RESULTS: Les Gets Downhill World Cup Elite Finals

With a severe weather advisory in effect for the afternoon in Les Gets, we woke up to news that junior finals had been cancelled in order to make room for elite finals to run earlier in the day. The rain appeared about 20 minutes before the elite women dropped in, and would get progressively worse as the race went on. The very first woman to drop in went down in the first turn, setting the tone for what would be a game of survival more than a race at times. Eleonora Farina didn't let the treacherous conditions faze her though, as she stayed committed to her lines and put down a clean and aggressive run that would stand up to all her challengers and see her win her first ever World Cup. Mille Johnset also managed to make sense of the challenge to land herself in 2nd on the day. The fastest qualifiers all had issues in their runs, going down in various spots along the track, with the final set of steep corners quickly turning into the ultimate decider as the mud continued to build up. Tahnee Seagrave will be especially disappointed with her crash, as she was 5 seconds up through the top splits, but she was in good company as the conditions would go on to claim many a victim during a brutal day of racing.

As the men got underway, the rain intensified. First man out of the gate, Greg Minnaar somehow managed to keep his bike upright while attacking the track with trademark flow and precision, booking himself a very lengthy stay in the hotseat. The early riders had full peanut butter conditions, packing the tires and turning the hardpack sections into a bobsleigh track of doom. As the rain kept falling, parts of the track seemed to develop better traction, but there were plenty of off-camber slip n'slides waiting to punish the slightest mistake, and that whole last steep chute went from bad to worse. Gamble on the high line at your own risk, but even the "safe" low line was turning into a muddy mess. How would the story unfold?

As we got into the top ten qualifiers, Finn Iles would be the first to show us that there was time left on the track. He went 2 seconds up through the first two splits, but his aggression got the better of him and a couple of crashes put an end to his challenge. Brosnan rode a smart race, not betting the house on the gnarliest options but keeping it upright and slotting it into third at the line. Green splits for Kolb! Up by more than 2 seconds at one point, bleeding time at the bottom, but 0.2 up at the line!!! Unbelievable riding from the Austrian! Just to show how difficult the conditions were at the time, next rider up Ronan Dunne laid it down in the very first turn out of the start hut. Thirion somehow hit every inside on the track, a joy to watch although it was "only" good enough for third at the time. Bruni looked smooth, but he was probably more focused on his overall series points haul as opposed to laying it all on the line for a win. In stark contrast, Amaury showed us all what he had in the tank a couple of weeks ago in a wet Val di Sole with a run for the ages, and he followed it up with more of the same here in Les Gets. 6.4 seconds up at the line seemed unthinkable just a couple of riders earlier, but this fast Frenchy is back at the very top of his game and he's looking like he's orbiting planet downhill on another level again. Last man to drop in, Dak Norton was riding high after winning both qualifying and the semi-finals, but the conditions got the better of him as the wheels came off his challenge and he ended up in 9th. Congrats to Amaury on another absolutely legendary run!

2024 Les Gets UCI MTB DH World Cup Final Results - Elite Women