10 YEARS OF TRIUMPH & TRAGEDY
we look back at the trials and tribulations, epic wins and painful losses of the past decade of world cup downhill racing
With no way to get our DH racing fix until the rescheduled World Cup series finally kicks off in September (hopefully!), we look back at the trials and tribulations, epic wins and painful losses of the past decade
When the 2000s reached their crescendo with Steve Peat finally taking the world champion’s rainbow stripes in 2009, it rounded out a decade of monumental wins from the likes of Nicolas Vouilloz, Sam Hill and Anne-Caroline Chausson, and seemed like an era of downhill racing that would never be surpassed. But over the past decade, the sport has evolved massively. Past legends have retired making way for a new crop of talent, and advancements in technology and professionalism have elevated the competition to an intensity fiercer than ever before. New faces have come to the fore – from the seemingly all-conquering Aaron Gwin and Rachel Atherton to Danny Hart, Loïc Bruni and Amaury Pierron – and there’s been no shortage of drama. With this season’s racing delayed until at least September, we thought we’d cast our minds back over some of the highlights from the past 10 years. Helping us take on this formidable task is pro photographer Duncan Philpott who, having been on the scene since the age of 18, has long been found trackside watching the action unfold at first-hand. These days his work is focused on documenting the Enduro World Series, but he remains an avid downhill fan, so here’s his pick of the defining moments from the past decade’s racing...
2010 2011 the rise of gwin
The decade kicked off with a season fans will vividly remember, encapsulated in Clay Porter’s 3 Minute Gaps film. Gee Atherton and Greg Minnaar didn’t leave much room in the spotlight for anyone else in 2010, battling down to the wire. At the series final in Windham, USA, Gee took the title after edging the South African out by just 0.3 of a second. Sam Hill’s absence with injury had left the door open after his dominating displays at the tail end of the 2000s, but the Aussie made his return at the end of 2010 in partial health, beating the odds and seizing the World Championships gold in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada.
A new rider was steadily working his way up through the ranks, though – Aaron Gwin. The
American had turned heads with a top-10 finish at his first-ever World Cup in 2008 and ended up fourth overall in 2010, securing his debut factory ride for the following season. He hit the race scene like a bomb in 2011, making it down to the bottom of the hill fastest at five of the seven rounds, pushing the pace and proving that 90 per cent effort wasn’t going to cut it any more.
There was an anomaly in Gwin’s dominance, though. The World Champs took place on a super-steep track in Champéry, Switzerland, in terrible conditions, and played host to one of the most memorable race runs ever. Britain’s Danny Hart rode like a man possessed – where everyone else was struggling, he took seemingly impossible inside lines, staying feet-up and keeping it rubber-side-down (only just!), and even throwing in a massive whip. The result was a monumental 11.7-second lead and a clip that’s still racking up YouTube views today, no doubt helped by Rob Warner’s overexcited commentary (“How can Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?!”).
2012 2013 new blood
Gwin stamped his authority on the male Elite ranks again in 2012, winning four out of seven races. Preconceptions about certain tracks suiting particular riders went out the window. The American’s race runs weren’t as clean as before, though, and he survived multiple near misses, making no effort to hide the fact he was pushing it. Times were getting tighter too – save for a dominant run in Val di Sole, Italy, where Gwin would have had time to stop, shake some hands and still cross the finish line in the green. A hand injury in qualifying at Val d’Isere wasn’t enough to stop him taking the series title with a round to spare, but did put the brakes on his winning streak, allowing Kiwi Brook Macdonald to add his name to the list of
danny hart rode like a man possessed, keeping it rubberside-down and even throwing in a massive whip
2010 2013 cross-channel battles
Women’s downhill has often been defined by the dominance of a select few. In the ’90s and 2000s French legend Anne-Caroline Chausson was unquestionably in a league of her own, but with her retirement, up stepped Sabrina Jonnier and Emmeline Ragot to fly the French flag against the formidable Tracy Moseley. There ensued a fierce battle every weekend, with the riders from each side of the Channel vying for dominance, and when T-Mo and Jonnier both stepped down in 2012, they’d picked up six overall World Cup wins between them over the previous two years, and Tracy wore the rainbow stripes from her World Champs win in 2010.
Filling in the gaps were Ragot and the increasingly fast Rachel Atherton, with two different physical builds and riding styles, and plenty of drama, from ripping through the tape to crashing in race runs. Emmeline’s French compatriot Myriam Nicole was the only other name to take a win in 2012, doing so on the challenging Val di Sole course. Rachel emerged the overall victor in both 2012 and 2013, with one particularly notable race being the 2013 Fort William World Cup, where she won by an incredible 10.139 seconds. But not far behind her and Emmeline was the looming presence of fellow Brit Manon Carpenter, making up third place more often than not.
2014 2017 manon breaks through while rachel dominates
The young rider from Wales burst into the 2014 season with a convincing lead in South Africa, taking the top step for the first time. Manon carried this momentum through the year, fighting off Rachel with two more wins to take the overall, followed by the World Champs gold – a stellar season. At Fort William in 2015, though, her luck ran out as she crashed spectacularly off the Visit Scotland arch jump in front of a packed arena. This slam, and another even more savage one in Val di Sole
the young rider from wales burst into the season and carried this momentum through the year
aaron gwin hit the race scene like a bomb in 2011
World Cup winners at that race and Canadian Stevie Smith to do the same in Hafjell, Norway.
The new blood on the top step lit up discussions in the off-season, but it was Gee Atherton who opened the account for 2013’s first two races. Rémi Thirion won the third round, putting an end to the notable absence of French riders from the podium. It wasn’t until the second half of the season that Gee’s rival in the overall chase revealed himself and, excitingly, that challenge came from Vancouver Island’s Stevie Smith. On home soil in MontSainte-Anne, he took his second ever World Cup win and set the ball rolling for two more, transparent in his emotions and winning over fan after fan. Leogang, Austria, hosted a highspeed showdown between Stevie and Gee where, despite having been in this position before, Gee lost his nerve to the Canuck.
2014 2015 rise of the rat
It may have been the Chinese year of the horse, but in the world of downhill 2014 was to be the year of the rat, as Josh ‘Ratboy’ Bryceland breathed fresh air into the
increasingly professional World Cup scene. Narrowly missing out to Gwin at the first round with a dropped chain, and taking the second step in Cairns, Australia, behind Gee, the Brit was accruing points at a fair rate. A young Troy Brosnan secured his first victory at round three, but then in Leogang everything changed. Despite disliking the track and consuming numerous Bavarian beverages the night before, Bryceland bested the field. The fire was lit and only Sam Hill, back at full strength after years of injury, could narrowly better him at MontSainte-Anne and at the finals in Méribel. The overall win was Bryceland’s and he rode a wave of momentum into the World Championships in Hafjell. So much momentum that he overshot the final jump in his race run, obliterating the bones in his foot and riding to the line with his eyes shut in anguish – good enough for second, but handing the win to Gee Atherton.
With an off-season devoted to recovery and rehabilitation, Bryceland wouldn’t make a show until the middle of 2015, so Aaron Gwin set about making serious headway to threaten Greg Minnaar’s all-time win record. Four out of seven rounds went to the resurgent American, including one without a chain. By now, the massive winning margins we were used to had shrunk to mere fractions of seconds. Gwin’s chainless win over Connor Fearon stands out as the tightest in UCI DH history – just 0.045 of a second separated the two over a threeand-a-half-minute run. Greg took two wins, but couldn’t stop Gwin sewing up the title.
2016 2017 all up for grabs
The Californian continued his winning streak into 2016, where he took the season opener in Lourdes, France. It was here that the big names of today’s racing started to show their capability. a year later, took their toll and, although Manon chalked up several more podiums, she struggled to reach the top step again. This left Rachel to forge on with her campaign to become the most consistent winner the sport has ever seen. Atherton’s staggering accumulation of 16 victories in a row only came to an end in 2017 when she crashed in practice at Fort William. The door was left wide open to the rest of the women’s field and things were about to get interesting. Australia’s Tracey Hannah was the first to take up the mantle, followed by Britain’s Tahnée Seagrave, finding her speed in the Elite category, and finally Myriam Nicole, who put a collarbone injury behind her to take the 2017 overall win.
2018 2019 injuries level the field
The first round of 2018 was held at the new venue of Lo inj, Croatia. Qualifying was won by Rachel, but it was Myriam who bested the field in finals. Tahnée clinched her first home-soil win at round two in Fort William and Rachel won round three, making the contest for the overall tighter than it had ever been. Not only was the top-level racing providing gripping action, but in the Juniors Austrian Vali Höll was surging onto the scene, posting times good enough for Elite podiums. Not since Rachel won her first World Cup aged 19 had a young rider shown so much promise.
Atherton’s not-inconsiderable experience won her another series title in 2018. She also took the World Champs gold with the biggest winning margin of her career (judged as a percentage of total run time), finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of second-placed Tahnée on the short track. But the battle took an unexpected turn the following year, when Rachel, Tahnée and Myriam all missed almost
pierron was the dominant force, having learned how to tame his talent and wild style
France’s Amaury Pierron finished fifth that day and Danny Hart – eerily quiet since his Swiss World Champs supremacy – came third. Pierron’s wild riding got the better of him at the next round where he broke both his wrists, but Danny continued his upward trajectory, winning three rounds back-to-back, but narrowly missing out on the overall to Gwin. He made up for this in Val di Sole though, taking his second World Champs gold in spectacular fashion. Sadly, a dark cloud hung over much of the season following the passing of Stevie Smith. The Canadian legend lost his life in a tragic motorbike accident and the world of downhill lost one of its greats.
Wild weather at the 2017 season opener in Lourdes turned up a surprise winner in the form of French unknown Alex Fayolle, but it was the emergence of Finn Iles in the Junior ranks that attracted much of the attention. In the public eye since the age of 13, throwing huge whips at Crankworx, his debut World Cup season saw him regularly posting times that would have put him in the top 20 in Elite. At the sharp end, Minnaar, Gwin and Brosnan traded wins, with the American coming out victorious at the end. Every racer went into that off-season with a serious programme of interval sprints and equipment fine-tuning, hoping to eke out those precious milliseconds.
2018 2019 vive la france!
In 2018 one country came to the fore – a nation that, in times gone by, had sealed up almost every world title going. Following in the footsteps of Fabien Barel and Nico Vouilloz, there was a pincer movement from a trio of French riders – Amaury Pierron, Loïc Bruni and Loris Vergier. Between them, they only left two rounds up for grabs. Pierron was the dominant force, having learned how to tame his talent and wild style. Doing what no one suspected, he took three wins and the overall title in a breathtaking display of speed and aggression.
This paved the way for the most exciting downhill season to date. With the list of serious contenders longer than it had ever been, the show kicked off in a venue steeped in racing history – Maribor, Slovenia. Through its rough rooty sections and infamous rock garden, the French showed their form yet again, with Bruni narrowly edging out Danny Hart. This set the tone for the next three rounds and, although a French winner was never certain, Bruni and Pierron were finding an edge over the rest of the pack by the narrowest of margins.
Up against the brutal roots and rocks of Val di Sole, young Brit Laurie Greenland put on an incredible display of bike handling, backing up the World Champs silver he’d collected here in 2016, this time taking gold. It was only a brief interruption, as Pierron went on to win the next round in Lenzerheide, lining up the cards for an epic showdown. With qualifying points not counting at the final round in the US, it all came down to one run, Bruni or Pierron’s for the taking. A less-than-ideal run by Loïc left Amaury’s team rapidly calculating the points as last-man-on-the-hill Danny Hart made his way down. Green at every split, he narrowly slipped in front of Pierron and gifted Bruni the overall title.
hannah took the title - a well-deserved first series win for the australian, in her 13th year of racing
the entire season due to injuries. Stepping into the breach was yet another fast Frenchie – Marine Cabirou – who fought with Tracy Hannah for the overall, right down to the wire. At the final race of the season, Cabirou claimed her third win, but it wasn’t quite enough, and Hannah took the title by a mere 20 points. It was a well-deserved first series win for the Australian, in her 13th year racing World Cups.
The usual path for a podium contender in the women’s field is a rigorous battle in Juniors gaining experience followed by a season or two adjusting to Elite pace, but there’s been a recent anomaly. While Manon Carpenter was winning the overall in 2014, Nina Hoffmann was trying out a DH bike for the first time. Fast forward four years, and the young German took the start at her first ever World Cup race. Nina landed just shy of the podium in her short four-race debut season, but with a clear view of what could be possible, she trained hard for what would turn out to be a wild 2019. Getting a second place and three podiums in your first full season is an incredible accomplishment, especially for a full-time student. Nina’s race runs featured crashes and blow-ups – and even ejecting a shoe at Vallnord! – but the splits demonstrated serious speed, suggesting she’ll be capable of consistent podium performance once she gains experience on the world stage.
Meanwhile, Vali Höll continued to put in race results that would have threatened the Elites. What with her graduating to that category this year, we can expect to see the most exciting season of women’s racing ever!