Cabirou Wins by 11 Seconds at World Cup Val di Sole DH
Just a week after winning the French National Championships by more than 10 seconds, Marine Cabirou turned in a spectacular performance at the World Cup Val di Sole, with a final run that was 11 seconds faster than her closest rival. Insync Racing’s Veronika Widmann and Pivot Factory Racing’s Emilie Siegenthaler joined her on the Women’s Elite podium in fourth and fifth places.
In the Elite Men’s race, Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Loris Vergier took third place, and Madison Saracen Factory Team’s Danny Hart took fifth, and David Trummer took sixth. Also riding for Santa Cruz, Greg Minnaar earned seventh place, and Canyon Factory Downhill Team’s Troy Brosnan rounded out the top ten.
Cabirou’s triumph was made more notable by the harrowing Val di Sole downhill course, which Pinkbike called a “boa constrictor to the brain” and “savage,” with hours of rain beforehand only adding to the misery. SCOTT Downhill Factory Team’s Cabirou is now second in World Cup DH standings, Widmann is fifth and Siegenthaler is tenth.
Brosnan, Vergier and Hart are third, fourth and fifth in Elite Men’s DH standings.
SRAM TLD Racing’s Vali Höll took second place in the Junior Women’s race, with SRAM Young Guns’ Anna Newkirk in third. Höll and Newkirk are first and second in standings for the category.
Canyon Factory Downhill Team’s Kye A’Hern was third in Junior Men’s and is second in overall Junior Men’s standings.
Sidelined from racing by a minor hand fracture the previous week, Pivot’s Bernard Kerr teamed with Eliot Jackson to give a pro’s perspective to a pre-race track walk and analysis.
World Cup DH action picks up again in less than a week at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.