The fine weather led to some extraordinarily daring performances in the elite downhill finals that the New Zealand riders could not quite match at the UCI MTB World Championships in Champéry, Switzerland.
Austria’s Valentina Holl made it four titles in a row in the elite women while the ultra-talented 21-year-old Canadian, Jackson Goldstone rode with daring to claim his first elite men’s crown.
The dry conditions enabled riders to hurtle down the rutted and iconic course on the absolute edge of grip. However a flat tyre during a superb run by Rotorua’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab thwarted the chances of a kiwi male making the podium for the first time since a third placing by Sam Blenkinsop at the same course 14 years ago.
Stevens-McNab, who rides for the Trek Factory team, finished 6.489s down on the winner in a respectable 14th place. The 21 year-old was well up in the early and mid-stages of his run to threaten a spot on the hot seat, but a flat tyre on the bottom section of the track cost him any chance in an otherwise super-impressive run.
“It was a pretty good weekend as a whole. I took a big slam this morning and the wrist was a bit sore but otherwise all good,” said Stevens-McNab.
“I was riding well but got a flat tyre which was gutting. I was on a good one, may be a top three, but I don’t know. My riding was good. It got rough and the track got so beat-up but it dried out a bunch. It was cool to race a real gnarly race and pretty cool overall but a bit gutted.”
Next best among the kiwis was Christchurch’s Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton team) who finished 20th at 7.962s down on the winner.
Six kiwi men had forced their way into the elite final, with the 38-year-old Taranaki legend, Wyn Masters who was one of the early riders off in the final, having a lengthy stay in the hot seat trio during a long delay as officials airlifted out an injured rider. Masters, a hugely popular figure in the sport with his regular video series, was the second-oldest rider in the elite finals, finishing 61st of the 80 finalists.
Holl edged French star Myrian Nicole by just 0.667 to win the women’s honours and stamp herself into the history books, with Rotorua’s Jenna Hastings, the 22-year-old Pivot Factory rider, finishing in 22nd place, 19.071 down on the winner. The former junior world champion was the only kiwi female to compete in the elite finals, after Queenstown’s Jess Blewitt unable to race after an injury during the qualifying run.
“Not quite the result I wanted. My goal was a top-15 so did not quite get there,” said Hastings. ”I struggled with the track all week with changing conditions and it’s so steep, it is scary. It is quite random compared with what we are used to. I wanted to go 3:50 and I went 3:46, so I ticked off the splits and some lines I wanted. But we move on to the next one now. I know I can be up there.”
Action now turns to cross-country with short-track titles on Wednesday (NZ time) and the XCO World championship next weekend with men under-23 and Sammie Maxwell in the elite women overnight on Saturday, with under-23 women and elite men overnight Sunday at Crans-Montana in the Valais region of Switzerland.
Downhill elite results:
Elite males: Jackson Goldstone (CAN) 2:54.153, 1; Henri Kiefer (GER) at 1.946s, 2; Ronan Dunne (IRL) at 1.993, 3. Also NZ riders: Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory, Rotorua) at 6.489s, 14; Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton, Christchurch) at 7.962, 20; Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (MS Racing, Rotorua) at 11.006, 29; James Macdermid (The Alliance, Hamilton) at 11.347, 34; Sam Gale (Nelson) at 14.371, 43; Wyn Masters (Pivot Factory, New Plymouth) at 21.041, 61.
Elite females: Valentina Holl (AUT) 3:27.136, 1; Myriam Nicole (FRA) at 0.667s, 2; Marine Cabirou (FRA) at 1.091, 3. Also NZ riders: Jenny Hastings (Pivot Factory, Rotorua) at 19.071, 22; Jess Blewitt (Cube Factory, Queenstown) dns.
