Vali Höll wins third successive Downhill World Title
The 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships took place this weekend and it was Vali Höll who grabbed the headlines as the Austrian rider made it three world titles in a row with victory in the downhill competition in Andorra.
In the women’s elite final before Höll rode to victory, it was Myriam Nicole who set the time to beat thanks to an aggressive run on a dry and dusty track at Pal Arinsal. The French rider went almost three seconds faster than her qualifying time and seemingly set an unbeatable time.
More than a dozen riders tried but failed to get near the mark set by Nicole until Tahnee Seagrave threatened to move into the lead. The British leader led after the first split but lost time in the final section and crossed the line 0.692 seconds back from Nicole.
Nina Hoffmann (GER) and Marine Cabirou (FRA) were next up but neither could get near Nicole’s time. The final rider was reigning UCI World Champion Höll who lived up to her favourite tag by producing a stunning run to secure victory by half a second.
Höll, 22, said: “I had such a hard time after the long break to get back up to speed, I really 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. Myriam [Nicole] is one of the best in the world, I really don’t feel like I am up at their level, but somehow I am. Women’s racing at the moment is amazing.”
In the men’s downhill competition, Loris Vergier claimed his first elite title exactly a decade after triumphing in the junior event. The Frenchman finished 0.148s clear of compatriot Benoit Coulanges, while Canadian Finn Iles claimed third place.
Loïc Bruni was the pre-event favourite and was 1.8 seconds up on Vergier when a crash ended his chance of winning the title for a sixth time.
The final day of the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships saw the elite XCO finals take place. In the men’s event, it was Alan Hatherly who powered to victory, the South African finishing 22 seconds clear of France’s Victor Koretzky. Tom Pidock claimed the bronze medal, just a few weeks after his heroics at the Games in Paris.
In the women’s competition, Puck Pieterse was untouchable on the high-altitude course as she rode a near-perfect race to lead from start to finish. The Dutch rider finished a staggering 59 seconds ahead of compatriot Anne Teprstra in second, while Martina Berta passed Candice Lill in the final stages of the race to take third.
Earlier in the week, Great Britain’s Evie Richards won the cross-country short-track world title courtesy of a narrow victory over Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. In the men’s event, French rider Victor Koretzky triumphed after finishing well clear of Charlie Aldridge.
Richards, 27, said: “I really can’t believe it, I wanted to win so badly. Honestly, when she [Pauline Ferrand-Prévot] stayed on my wheel I thought ‘I don’t know if I can stand it’. So, I waited for the sprint and I didn’t know if that would be long enough. I’ve been here at altitude for nearly three weeks doing 20-second sprints.”
Header image: Vali Holl performs at UCI DH World Championship in La Massana, Andorra. Credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
