.495 seconds back. Loic Bruni couldn’t match the speed of his teammate and crossed the line third with Finn Iles also putting a third Specialized inside the top five.
In his post-race interview, Jordan Williams said: “This is just insane. Lenzerheide isn’t one of my favorite tracks and I just rode as good as I could. I don’t even know, just incredible.
“I think coming from juniors to elite, having fast riders in juniors to push me has helped me a lot. I didn’t focus on trying to win or sending it super hard, just tried to put down the best run I could and see where I ended up.”
Check out the results and race updates below.
Results:
Elite Women
1st. Rachel Atherton: 3:07.514
2nd. Camille Balanche: 3:08.048
3rd. Nina Hoffmann: 3:08.301
4th. Vali Höll: 3:09.270
5th. Marine Cabirou: 3:11.118
Elite Men
1st. Jordan Williams: 2:39.222
2nd. Loris Vergier: 2:39.717
3rd. Loic Bruni: 2:39.907
4th. Laurie Greenland: 2:40.058
5th. Finn Iles: 2:40.232
4:00 am PDT: The Elite Women’s Race is Now Underway
After this morning’s semi-finals it’s Mille Johnset who kicks off finals.
4:04 am PDT: Mille Johnset Goes 8 Seconds Back on Top Semi-Finals Run
Mille Johnset sets the first finals time with a 3:18.504
4:08 am PDT: Anna Newkirk Takes the Lead
Anna Newkirk has gone fastest so far as she improves upon Mille Johnset’s time by half a second.
4:12 am PDT: Hattie Harden Takes the Top Spot
Hattie Harden continues to show she has talent no matter the bike as she goes fastest so far.
4:16 am PDT: Marine Cabirou Goes Fastest by 5 Seconds
Marine Cabirou has passed the 2nd place semi-finals time of Rachel Atherton to take the top spot with six more riders to come.
4:20 am PDT: Top 5 with 6 Riders Remaining
1st. Marine Cabirou: 3:11.118
2nd. Monika Hrastnik: 3:14.835
3rd. Hattie Harnden: 3:16.533
4th. Anna Newkirk: 3:17.926
5th. Mille Johnset: 3:18.504
4:24 am PDT: Vali Höll Sets the Best Time of the Week
Vali Höll attacks the Lenzerheide course to take the lead by just under two seconds. Vali’s time is almost one second faster than Camille Balanche’s winning semi-final run.
4:28 am PDT: Tahnee Seagrave Gets Loose on her Way to 3rd
Tahnee Seagrave has a wild ride down the track as she makes her return to World Cup racing with 3rd place ahead of the final four riders.
4:32 am PDT: 3rd for Gracey Hemstreet in her First Elite Finals Run
Gracey Hemstreet crosses the line 2.1 back and slots into 3rd place. Only Nina Hoffmann, Rachel Atherton and Camille Balanche are left at the top.
4:33 am PDT: Top 5 with 3 Riders Remaining
1st. Vali Höll: 3:09.270
2nd. Marine Cabirou: 3:11.118
3rd. Gracey Hemstreet: 3:11.461
4th. Tahnee Seagrave: 3:13.428
5th. Monika Hrastnik: 3:14.835
4:36 am PDT: Nina Hoffmann Goes Nearly 1 Second Up on Vali Höll
Despite her injured knee Nina Hoffmann has gone fastest by just short of a second against Vali Höll.
4:39 am PDT: Rachel Atherton Goes Fastest with 1 Rider Left
What a run from Rachel Atherton! Rachel puts down an incredible run to take the lead in Lenzerheide. Can Rachel make it 40 World Cup wins?
4:43 am PDT: Rachel Atherton Takes her 40th World Cup Win
As Camille Balanche goes across the line 0.534 seconds back Rachel has achieved her 40th World Cup win after not winning since Vallnord in 2019.
5:03 am PDT: The Elite Men’s Finals Kicks Off with Baptiste Pierron
Baptiste Pierron sets the first time in finals with a 2:45.201 sitting four seconds back from Loic Bruni’s top semi-final run.
5:06 am PDT: Tuhoto-Ariki Pene Just Takes the Lead
Tuhoto-Ariki Pene pulls ahead by 0.093 seconds to go fastest. There are reports of rain falling at the top of the course which could shake things up.
5:16 am PDT: Antoine Vidal Now Takes the Lead
Antoine Vidal finds nearly half a second to go fastest after five riders.
5:21 am PDT: Taylor Vernon Goes Down
Taylor Vernon slides out in the dust as he nears the bottom of the course.
5:32 am PDT: After 10 Riders the Top 5 Are:
1st. Antoine Vidal: 2:44.664
2nd. Tuhoto-Ariki Pene: 2:45.108
3rd. Baptiste Pierron: 2:45.201
4th. Oliver Zwar: 2:45.241
5th. Simon Chapelet: 2:45.500
5:34 am PDT: A Loose Run Puts Phil Atwill in 2nd
Phil Atwill does what he does best to keep it loose and take the 2nd place spot so far.
5:37 am PDT: Dakotah Norton Goes Fastest by 1.8 Seconds
Dakotah Norton takes the Intesne prototype to the top step of the hot seat as he finds 1.857 seconds on Antoine Vidal.
5:43 am PDT: Charlie Hatton Just Misses the Top Time
Charlie Hatton has just fallen short of Dakotah Norton’s time as he goes 0.248 seconds back.
5:48 am PDT: Angel Suarez Slides Out
Angle Suarez could keep his bike upright as he pushed hard for a top time. Angel crosses the line back in 14th
5:51 am PDT: Luca Shaw Takes 3rd
Luca Shaw makes it two US riders inside the top three as he goes 0.304 seconds back and into third place after 17 riders.
5:54 am PDT: Troy Brosnan Smashes the Top Times
Troy Brosnan is back on great form as he flies into the lead by 0.713 seconds.
5:57 am PDT: Greg Minnaar Has a Flat Tire Again
Greg Minnaar has flatted again after getting a flat tire during his semi-final run.
6:02 am PDT: After 20 Riders the Top 5 Are:
1st. Troy Brosnan: 2:42.094
2nd. Dakotah Norton: 2:42.807
3rd. Charlie Hatton: 2:43.055
4th. Luca Shaw: 2:43.111
5th. Danny Hart: 2:44.234
6:13 am PDT: Jordan Williams Beats Loic Bruni Winning Semi-Finals Time
Jordan Williams has smashed the semi-final winning time of Loic Bruni by over two seconds and currently leads finals by 2.872 seconds. What a run!
6:19 am PDT: Jackson Goldstone Takes 2nd
This year’s fresh Elite riders Jordan Williams and Jackson Goldstone are schooling the rest of the field as they currently hold the top two positions with six riders remaining.
6:23 am PDT: Finn Iles Rides into 2nd Place
Finn Iles makes it two Canadians in the top three as he goes just one second back on Jordan Williams to sit in 2nd place.
6:24 am PDT: Top 5 with 5 Riders Remaining:
1st. Jordan Williams: 2:39.222
2nd. Finn Iles: 2:40.232
3rd. Jackson Goldstone: 2:41.428
4th. Troy Brosnan: 2:42.094
5th. Dakotah Norton: 2:42.807
6:30 am PDT: Laurie Greenland Comes Close But Can’t Beat Williams
Laurie Greenland goes green at the first split but Jordan Williams remains unstoppable across the rest of the course as it is a British one-two.
6:33 am PDT: Loris Vergier Takes 2nd, Jordan Williams Still Leads
Jordan Williams is still leading with two riders remaining as Loris Vergier goes 0.495 back.
6:36 am PDT: Andreas Kolb has Crashed in the First Split
It wasn’t caught on the live feed but Andreas Kolb is 10 seconds back at the first split. Andreas showed some incredible speed in qualifying and during the semi-finals so he will be one to watch next weekend. Now there is only Loic Bruni left to beat Jordan Williams.
6:40 am PDT: Loic Bruni Goes 3rd Giving Jordan Williams the Win at Lenzerheide
In a battle of Specialized Demos it was first-year Jordan Williams who came out on top winning his first Elite World Cup race.
Elite Women
Elite Men
Elite Women
Elite Men
