In Portugal was held the Downhill de Tarouca, C1 international race of Downhill with important names at the start. The Serra de Santa Helena, in Tarouca, crowned the British Jordan Williams (Specialized Gravity) and the Austrian Valentina Höll (Rockshox Trek Race Team), winners of the first stage of the 2023 edition of the Downhill Portuguese Cup (DHI) presented by Shimano.
The elite men's race had a clear ruler. Jordan Williams was fastest in the qualifying downhill and even managed to improve his personal best in the afternoon downhill. He stopped the clock at 2'37'720, which earned him the overall victory and the under 21. We recall that Jordan Williams is the same age as Jackson Goldstone (2004) and was Junior World Champion last year: we had written an article mentioning how Goldstone and Williams ran with the same times as the Elites. In second place, at 1.009 seconds, the Frenchman Rémi Thirion (Giant Factory Off-Road Team), with the last step of the podium for the Irishman Ronan Dunne (Continental-Nukeproof Racing), 1.436 seconds behind the winner. Gonçalo Bandeira, sixth classified, was the best Portuguese.
In the women's elite, the superiority of the world champion Valentina Höll was confirmed. The Austrian closed the final in 2'56”910, beating the Italian Veronika Widmann by 8.124 seconds (this year at the Continental Nukeproof Factory), author of a good race. Third place went to Scotland's Mikayla Parton (Resolute Racing), at 11.513 seconds. The best Portuguese was Nara Silva (Casa do Povo de Abrunheira), classified fifth.
The second stage of the DHI Portugal Cup presented by Shimano will take place on 19 March in Seia.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1. JORDAN WILLIAMS – SPECIALIZED GRAVITY | GBR | 00:02:37.720 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. RÉMI THIRION – GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM – DH | FRA | 00:02:38.729 |
| 3. RONAN DUNNE – CONTINENTAL NUKEPROOF FACTORY RACING | IRL | 00:02:39.156 |
| 4. ANTOINE ROGGE – LAPIERRE ZIPP COLLECTIVE | FRA | 00:02:39.611 |
| 5. KADE EDWARDS – TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY | GBR | 00:02:40.600 |
| 6. GONÇALO BANDEIRA | POR | 00:02:41.153 |
| 7. AUSTIN DOOLEY-COMMENCAL/SCHWALBE | USA | 00:02:41.368 |
| 8. MATT WALKER – MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM | GBR | 00:02:41.399 |
| 9. GREG WILLIAM – SONMADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM | GBR | 00:02:41.442 |
| 10. OSCAR GRIFFITHS – RESOLUTE RACING | GBR | 00:02:42.005 |
FEMALE ELITE RANKING
| 1. VALENTINA HÖLL – ROCKSHOX TREK RACE TEAM | TUE | 00:02:56.910 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. VERONIKA WIDMANN – CONTINENTAL NUKEPROOF | ITA | 00:03:05.034 |
| 3. MIKAYLA PARTON – RESOLUTE RACING | GBR | 00:03:08.423 |
| 4. ANNA CRAIG – IMPACT RACING | GBR | 00:03:25.519 |
| 5. NARA FARIA DA SILVA | BRA | 00:03:35.910 |
