VIVE LA FRANCE & RULE BRITANNIA!

Amaury Pierron proved he was no one-hit wonder by following up his debut World Cup victory in Fort William with a back-to-back win in Leogang, Austria. The on-form Frenchman beat the USA’s Aaron Gwin (battling a dislocated thumb) by 0.508secs and wrested the leader’s jersey from him. Fellow American Luca Shaw looked to spoil the Commencal rider’s party, but a crash in the woods meant that, for the second week running, the fastest qualifier had to concede to bad luck.

Drama unfolded in the women’s finals too, as fastest qualifier Tahnée Seagrave went outside the tape and was disqualified. Fellow Brit Rachel Atherton took her first victory since Lourdes in 2017 after a long wait in the hot seat. France’s Myriam Nicole gave her a scare, but a mistake at the bottom pushed her 0.638secs behind.

Australia’s Kye A’Hern pipped France’s Thibaut Daprela to the Junior men’s win by just 0.05s, while hometown favourite Vali Höll put on a dominant performance in the women’s, winning by over 15 seconds despite crashing.