World Cup 7 - Val di Sole -

It doesn't even look real but Val di Sole (or the Valley of the Sun) is a very picturesque place! It also happens to be home to one of the most brutal race tracks on the planet! — It doesn’t even look real but Val di Sole (or the Valley of the Sun) is a very picturesque place! It also happens to be home to one of the most brutal race tracks on the planet!

There will be no more world cups until 2016! Seems crazy to write that because it feels like only last week we were racing the first round but it is the truth. Fortunately there is still the world championships to come but before we get ahead of ourselves, Val di Sole (VDS) and what a race it was for the finale. The overall competition for the juniors and the women had already been determined but the men’s competition was still Greg Minnaars to win and Aaron Gwins to lose! Of course there were so many other plots as well, could Loic Bruni snag his first world cup win? Could Troy Brosnan grab the win after crashing in Windham the race prior? Would we yet again see another fresh out of the juniors field rider grab their first elite podium?

Track walk is always interesting, this year there were many new features which meant riders couldn't just go back to the lines from previous years. — Track walk is always interesting, this year there were many new features which meant riders couldn’t just go back to the lines from previous years.

This was one of the biggest concerns, moisture... it was always there lurking but never had a big say in how the event turned out. — This was one of the biggest concerns, moisture… it was always there lurking but never had a big say in how the event turned out.

It was good to see Steve Peat back on a bike, his weekend didn't quite go to plan scoring another injury, at least this one is a lot more minor! — It was good to see Steve Peat back on a bike, his weekend didn’t quite go to plan scoring another injury, at least this one is a lot more minor!

Racing saw an Italian junior, Loris Revelli, step up to the plate and take away the coveted gold medal much to the delight of the home crowd! Andrew Crimmins was the highest placed Aussie in fourth place,he took home second overall a fantastic result!

Junior Men:

1st. Loris Revelli
2nd. Jacob Dickson
3rd. Laurie Greenland

Remy Morton had a promising first junior season, roll on 2016.

In the elite women it was the same story as it has been most of the season, Rachel Atherton took the win! Myriam Nicole showed that she can handle the technical tracks, a good sign before world championships. Third went to current world champion Manon Carpenter.

Elite Women:

1st. Rachel Atherton
2nd. Myriam Nicole
3rd. Manon Carpenter

Tracey Hannah took the last place on the podium in 5th.

Manon Carpenter looked to ramp up her title defence ahead of world championships taking 3rd.

In the elite men all the attention was on the last few riders as they were the ones who had more to gain than just the race victory! Brook MacDonald was in the hot seat when Greg Minnaar started his run, it wasn’t long before he made an uncharacteristic mistake and sampled the Italian dirt, in the process he awarded the 2015 series to Aaron Gwin. Next up was Lolo aka Loic Bruni the young French man rode well displacing Brook MacDonald from the top spot. Next on course was Aaron Gwin, he rode a smart race and ended up just ahead of Loic’s time. This left fastest qualifier Troy Brosnan on track, he was fastest at split one but a crash/bobble/incident meant he broke his finger but still managed to charge home for third place.

Elite Men:
1st. Aaron Gwin
2nd. Loic Bruni
3rd. Troy Brosnan

You don't often see Greg Minnaar crash, especially in a race run. — You don’t often see Greg Minnaar crash, especially in a race run.

Gee Atherton couldn't repeat his world championships success here from a few years ago. — Gee Atherton couldn’t repeat his world championships success here from a few years ago.

Fastest qualifier translates to last rider down the hill. We now wait for the 2016 season.

The race is won or lost, long before riders cross the finish line.

2015 was a break through year for many riders including Tahnee Seagrave.

Still no world cup wins for this maestro, hard to believe really!

Rachel Atherton showed to be the class act of 2015 in a league of her own.

What could have been.... emotion levels were high! — What could have been…. emotion levels were high!

Captain America takes his 14th world cup win and 3rd overall series.

Aaron Gwin again showed he can handle a bike on a variety of courses to take the win here on a totally different track to the last race in Windham.

That wraps up the 2015 UCI downhill world cup series, what a great year it has A�been. Of course join us in Andorra for the world championships in a few weeks time.

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