RESULTS: Leogang World Cup Downhill Elite Semi-Finals

Blue skies and a fast track greeted the racers as finals day dawned in Leogang. The semi-finals got underway on time, and the live broadcast was blissfully free of bugs as the women dropped in. Vali Höll backed up her first place from qualifying with a convincing semi-finals win, although Nina Hoffman was in touch before going down in the very last turn of the track (exactly in the same spot where Vali famously threw away a winning a run a few years ago now). All eyes on these two for the finals later today, as they seem to have built up a comfortable gap on the rest of the field.

In the men's, we were dealing with a somewhat unusual start list after the weather wreaked havoc with yesterday's qualifying session. When it was all said and done, the cream still rose to the top, with Specialized Gravity Racing signing a 1-2 thanks to Finn Iles and Loic Bruni. Loic crossed the finish line with what looked like an issue with his drive train, so it will be interesting to see if he can get one back on his team mate in the finals, or if Finn Iles will deliver his second World Cup win. Jackson Goldstone laid down a fantastic run landing himself in 4th, flying the flag for the young guns after last week's surprise winner Jordan Williams could only manage 21st in the semi-finals here today. We were stoked to see Sam Hill on our screens again, but he was off the pace and didn't make into the big show. Yesterday's weather lottery winner and fastest qualifier Davide Palazzari saw his worst nightmare come true as he set off last down the hill with the intent of honoring his unusually lofty qualifying position only to crash spectacularly 20 seconds into his run. Not the way he would have wanted this prime time broadcast opportunity to pan out, but let's call it gaining experience and hope for better things in the next one!

Stay tuned, finals coming up in just a couple of hours now!

2023 Leogang World Cup Downhill Semi-Final Results - Elite Women