Sep 12 2024 113 mins 3
Would it even be a World Cup without a natural event playing a major role in the outcome? Loudenvielle, the sixth World Cup of the season, was the third race to be heavily affected by rain on race day. We saw ideal conditions for the Juniors and 98% of the Elite Women's field before Deja vu struck and the skies opened up for fastest qualifier, Tahnée Seagrave. And oh boy, did it get spicy as the rain continued to fall throughout the Elite Men's final. Gnarly conditions always foster spectacular displays of bike handling, and some racers put on a clinic this weekend.
We also got to witness Vali and Bruni each wrap up another Elite title, a bunch of young Kiwis filling the podiums in the junior fields, and a ton of feel-good results, like Benoit taking the win after crashing here last year, Reece Wilson landing on the podium after so many setbacks, Aaron Gwin back racing after two years, and Myriam Nicole taking her first win after missing all of last season to a concussion. We chat about all of this, plus get the inside scoop on why our dude Dak was off the pace last weekend, points battles leading into MSA, RockShox Kashima knock-off, Asa Vermette's bike size, mass dampers (obviously), and a bunch of other nonsense. Enjoy!
