TNT Sports
UCI Downhill World Cup 2023 LIVE - Marine Cabirou and Oisin O’Callaghan win in Snowshoe
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Published 30/09/2023 at 17:53 GMT+1
Welcome back to Eurosport's live coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup as we cover the climaxes of both the women's and men's races all in one place in what should be some thrilling weekend action. Remember, you can stream the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Series live and on-demand on discovery+, the Eurosport app and via eurosport.com
'A few sketchy moments' - Holl overcomes obstacles to close in on Downhill World Cup title
Video credit: TNT Sports
Thanks and goodnight!
Thanks for joining us tonight and we're looking forward to rounding out this weekend of excitement with the Olympic cross country tomorrow, see you then!
Catch us tomorrow
We will post the videos of Oisin O'Callaghan's primal winning run when they're ready, but in the meantime don't forget that the mountain biking action from Snowshoe doesn't end here!
We'll be live again tomorrow for the cross-country Olympic races, starting with the women's at 17:30 GMT before the men - including Tom Pidcock - round out the weekend starting at 19:00, both are live on Eurosport too!
Mens' Downhill standings:
It's all to play for heading into the final round of the season:
Norton's Big shoes to fill
Dakotah Norton looked almost disappointed that he couldn't take the win today:
Dunne: I have no idea what's going on!
Ronan Dunne looked even happier than O'Callaghan when the latter crossed the line to take victory, after picking up his last podium a year ago at Snowshoe:
Holl's 'annoying' title-winning run
Valentina Holl could've gone even faster on her final run:
Womens' Downhill standings:
With one round to go - coming up next week from Mont-Sainte-Anne, here's how the women's standings look on the weekend Valentina Holl was crowned champion
WATCH: Cabirou's winning ride
In all that excitement for the men, don't forget that Marine Cabirou took a memorable win in the women's event a couple of hours ago with this fantastic ride:
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‘What a ride!’ - Cabirou takes stunning Downhill gold in Snowshoe
Video credit: TNT Sports
Top 10: Men's Downhill World Cup Round 7
Here's the final results from a breathless evening of downhill:
Irish downhill is top of the world!
O'Callaghan first, Dunne second. Stick around because we'll have plenty of reaction coming up, starting with your RACE WINNER:
20:40 - Bruni 26th
Bruni certainly wasn't going to die trying there. He was giving everything and went 0.031s up at split three, but suffered a heavy crash in the forest soon after, clipping a tree and slamming into the ground, before he picked himself up and limped home in 26th. What. A. Finish.
20:38 HUGE CRASH FOR BRUNI
BRUNI IS DOWN, OISIN O'CALLAGHAN WINS!!!!!
20:35 - O'Callaghan goes top!!!
If you live in West Virginia and need a kitchen sink, head to Snowshoe because Oisin O'Callaghan has just hurled one at this run. He goes half a second faster than Dunne with 3:07.624, just an incredible incredible effort.
And Dunne seemed even happier about that than O'Callaghan himself, immediately sprinting out to celebrate with his compatriot. But it's not over yet, with Loic Bruni last off the start ramp.
20:31 - Vergier just misses out
What a finish they're treating us to! Vergier never went green but was simultaneously always in contention for the win, finishing third and pushing leading Brit Barnard Kerr off the podium. Vergier was 1.265 seconds behind Ronan Dunne for Trek, the Irishman's leading time is 3:08.120.
20:27 - Skill of the Irish
The top of the semi-final results page was tinged emerald with two Irishmen in the top four, and Ronan Dunne was the first up for Continental Nukeproof. Norton looked fast but Dunne's just annihilated that by nearly a full second despite a hairy moment at the end - and I'm running out fo superlatives here as the times get quicker and quicker! Three riders to go...
20:24 - Home delight
Dakotah Norton was 1.6 seconds down at the second split, but the Tennesseen just got faster and faster and faster down the mountain, eventually stopping the clock at 3.08.987, half a second ahead of Kerr. And there's still four more riders to come!
20:20 - Battle of the Brits: The Sequel
I spent that heading too earlier, Barnard Kerr is the final Brit to go after four in the last riders, and what a way to set up the top five!! Kerr's deservedly absolutely delighted, he was green all the way down the mountain and looked like he was on rails in the corners.
Though the Pivot rider dropped a chunk in the last section, he was still quick enough for 3:09.422, beating Williams by 0.822s.
20:16 - Battle of the Brits
George Ethan Craik didn't go fastest at any point on that run, but stayed in touch with his compatriot Williams to go third at 1.3s back and push Matt Walker off the podium.
20:11 - Kolb Oh So Close!
Andreas Kolb looks absolutely fantastic in the opening three sections, 1.5s up at split three. But after dropping 1.3s in the next time check, could he keep that up? Williams looked on the edge of his seat watching the last few metres of Kolb's run but the Austrian came home 3:10.339 - just HALF A TENTH behind Williams.
20:07 - Iles takes immediate advantage
Finn Iles looked set to take virtual second place in the championship for a moment there following Goldstone's misfortune, but faded at the death there and slots into third place behind the two Brits.
20:05 - Bad luck for Goldstone
Jackson Goldstone came into the final just 90 points behind Loic Bruni but he suffered a flat tyre early there and limps home to 20th, that's got huge championship implications.
Goldstsone took it well though, entertaining the crowd on his way down.
Standings: Nine riders to go
With 35 minutes to go, here's how things stand:
19:56 - Huge crash for Greenland
He was up by half a second early, but Greenland slammed into a tree soon afterwards, catching his right-hand side and his hand could be in hurt here.
19:55 - Brosnan into fifth
After such excitement, over the last few runners, Troy Brosnan can only manage fifth at 3.672 seconds behind Williams.
19:52 - We have a new leader!!!
If that was a rollercoaster run for Robert Jordan Williams then think Oblivion or a drop tower - he started a second behind fellow Brit Walker but that gap just plummeted as Williams surged down the mountain and eventually came home in first by 1.730 seconds for Specialized Gravity.
19:49 - How did he stay up?!?
Max Hartenstern has survived the run - somehow - to put himself fourth. The Cube German got all out of shape on the rocks and looked millimetres away from hitting the deck, but somehow stayed on and was rewarded for that aggression with fourth, just 0.032s ahead of Levesque.
19:45 - It's heating up!
After things were dormant at the top for a while, now it's really getting exciting. Remi Thirion fought back from a second down early to go green at the third split, flinging himself over the jumps to beaucoup shouts of Allez! But he can't quite match Walker, finishing on 3:12.815.
19:41 - Grice on the ground
This open section is becoming a problem as more and more riders make the run down Snowshoe, Chris Grice is the latest to see his run ruined.
19:39 - That didn't last long...
Levesque got nearly half an hour in the hotseat but Jewett got about a tenth of that time, as Britain's Matt Walker smashes that time IMMEDIATELY! No one since Levesque had got within a second and a half of the Frenchman before Jewett, but Madison Saracen rider Walker put 1.3 seconds into the Canadian with a time of 3:12.018.
19:36 - We have a new leader!
Jakob Jewett TAKE A BOW!!! The Canadian went quicker on every section of the course despite never fully pulling away from Levesque's time, Jewett eventaully manages 3:13.351 to put seven tenths into the Frenchman for Pivot.
19:32 - Another one bites the dust
Luca Shaw hit the deck at almost exactly the same section as Dailly, the open run in the second bit of the course. However, after losing five seconds he produce an insane finish and was only 1.8 seconds behind Levesque on the line!
19:30 - Flat tyre for Pene
The best rider in the final that's named after a type of pasta (don't say I didn't warn you), Tuhoto-Ariki Pene was looking good sitting just 0.133s behind at the first split. But he couldn't sustain that speed before suffering a flat tyre and finishing on 3:33.253, 19 seconds back.
19:27 - Sherlock into eighth
The best rider in the final that's named after a fictional detective, Seth Sherlock goes eighth with an unremarkable run, he lost almost exactly a second per split for Intense Racing.
And for anyone getting tired of the name-based jokes, just know that there's Pene up next before I'm out of ideas...
19:25 - Dooley into fourth
The best rider in the final that's named after the state capital of Texas, Austin Dooley squeezes into fourth, just ahead of Dylan Maples by less than two tenths.
19:22 - Connelly crosses line
That's all to say really, Jackson Connelly goes eigth with a time of 3:19.432.
19:20 - Rude not bummed
Dylan Maples becomes the fastest American, putting himself in fourth at 2.2 seconds back. That's enough to beat compatriot Richie Rude, who suffered a flat tyre part-way down and was interviewed after his run:
19:16 - Levesque still top
Anthoine Vidal won the European Championships earlier this season but he can't get close to his compatriot here, Vidal's time of 3.15.682 is good for third for Commencal les Orres.
19:14 - Back tyre not in Rude health
Richard Rude was within a second for much of the run but suffered a flat tyre in the rock section past halfway, the Beast from the East slammed into the ground from a jump but still managed a very respectable 3:19.429, less than a second behind Atwill who finished with both tyres fully inflated.
19:11 - Dailly hits the dirt
It had been an unremarkable first split for Adrien Dailly before he hit the dirt in an open section, just banking on more grip than he found.
19:10 - Williamson breaks the streak
Williamson is the first driver not to go top, the Madison Saracen rider slots into third and never looked like challening Levesque's time.
19:08 - Levesque finds good grip
What did I tell you? Dylan Levesque looked rapid down the course, finding big air at the end to go nearly nine-tenths than Minaar for Scott Downhill Factory.
19:06 - Minaar goes top
With the first six riders setting off at two-minute intervals this is going to be chaotic, Greg Minaar yo-yoed between the red and green for most of the course but crosses the line at 3:15.030 for Santa Cruz Syndicate.
19:03 - Speedy Snowshoe
The track is already looking so much quicker than the semi-final this morning. Philip Atwill threw everything at that and clocked in at 3:18.452, two seconds quicker than the Propain Positive rider managed this morning.
Start list: Men's Downhill Final 1-21
Here's how they'll start in the first hour of racing. Then the top nine from the semi-final will go off four minutes apart starting at 20:01 GMT:
19:00 Philip Atwill GBR
19:02 Greg Minaar RSA
19:04 Dylan Levesque FRA
19:06 Greg Williamson GBR
19:08 Adrien Dailly FRA
19:10 Richard Rude Jr USA
19:12 Antoine Vidal FRA
19:15 Dylan Maples USA
19:18 Jackson Connelly AUS
19:21 Austin Dooley USA
19:24 Seth Sherlock CAN
19:27 Tuhoto-Ariki Pene NZL
19:30 Luca Shaw USA
19:33 Jakob Jewett CAN
19:36 Matt Walker GBR
19:39 Christopher Grice USA
19:42 Remi Thirion FRA
19:45 Max Hartenstern GER
19:48 Robert Jordan Williams GBR
19:51 Troy Brosnan AUS
19:54 Laurie Greenland GBR
Bruni: I feel good
Championship leader Loic Bruni sits just 90 points ahead of second-placed Jackson Goldstone, and spoke after winning the semi-final:
Men's final T-10 minutes
And with that, we swtich our attention to the men's competition! It gets underway at 19:00 GMT, after Loic Bruni topped the semi-final. Bernard Kerr was the best Brit earlier at 5.5 seconds beack while there were two Irishmen in the top four. Philip Atwill will be first off the ramp.
Final results - Women's Downhill Round 7:
So here's how they finished up in Snowshoe:
Holl - Just don't do anything stupid
Valentina Holl has just spoken for the first time as 2023 World Cup Champion:
Cabirou - I won't celebrate too much!
That's huge for Cabirou, meaning the battle for second in the championship goes down to the final event of the season, next week in Mont-Sainte-Anne. And with that in mind, the Frenchwoman promised not to celebrate this victory too hard! She added:
18:36 - Shock for Holl
Valtenina Holl looked set to clinch the World Cup in the best way possible after going 1.5 seconds quicker than Cabirou in the first split. But she may just have throttled back from there, only needing to finish the course to secure the championship, and came home third with a time of 3:41.702 for Rockshox Trek Race Team.
18:32 - What a ride for Cabirou!!!
Cabirou finally took her first win of 2023 last time out in Les Gets, and needed a big ride there to remain in contention for second-place in the championship against Nina Hoffmann. AND SHE DELIVERS!!!
She made some bold line choicces at the top of the course and they paid off later on, coming home three tenths ahead of Hoffmann with a time of 3:41.042. Holl's up now, will that time stand?
18:28 - Seagrave goes second
Tahnee Seagrave was well in contention after the first split, 0.244 seconds up on Hoffmann, but couldn't replicate that for the rest of the course and finished on 3:43.898, 2.5 seconds behind the leader.
But that's still enough to move the Brit into second for Canyon CLLCTV FMD.
18:23 - Johnset into third
Mille Johnset faced the same problem as A-Hern, it would've been nigh-on impossible to follow such a statement ride and she comes home with a time of 3:50.636.
The Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team rider was just fighting the bike a bit down that run but still slots into third.
18:20 - Hoffmann's not done yet
Nina Hoffmann needed a big effort to try and keep the World Cup alive for one more week, and she produced it! The Santa Cruz Syndicate rider just demolished Scarsi's time, finishing massive SIX SECONDS ahead of the Italian on 3:41.386.
It's not just Holl that will have watched that, Cabirou is the penultimate rider off the ramp and is chasing Hoffmann hard for second-place in the championship.
18:17 - Follow that!
It was always going to be a tall order for Sian A'Hern to follow that effort from Scarsi, and the Aussie slots into fourth with 3:53.327 - just a tenth of a second behind Widmann - for YT Mob.
18:13 - Benchmark set by Scarsi
Gloria Scarsi take a bow! The Italian just demolished the second half of Snowshoe, hammering in a time of 3:47.655 - two seconds quicker than Holl's semi-final-winning time from earlier. That's a serious benchmark.
18:10 - Disappointment for Hemstreet
Gracey Hemstreet was literally flying over the start of the course finding big airtime on the early jumps, but faded hard at the end to slot into third for Norco Factory Team with a time of 3:53.821.
18:08 - Not how you start, it's how you finish
It looked like the Italian would stay top as Monika Hrastnik sat over 1.6 seconds down at the third timecheck. But the Slovenian blasted down the second half of the course and goes into the hotseat with a time of 3:52.894 for Dorval Am Commencal.
18:03 - Here we go...
And we're underway in Snowshoe! Veronika Widmann gets us underway, with a clean run for Continental Nukeproof Factory Racing, the Italian clocks a time of 2:53.237 - over five seconds quicker than in the semi-final.
Men's competition coming up...
And just before we get underway in the women's final, a reminder that the men's finale follows straight on from this, at 19:00 GMT!
Start list:
Here's how they line up, with the first rider off the ramp in just a few minutes (all times GMT)!
18:00 Veronika Widmann (ITA)
18:03 Monika Hrastnik (SLO)
18:06 Gracey Hemstreet (CAN)
18:09 Gloria Scarsi (ITA)
18:12 Sian A'Hern (AUS)
18:16 Nina Hoffmann (GER)
18:20 Millie Johnset (NOR)
18:24 Tahnee Seagrave (GBR)
18:28 Marine Cabirou (FRA)
18:32 Valentina Holl (AUT)
British short-track success
Brit TahNee Seagrave was third in the semi-final, 1.7 seconds behind Holl, and will hope to emulate compatriot Evie Richards' success yesterday.
Richards secured a dominant first World Cup victory of 2023 yesterday, and said: "I can’t believe it, I’m well happy. I’ve got no words, really, it’s just great.”
Read the full report here.
Champion-in-waiting
Valentina Holl will be crowned World Cup Champion with one event to spare if she finishes the course today! She topped the semi-final earlier by 0.7 seconds from Marine Caribou, while championship runner-up Nina Hoffman was seventh at seven seconds back.
And what better way to cap such an impressive season by Holl than take her fourth victory of the season after also winning the world championships in 2023?
Hello and welcome!
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening and welcome to the UCI Downhill World Cup LIVE from Snowshoe, West Virginia! We've already had exciting action from the States with the downhill qualifying earlier today, and the cross country short track yesterday, and I'm sure that will continue here!
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Stream the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike World Series live and on-demand on discovery+, the Eurosport app and via eurosport.com
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