There’s not much left to be said about the last round of the UCI DH World Cup: we saw the most unpredictable and exciting final in recent memory! It was pretty unique to play the last cards of the season on a new track, which added even more suspense to the thing!
The excitement of the American crowd was a pure delight and we couldn’t have imagined a better way to finish off this incredible season!
Myriam Nicole - 2nd (+1.995)
It was her first World Cup for 2019 and her first race in her brand new rainbow jersey. She admitted feeling disconnected with the realities of being world champion and we can’t blame her because she worked so hard to come back and realizing she really won was just another step.
Her confidence improved throughout the week and she started her race with a high desire to honor her world champ title. The track wasn’t to her advantage with a few tricky jumps, but she adapted her riding and finished second!
"Honestly I’m really proud to finish second here, I was struggling with some sections but I’m happy to see I finally clicked on for finals and it meant a lot for me!"
Amaury Pierron - 2nd (+0.656) & 2nd of the 2019 World Cup Overall
Amaury's mission was clear: winning this last round to maximize his chances to win the overall. Despite finishing 15th in qualies with a crash, Amaury was in good shape to give everything and his battle with Loïc Bruni was going to be intense!
He gave it all in his race run and everyone blew their minds off when they saw him riding and crossing the line with more than five seconds ahead, but a couple of mistakes in the last rock garden section would cost him some precious time.
The wait was endless until Loïc’s race run. He crossed the line in third place and the only rider who could change the story was Danny Hart. Danny had then to interpose between Amaury and Loïc to have Amaury winning the overall.
But, as you probably all saw yet, Danny had what seemed to be the perfect run, pushing hard at the end and overtaking Amaury on the last splits to win this last round.
Amaury finished in second and it wasn’t enough to win the overall:
"I was obviously super gutted when I realized I didn’t win and finished second. But you know, I gave everything and there are no regrets. All the team helped me, everyone did an awesome job but Loïc was having a crazy season anyway and I’m still happy for him. It’s a super nice guy and I’m proud to race against him. I’m already excited about the next season!"
Rémi Thirion - 18th (+7.214) & 12th of the 2019 World Cup Overall
He was happy to discover a new track and it was a treat to see him riding so well for the whole week. His run was clean and he pushed hard, he missed the top 10 by just a second:
"It’s hard to be able to hit all those sections super clean like in practice but I managed to stay on my lines which is always satisfying. I know I’m missing some speed, the other guys were killing it but I’m happy I stayed healthy for the whole year and I finished 12th overall which is good too. A Top 10 would have been better but without being on a podium during the season it’s hard to picture it! I have a few things to work on this winter because I finished this season a bit too tired, but first I’m happy to go back home and spend some time with my family!"
Thibaut Daprela - 1st Junior (3:11.898) & Winner of the 2019 Junior World Cup Overall
After a few misadventures on the last three races, our Junior wanted to finish his last World Cup with a win more than anything. He was feeling good and confident over the week and even if he knew he has already won the overall, he wanted to assert his speed:
"I heard Kye A’Hearn (the Junior World Champion) broke his wrist on his last practice run and I was gutted because I was looking forward to having the last battle with him as juniors. I was sad for him to finish the season like this. I tried to stay focus for my run, I rode how I wanted and I won my last Junior race ever. I’m stoked!"
Team Winners for the second year in a row!
It was super close with the Santa Cruz Syndicate who grabbed the yellow plate from us in Lenzerheide, but with everyone’s results, we managed to claim it back and this title means a lot!
We had a magnificent season, largely in part to all the amazing people who are behind us, starting with our staff to all the partners supporting us with the best equipment on the hill. Your support is essential and we’ll always be grateful for this so, MERCI to all of you!
©Jean Remy Ceron & COMMENCAL/VALLNORD by Riding Addiction