Intro Text
Fast, grass or crash, no one races for free. Qualifying at the 2019 World Cup DH in Les Gets was the pinnacle of precarious with speeds pushing 75kph and razor-thin ruts holding riders in place. Racers that got off line paid the price with bruises and broken bones or in an early ticket home missing out on race day. Sven, Boris and Dan dodge the detonations to bring us the excitement of the best downhill mountain bike racing on earth.
Amaury bending time in the cannonball section. It worked and he came out tops today. -Sven Martin
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Amaury later focused all the way to the end. -Sven Martin
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Tracey Hannah wants to keep the #1 plate and earned more points today by qualifying that #1 spot. @maddogboris
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Tracey Hannah is carrying the pressure of the number 1 plate but remained her usual calm and collected self, qualifying first. -Dan Hearn
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"Lick my muthaf%*king toes or get the f$*k out of my pits!" Eddie's EWS win may be going to his head. @maddogboris
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Everybody is welcome in the Pivot pits to lick Eddie's toes. @maddogboris
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Thibaut Daprela with another ludicrious Junior time. With his quali time he would have ended up in the Elite Men's Top 10. @maddogboris
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We're not positive, but we heard that "Thibaut" means rocket booster in French. -Dan Hearn
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Is Peaty downhill's Joe Biden? @maddogboris
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Troy taking queues from Peaty. @maddogboris
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Someone who actually needs a hug. Healing vibes to Jerome Caroli who had a wild crash in one of the fastest parts of the course. -Dan Hearn
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Jerome, lucky to walk away after that massive race run tank slap. Get well soon! -Sven Martin
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If Vali Höll wins the quali 6.3 seconds ahead of Anna Newkirk. Do we say "just" 6 seconds? @maddogboris
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2nd place for Anna Newkirk after some wild moments in yesterday's practice session. We're always comparing her time to Vali's, but just think how fast she'll be when she gets to Elites. She would have placed 7th in Elite Women today with her 3:39. #USDH -Dan Hearn
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Marine .666 off the win today. A beastly time marking her as the 2nd-to-last down the mountain tomorrow She'll be fired her up in front of the home crowd. -Sven Martin
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Eleonora Farina using Ponytail DRS technology to boost through the open top section. 4th place in qualifying. -Dan Hearn
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35th at the first split, then a crash would send the long jump winner, Bruce Klein, to the showers. At least he has some Vital Euros for the non-Quali Party, although I'm sure he'd give up that in a heartbeat for a spot in the show. -Sven Martin
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Speaking of the long jump...Mayhem Media giving Vital MTB some advice for future impromptu competitions. -Dan Hearn
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Meanwhile, the results do the talking. here's some serious generational talent. The Alien chatting with today's and last year's fastest riders. -Sven Martin
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John Hall may not have been busy with Aaron this weekend, but he takes away some learning and knowledge from being trackside a lot more than usual. -Sven Martin
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Flat Pedal Thunder from Down Under, Connor Fearon with the 8th fastest time just behind his buddy Bernard Kerr. @maddogboris
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It's not easy racing World Cups. Walker and Luca Shaw break down Walker's run. -Sven Martin
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Dakotah Norton with another 13th quali position. #luckynumber13 #USDH ain't scared of a number. @maddogboris
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Remi Gauvin is stoked to qualify for finals which was his goal for the race. 42nd ain't no slouching either. No pressure for finals, just let it hang out and enjoy! -Dan Hearn
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Holding a line in the dust is not easy but Mike Jones rode this out and pulled out a Top 10 qualifying time. -Dan Hearn
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Consistency for Eddie. #17 plate and 17th place qualifier, licked toes or not. @maddogboris
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Remi Thirion is stoked to be entering finals day with his whole team alongside. -Dan Hearn
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Loic carving precise lines. He runs narrower rims and tires than the rest of the field, but to do so, you have to be perfect. -Sven Martin
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Jorba Prats just missed out in qualifying. By two seconds which ended up being 17 positions. The days of easy qualifiers are long gone. -Sven Martin
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Ainhoa Ijurko from Spain seeded in third today in the Junior Women. -Sven Martin
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Finn Iles 5.5 sec behind Amaury with in 9th. He was defo testing out his limits today! @maddogboris
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INDUSTRY JOB POSTING: Media Squids Camera Operator, flexible hours. Must love being outdoors in any condition. Self nap-starters only. -Sven Martin
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Kaos Seagrave with all the style but a 92nd place qualifier. -Sven Martin
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Sian A'Hern starts her day well, all smiles with her dad Nick and then a 6th place in qualifiers. -Sven Martin
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Out of the woods into the second dose of high-speed grass turns. -Sven Martin
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Luca Shaw sending it to Sunday. 12th place with room to move. -Sven Martin
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Flying low off the Oakley step down gap. -Sven Martin
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Camille Balanche rounded off the qualifying podium. 7th place is her best previous finals result, so let's see if she can hold onto her spot tomorrow. -Dan Hearn
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Mariana Salazar tweaking the step-down-step-out rhythm section into third place today. -Sven Martin
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Goncalo Bandeira just one second away from third place in fourth. Its going to be a tight race for the podium in the Junior class tomorrow. -Sven Martin
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The second tallest rider in the field manages to get the lowest. #minnaartuck -Sven Martin
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Tracey stopped by the Atherton Bikes pits today to drop off a get-well cuddle toy for Rachel. Nice to witness in today's world of electronic get-well cards and messages sent with the flick of a finger. -Sven Martin
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Brage flying a good fifty feet off the ski jump in his race run. -Sven Martin
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Elliot Jamieson of Norco Factory Racing squeaking in to tomorrow's Junior race. -Sven Martin
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Commencal Vallnord Team Manager, Thibaut Ruffin in 33rd. BTW Amaury used Thibaut's GoPro Footage to figure out the lines on the top. #strategery @maddogboris
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Reece Wilson out of the shadow into the light, 32nd place run with moto skills to add some speed on race day... @maddogboris
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Second Place qualifier Seth Sherlock. Speed and shapes. @maddogboris
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Number 73, Douglas Vieira unfortunately qualified in 73rd. Consistent at least. @maddogboris
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Loic Bruni somehow finding grip in the dust and making it look all too easy. -Dan Hearn
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Armpit action with Danny Hart and Gee Atherton. 4th Place for Danny! @maddogboris
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Former DH World Champ and now full-time enduro racer Miranda Miller qualified 13th here in Les Gets. She says that she was never more stoked to qualify for a World Cup. We looking forward to see her in finals tomorrow. @maddogboris
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Laurie Greenland with 11th and some steeze. @maddogboris
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One of the most consistent riders in the top mix. Troy Brosnan with the 3rd fatest time and plenty of race-winning experience in Les Gets. @maddogboris
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Yeah, it's a bit dusty, but not even close to Andorra last week. Good times delivered by David Trummer in 18th. @maddogboris
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Brook Macdonald rides so fast that you can see through people... @maddogboris
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Jacob Dickson again in the Top 20 in conditions nothing like the greasy, slick Ireland hillsides he's used! @maddogboris
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#panshotfriday w/ Luca Shaw @maddogboris
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Brendog, Top 30, newly married, new bike...quite a handful of days for the steeze master! @maddogboris
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While we think downhill is pretty damn cool at the moment, the Loic posters never cease to amaze us. @maddogboris
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Looks like the forecast for the weekend is wrong and we will have dusty grass corners all through race day. @maddogboris
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Luke Meier-Smith backed up his quick pace in timed training with a 5th place qualifier. -Dan Hearn
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If you're wondering why France has so many top riders, check here. Fully stocked with stoked French Juniors. -Dan Hearn
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Lots of fast, smooth sections of track make for ideal pan opportunities. -Dan Hearn
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If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't going fast enough. Loic Bruni finds the limit, then winds it back a notch for qualifying. -Dan Hearn
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Loris Vergier. 3rd-fastest Frenchman and 5th-place qualifier. -Dan Hearn
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Finn Iles blazing a trail through the grassy top turns. Speeds were up to 75kph down here! -Dan Hearn
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Kiwi junior, Sam Gale, took 3rd in qualifying. -Dan Hearn
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