Tahnée Seagrave (Orbea / FMD Racing) and Loïc Bruni (Specialized Gravity) defied terrible conditions at Szczyrk Mountain Resort (Poland) to take the opening race of the UCI Downhill World Cup in sensational fashion.
Bruni triumphed with a heart-stopping 0,156-second lead over Oisin O'Callaghan (YT MOB), a true revenge for the Frenchman who last year in Bielsko-Biała had lost by an even narrower margin to another Irishman, Ronan Dunne (Mondraker Factory Racing DH), and had won a race to recover from a collarbone injury just to be able to race in Poland.
Seagrave put the women's elite on notice, announcing that this is the first step in a bid to capture the overall title, after struggling with injuries in recent years, as only Anna Newkirk (Frameworks Racing / 5DEV) has managed to come close to her.
Demonstrating the challenging conditions the riders faced in Poland, Veronika Widmann (Mondraker Factory Racing DH) was the first woman to complete the course intact, starting third. Lisa Bouladou (Goodman Santa Cruz) had trouble just before the flat section, while Phoebe Gale (Orbea / FMD Racing) lost traction after slipping on a footbridge at the top.
BRUNI PACES O'CALLAGHAN BY A SMALL MARGIN
The battle between Bruni and O'Callaghan went down to the wire, with the Frenchman losing a second between the final two intermediate checks, before clinging to his tenth of a second advantage to avoid a second heartbreaking defeat in as many years in Poland.
Staying in the saddle proved to be half the battle, with many riders dropping out while in the green zone on the timesheets, while slightly improved weather conditions for the men's race led to more risks and a subsequent increase in crashes.
Richie Rude (Yeti/Fox Factory Race Team) was perhaps the closest to Pierron before O’Callaghan’s run, tearing through the tightest sections of the Polish course at breakneck speed on his return to downhill after winning back-to-back UCI Enduro World Cup titles.
This season, the American has shifted her focus to the pure gravity discipline, like Harriet Harnden (AON Racing – Tourne Campervans), winner of the 2024 Women’s UCI Enduro World Cup.
Before then, however, the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series will head to an iconic stop in Nové Město Na Moravě. The Czech leg of the European leg will see the return of UCI World Cup racing Cross-country The Olympic and Short Track seasons got off to a spectacular start in Araxá, Brazil, with Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) and Evie Richards (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) looking to defend or even extend their lead in the overall standings from May 23-25.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1. |  | BRUNI Loic SPECIALIZED GRAVITY | 3:04.867 |
| 2. |  | O'CALLAGHAN Oisin * yt MOB extension | 3:05.023 +0.156 |
| 3. | | PIERRON Amaury COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 3:05.675 +0.808 |
| 4. |  | RUDE JR Richard YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM | 3:06.463 +1.596 |
| 5. | | DAPRELA Thibaut ROGUE RACING – SR SUNTOUR | 3:06.886 +2.019 |
| 6. | | SHAW Luke CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 3:08.716 +3.849 |
| 7. | | VERGIER Loris COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 3:08.751 +3.884 |
| 8. |  | HARTENSTERN Max CUBE FACTORY RACING | 3:09.265 +4.398 |
| 9. |  | MAES Martin ORBEA / FMD RACING | 3:09.846 +4.979 |
| 10. | | COULANGES Benoit SCOTT DOWNHILL FACTORY | 3:09.855 +4.988 |
FEMALE ELITE RANKING
| 1. |  | SEAGRAVE Tahnee ORBEA / FMD RACING | 3:34.340 |
| 2. | | NEWKIRK Anne FRAMEWORKS RACING / 5DEV | 3:36.051 +1.711 |
| 3. | | HOFFMANN Nina SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | 3:39.075 +4.735 |
| 4. |  | BALANCHE Camille YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM | 3:39.835 +5.495 |
| 5. |  | HÖLL Valentina yt MOB extension | 3:41.817 +7.477 |
| 6. |  | POOR Glory MS-RACING | 3:42.794 +8.454 |
| 7. | | CABIROU Marine CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 3:43.079 +8.739 |
| 8. |  | HEMSTREET Gracey * NORCO RACE DIVISION | 3:44.727 +10.387 |
| 9. | | BAUMANN Lisa COMMENCAL SCHWALBE BY LES ORRES | 3:46.950 +12.610 |
| 10. | | NICOLE Myriam COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 3:48.840 +14.500 |
