ANYTHING GOES! Vallnord, Andorra World Cup DH Race Slideshow

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Intro Text

The Vallnord, Andorra, World Cup Downhill basically left the entire competitive field in ruins. Nearly every rider had some kind of significant crash, some riders more than once. Nina Hoffman finished her race without a shoe, Troy Brosnan almost collapsed at the finish line, Junior Men's leader, Thibaut Daprela, was on pace for an Elite Men's podium run before detonating in the dust, ending up in a neck brace; the list goes on. Thankfully three survivors of the weekend (even if just barely) include Sven Martin, @maddogboris and Dan Hearn to bring us the action, emotion and insight from an exhausting weekend down the steeps of Andorra. Don't get too relaxed because Les Gets World Cup DH is just a few days away.

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What a race! The fans went crazy when Loic arrived in the finish area. @maddogboris
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That's that. The clock has barely stopped, Loic first checks to see who's on the hotseat then back at the time while the media storm the course. -Sven Martin
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A champion is always prepared. Goggles on for Loic. -Sven Martin
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Rachel Atherton sending it into the finish arena. @maddogboris
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Green all the way for Rachel, riding smart. Pushing just enough but not making any mistakes like she did last year and a few of the other contenders did today. -Sven Martin
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Redemption for Rachel after the last World Cup and last year here. -Sven Martin
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It never gets old. -Sven Martin
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Matteo Iniguez's wild riding has always stood out in the juniors but today he made the numbers work too. First place for the Frenchie. -Dan Hearn
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Vali back to her big winning margins. 12 seconds today. -Sven Martin
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Vali Holl right on the limit and somehow finding grip in the foot-deep powder. -Dan Hearn
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This had us double-taking at our photos after Nina Hoffmann had passed! A crash meant her foot slipped out of her shoe but she decided to finish her run to retain as many points as possible, holding onto 4th in the overall. -Dan Hearn
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We can´t wait to watch Nina Hoffmann's race run again. Pretty impressive to ride down the steepest track of the season in your socks. @maddogboris
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The Denim Destroyer, Johannes Von Klebelsberg, potentially feeling the downsides to non-breathable pants right now! A fantastic ride from the Italian and a personal best result of 14th. No Les Gets for him this weekend because he has to work. -Dan Hearn
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Johannes Von Klebelsberg he sold us beers in Val Di Sole a few years ago! He might have to get used to the media coverage if he is aiming to get more Top 20 results! -Dan Hearn
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Loris' run seemed unbeatable, smashing the riders before him by seconds. @maddogboris
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Loris looked like he had it. Taking such a big chunk of time off the hot seat. He was happy with the result but not his run. He said he made a few mistakes along the way which cost him. -Sven Martin
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"Look son, this is how you spray the champagne properly." - Coach Peaty @maddogboris
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Marine Cabirou has looked on form all week and goes into Les Gets with a 2nd place under her belt. -Dan Hearn
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Second place but throwing away a possible win for Marine. -Sven Martin
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Lucas Cruz on his way to his first World Cup podium! Second place for the Canadian. @maddogboris
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Anna Newkirk finished 12 seconds behind Vali with the second fastest time in the women's junior category. @maddogboris
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Moments after crossing the line Troy was bent double over his bike and took a while to recover from his run. Lots of riders were saying this was one of the hardest runs of their lives. -Dan Hearn
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Troy Brosnan managed to finish 3rd after a hard crash in training. For a moment it looked like he would collapse in the finish area. @maddogboris
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Tracey Hannah had an pretty good run..until she crashed at the very bottom of the track. She still finished third! @maddogboris
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Tracey boosting through the last corner of Andorra. @maddogboris
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Third spot for Mille Johnset for the fourth time this year! -Dan Hearn
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And your Junior Men podium. Lucas Cruz, Matteo Iniguez and Patrick Laffey. @maddogboris
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Your junior women podium from Andorra! Anna Newkirk, Vali Höll and Mille Johnset @maddogboris
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Amaury was able to scrub this as fast as a few others jumped it. -Sven Martin
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Emilie Siegenthaler takes her first podium this year in 4th place. -Dan Hearn
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Emilie stoked to be back on the podium again today and on such a worthy track. -Sven Martin
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Nelson, New Zealand's Sam Gale finishes fourth in juniors, just 0.6 off the podium. -Sven Martin
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Fifth place finisher Danny Hart, always on the edge. @maddogboris
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Danny Hart. Always right there. Yet another podium for Hart. -Sven Martin
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Farina Eleonora with 5th in finals. @maddogboris
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Canadian junior Patrick Laffey took third place for the second time this year. -Dan Hearn
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Thibaut's splits would have had him top four elite men's. A crash would end the dream run but he's okay for next weeks racing and holds on to the leaders jersey. -Sven Martin
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Remi Thirion takes 8th spot, his best result this year. He sat on the hot seat for a long time and enjoyed every moment! -Dan Hearn
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Good to see Jack back at the sharp end of the field. 10th. -Sven Martin
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The Bulldog lived up to his name in his run today. Attacking and wild all the way down. What a sight to see. -Sven Martin
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Thomas Estaque was definitely up there for scrub of the day. 12th place in finals. -Dan Hearn
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David Trummer was perhaps the biggest "surprise result" with his seventh place. Great to see steep technical tracks bring out a few different riders to the front of the standings. -Sven Martin
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Greg loves a big gap or two. I think its great when less than 10% of the field are brave enough to try something. Tracks need more of this. -Sven Martin
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The track has been open for 6 minutes and first rider is about to roll though in practice. -Sven Martin
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Finn's week didn't go as planned. It started with a missed flight and ended with a crash in qualifying and a flat in final. Other than that though his riding was on another level. -Sven Martin
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Veronika Widmann was on track for podium time when she blew one of the last turns and went straight into a gaggle of photographers. -Sven Martin
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What could have been! -Sven Martin
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Sam Blenkinsop jumping out of the night. #DOD. -Sven Martin
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Loic checking how close the times are going to be. Also good thing he runs a 27.5 rear wheel and not a 29" -Sven Martin
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Another one who couldn't resist scrubbing down the last drop...Mark Wallace. @maddogboris
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Yes LOLO! Andorra is his 3rd Elite Men World Cup win this season. That means he had more wins this year than in all his other elite years before. @maddogboris
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Jamie Edmondson taking a nap in the dust. @maddogboris
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We didn't see too many scrubs this year...not sure if it's because of the different shape of the drop or the chicken wire on it. Greg Williamson obviously didn't care either way. @maddogboris
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Matt Simmonds through the Andorran dust. Unfortunately he had a rear flat in his race run. @maddogboris
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Wheelie Saturday delivered by Brook Macdonald. @maddogboris
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Another race weekend in the bin for Aaron Gwin. He crashed in his last training run before finals and hurt his shoulder. Fingers crossed he'll be back in action in Les Gets. @maddogboris
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Typical World Cup podium champagne battle! @maddogboris
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Flo Payet is one of the biggest senders in the World Cup, super friendly and laid back but not afraid to hit the biggest of gaps. He was also the only one to order the Whopper combo with fries, slotting straight into the Remi Wallride after landing this. -Sven Martin
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Oh duuuude! Thomas Estaque is one of a kind. Stay rad! @maddogboris
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Laurie Greenland takes a 9th place finish away from Andorra in typical loose style. -Dan Hearn
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Lots of line-crossing techniques deployed today but Troy went for the classic SuperThrust. -Dan Hearn
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A crash not shown on the live feed put an end to the storming run Bernard Kerr was laying down. -Dan Hearn
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Alex Marin, almost a Vallnord local from Barcelona, using all available turbo boost to cross the line. -Dan Hearn
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Another rider that fell victim to the Andorran dust bowl, Alexandre Fayolle. -Dan Hearn
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Bobble Head Boris signing out from Andorra. -Dan Hearn
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The Commencal team get extra loud cheers from the crowd, Remi Thirion soaks it all up! -Dan Hearn
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The moment Rachel realized she won! Well deserved. @maddogboris
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French love - Loris and Amaury bombard Loic before he can even take a second to absorb what has happened. -Dan Hearn
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Loic takes the World Cup overall lead to match his World Champs jersey. This man is the complete package! -Dan Hearn
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P1 for Loic Bruni. -Dan Hearn
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An already big Commencal team grew even vaster for the overall team podium given we are at the home of the company. -Dan Hearn
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Cedric Gracia is never too far from the celebrations! -Dan Hearn
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I think its time Dan, Boris and myself learn some proper French to keep up with the sport's current top performers. A good end to a great weekend. -Sven Martin - <b>MERCI TO YOU ALL FOR THE HARD WORK AND EPIC STORIES!</b>
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