When in sport fate crosses the cards of the protagonists, that is where it knows how to tell the most beautiful stories. It so happens that on a June day on the Black Snake, in Val di Sole, two champions with a recent past of falls, injuries and relapses, find themselves almost magically on a track that had already made them great.
Source: press release
It's the story of Downhill of Val di Sole 2024 at the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series on Saturday 15 June, and the protagonists are called Amaury Pierron and Tahnee Seagrave.
The first one painted a perfect line between rocks and roots, digging a chasm between himself and his opponents, and returning to breathe the rarefied area of the first step of the podium almost two years after Snowshoe 2022. Last year, a terrible fall at Lenzerheide it had caused him to fracture a cervical vertebra: goodbye season, and many slow months of recovery to try to get back to himself after such a serious injury. Today he can say it: mission accomplished.
The emotion of the two winners, who had already celebrated as a couple in Daolasa in 2018, also ignited that of the large audience on the course and in the race field despite the weather, at times inclement in the skies of Val di Sole. Even on a day opaque for Christian Hauser from Trentino, only ninth among the Juniors, the Italian public was able to witness the career best of Stefano Introzzi from Como, 19th with the number 91 after having surprisingly qualified for the final. He too will remember this strange, magical day in Val di Sole for a long time.
AMAURY PIERRON'S MASTERPIECE: IT'S A BIS IN VAL DI SOLE
Yesterday's semi-final was prophetic: even in the final act, Amaury Pierron demonstrated that he had achieved a particular feeling in Val di Sole by attacking the Black Snake right from the gate, as only champions know and dare to do.
For the French champion, the second victory came in Daolasa, six years after the first, dating back to 2018, at the end of a flawless run, closed with a time of 3'39".004, the only athlete to go below the barrier of 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
The Commencal/Muc-Off rider left behind the surprise of the day, the spirited American Dakotah Norton (Mondraker Factory), second at 4, able to exploit a drier track than the riders who started in the second part of the race. Norton is also no stranger to exploits on the Black Snake, as demonstrated by his third place in 893: the appointment with his first victory on the top circuit is, however, still postponed.
“Winning in Val di Sole in the most iconic stage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series is pure madness. Once I looked out of the gate, I said to myself: all or nothing. I opened the throttle and everything arrived,” commented a beaming Pierron.
The Canadian Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) completed the podium in third at 5, ahead of the Australian Troy Brosnan (Canyon) and the Transalpine Loic Bruni (Specialized Gravity). For the multi-titled rider from Nice, the consolation of the leadership in the general classification, consolidated with a regular race but far from what is needed to excel in Val di Sole.
Nineteenth place for the only Italian rider at the starting gate of the final act, Stefano Introzzi, who thus achieved his career high with the highest race number among the athletes qualified for the final.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1. |  | PIERRON Amaury COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 3:39.004 |
| 2. |  | NORTON Dakotah MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING | 3:43.897 +4.893 |
| 3. |  | ILES Finn SPECIALIZED GRAVITY | 3:44.884 +5.880 |
| 4. |  | BROSNAN Troy CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 3:45.635 +6.631 |
| 5. | | BRUNI Loic SPECIALIZED GRAVITY | 3:47.240 +8.236 |
| 6. |  | DUNNE Ronan * MONDRAKER FACTORY RACING | 3:48.640 +9.636 |
| 7. | | O CALLAGHAN Oisin * yt MOB extension | 3:49.979 +10.975 |
| 8. | | MAPLES Dylan * COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION | 3:50.165 +11.161 |
| 9. | | SHAW Luke CANYON CLLCTV FACTORY TEAM | 3:51.136 +12.132 |
| 10. |  | HART Danny CONTINENTAL GT RACING | 3:51.449 +12.445 |
GENERAL WORLD CUP
