PAL ARINSAL, Andorra: Austria’s Valentina Höll has headlined the 2024 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships as she stormed to her third straight Women Elite Downhill title. Frenchman Loris Vergier has claimed his first Elite title, ten years after winning the Junior championship in 2014.

On the fast, dusty track at Pal Arinsal on Saturday, hot favourite Höll was scheduled to set off last in the Pal Arinsal final, following Nina Hoffmann of Germany and Marine Cabirou of France.

Höll faced a tough battle against France’s Myriam Nicole with the two riders trading splits across the course before Höll secured victory with a dramatic final run. Nicole settled for second and Britain’s Tahnée Seagrave third. Full results

With almost half of the 40 starters remaining, Nicole went more than 3 seconds quicker than her own fastest qualifying time. Only two riders could compete with the 2019 and 2021 UCI World Champion’s pace.

Tahnée Seagrave, who finished runner-up overall in the 2024 UCI World Cup, came within 0.7 sec off the French star’s time to move into provisional silver medal position with three riders to go.

After Hoffman and Cabirou failed to find the pace, it left defending champion Höll to chase the first hat-trick for more than 20 years. France’s Anne-Caroline Chaussonis, who won nine titles between 1996 and  2005, is the only female rider with more downhill world championships.

Riding aggressively, with a high pace but on the edge of traction, the Austrian had a 0.01-sec advantage at the final split. Höll then found more time at the bottom that guaranteed her success.

“I had such a hard time after the long break to get back up to speed, I doubted myself. I was scared I didn’t know how to race a bike anymore. But to do it three times in a row it’s insane!” Höll said on the UCI broadcast after the race.

“Myriam [Nicole] is one of the best in the world, I don’t feel like I am up at their level, but somehow I am… women’s racing at the moment is amazing.”

Victory for Vergier after Bruni crashes

In a thrilling finish to the week’s downhill race in Andorra, Vergier edged out compatriot Benoit Coulanges by just 0.148 seconds, with his victory hanging in the balance until the final rider. Loic Bruni, who led through the upper splits, crashed in the lower half of the course, ending his chances of another title.

As the Men Elite final intensified, Britain’s Danny Hart, a two-time winner, took the hot seat with a time of 2:38.944, with France’s Amaury Pierron close behind.

Forty-three-year-old Greg Minnaar, a four-time champion, received a standing ovation after finishing 23rd in his 28th UCI World Championship. Full results

When another Briton Charlie Hatton, the 2023 champion, finished in provisional 14th, the crowd knew the rainbow jersey would be passed on. With only ten riders left, including Dakotah Norton from the US, Andreas Kolb from Austria, and five-time UCI World Champion Loïc Bruni from France, the tension mounted.

Before the final trio, another Frenchman Benoît Coulanges went fastest by 0.135 seconds. Finn Iles of Canada took provisional second with two-hundredths of a second off the pace. Then, Andorra resident Loris Vergier of France crossed the line 0.148 sec quicker than his countryman.

Norton was half a second up when he crashed; Kolb was off the pace, leaving just ‘Super’ Bruni to go for a 6th Elite UCI World title and a French podium sweep. But Bruni was 1.8-sec up when he crashed, leaving his close friend Vergier to take the rainbow bands.

“It’s like I’ve been unlucky in the past years and I got lucky this time. It was unreal. It was a bad season and I’ve turned it around today,” said Vergier. “Thanks to Loïc [Bruni] for crashing, otherwise it would have been so hard. But I’m UCI World Champion and waaa! It’s insane.” (With inputs from UCI)