Mont-Sainte-Anne sure knows how to end the season with a bang! This drama-filled finale had everyone on their toes knowing these final races could make or break competitors’ dreams.

From the beginning, MSA came out swinging. Several top contenders faced misfortune in Qualifier 1, suffering crashes and tire punctures. However, the majority of Maxxis’ athletes made it through unscathed. Ellie Hulsebosch of Santa Cruz Syndicate even qualified second in her heat despite mechanical issues.

In the Elite Women’s qualifiers, soon-to-be retiree Camille Balanche from Yeti/FOX showed the crowd that even at the end of her career, she can still compete with the young guns when she qualified second, just 0.076 seconds off first.

The Men’s Elite Qualifier told the story early on of the battle for the overall series title, a matchup between Jackson Goldstone of Santa Cruz Syndicate and Loic Bruni of Specialized. With only 72 points between the two, everything came down to this race. Bruni set a blazing time of 3:33 in Qualifier 1, with Goldstone finishing third, 3.6 seconds behind Bruni.

Finals were no different from Qualifiers. The Junior Women took to the track first, showing the other competitors how it’s done. Aletha Ostgaard from Canyon CLLCTV and Ellie Hulsebosch finished the day in the spots they know best, first and second, setting times that would put them in the top five in the Elite Women’s race.
The Yeti/FOX DEVO teammates also had amazing runs in the Junior Men’s race, with Tyler Waite finishing second and Jonty Williamson finishing third. Felix Griffith unfortunately had a crash in finals. While he is okay, he is disappointed to not get the result we all know he is capable of.

The Elite races were up next. This is where the drama, the tension and the emotions began to fill MSA. Marine Cabirou from Canyon CLLCTV took the hot seat early on, setting a 4:01 time, 10 seconds faster than the top time from qualifying. Nina Hoffman from the Syndicate completed a near perfect run, finishing second behind Cabirou by just 0.7 seconds.

Not everyone was so lucky on track, though. Canadian downhill queen Gracey Hemstreet of the Norco Race Division was on pace to set the best time in her final run. However, just before the final jump, Hemstreet landed awkwardly and was shot into the crowd at high speed. Fortunately, Hemstreet was okay and was able to participate in the podiums later that afternoon to claim second overall in the series.

Balanche was also unlucky in her run, crashing hard in the rock garden into a tree that fortunately was padded. While she was able to finish the race, this was not how she envisioned the last downhill race run of her career.

After all the drama in the Juniors and Elite Women’s races, it was time for the final showdown in the Elite Men’s. Andreas Kolb of YT Mob took the hot seat early on.

Ronan Dunne of Mondraker Factory Racing DH was on a wild run that looked to knock Kolb out of the hot seat. Unfortunately, he got off line in the treacherous rock garden and destroyed his rear wheel. While Dunne was able to keep it upright, he lost any hope of a podium finish.

The other Mondraker teammates, Dakotah Norton and Ryan Pinkerton, made up for Dunne’s bad luck, finishing fourth and fifth on the day.

It was now time for the last three riders, Jackson Goldstone, Luca Shaw and Loic Bruni, who were all sitting in the top three for the overall series. Goldstone was on the cusp of taking the overall back from Bruni, but it all came down to this run. Goldstone launched out of the gate, flying toward the first berm. Just as he did at the World Championships, Goldstone took to the track with pure speed and grace. The crowd cheered loudly at Goldstone’s talent and how he flew around corners that would make most people fear sliding out. He handled the rock garden as though it wasn’t even there.

At the bottom, we were finally able to see the time: three seconds faster than Bruni’s in qualifying and two seconds faster the Kolb in finals. The crowd erupted for national hero, Jackson Goldstone.

While Goldstone celebrated with his family, Luca Shaw of the Canyon CLLCTV took to the track for his run. Two seems to be the lucky number for the American: after a second in Lake Placid and a second in Qualifiers, Shaw came in hot to take second in finals with a flawless run.

It was finally time for the last rider, and the cameras panned up to watch Bruni come out of the starting gate. But wait, he wasn’t there. Where was Loic Bruni, the series leader? The crowd, in pure shock and confusion, began to whisper. Did Bruni miss his start? What happened to Bruni? Over the speakers, we heard the countdown chirps just before the final beep, the beep that was supposed to send the series leader for his final run and battle with Goldstone. However, there was nothing. The refs began taking down the timing bar. It was official; Loic Bruni was not going to start his final run.

Goldstone, along with everyone else, was stunned, staring at the big screen in disbelief. It soon hit him, with his competitors coming up to congratulate him, that he had won. Not just the race, but the World Series overall. The crowd stormed the finishing corral, celebrating the double win of the Canadian in Canada. The pure emotion on Goldstone’s face spoke for itself.

Maxxis athletes ended the season on a high note with Goldstone and Shaw finishing first and third overall in the series.

The Canyon CLLCTV Team added to their medal count, taking the win as the best team in the series.

In the 2025 World Cup Downhill Series alone, Maxxis athletes earned over 50 medals, including 17 gold. To put it mildly, it’s been one heck of a season, and we are beyond proud of all our teams and athletes.

After the mayhem died down, we heard that Bruni had crashed in his practice run that morning. While he went to the top to attempt his run, his pain and injuries were too much. We wish Bruni a swift and speedy recovery from his accident.