RESULTS: World Championships Downhill Elite Qualifying

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A few hours after the junior finals, it was time for the elite riders to get their first true taste of the 2024 World Champs as they took to the track in Andorra for qualifying. Qualifying at World Champs carries no points, nor does it have any effect on the start order for finals, so the only thing that matters is to make the cut which is set at 40 riders for the women and 80 for the men (the top 10 women and top 20 men from the current World Cup standings are protected as long as they take the start of the qualifying round).

Vital Fantasy Downhill for Elites is Now Open

In the elite women's category, Myriam Nicole showed that she is a force to be reckoned with here "at home" in Andorra, putting several seconds into the rest of the field. Tahnee and Vali round out the top three and have some work to do if they want to catch the Frenchwoman on Saturday (although with the winning junior time from earlier today being faster than Myriam's by several seconds, we'd bet that none of the top women were anywhere near full race pace). With only 42 riders on the start list and one DNF, it was heartbreak for Sophi Lawrence who had a DNS and is unlucky number 41 today.

Myriam Nicole 1 — Myriam Nicole in practice earlier this week. Photo by Jack Rice.

In the elite men's category, Loic Bruni put the rest of the field on notice with a strong run, but just like in the women's category earlier, Asa's winning time from the junior men's final earlier in the day was quicker than Bruni's qualifier by a few tenths, so there's likely quite a bit of sandbagging going on here (and nobody wants to take any unnecessary risks, either). Now we get a day to recover, fingers crossed for good weather and a fair race on Saturday!