QUALIFYING SLIDESHOW - Snowshoe World Cup Downhill - Mountain Biking Pictures

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Loic Bruni, second-fastest qualifier at the Snowshoe, West Virginia, World Cup Downhill calls it the "anti-flow" track. Long, slick rock sections with a mellow pitch suck momentum away with every mistake, and the best mountain bike racers in the world are struggling to figure it out. With the overall series championship on the line for the Elite classes, this is the perfect venue for an upset or mental domination. A flawless top-to-bottom run is required. The question is which rider will pull it off on race day. Sven, Boris and Dan drop the shots.

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Charlie Harrison was on it. 3rd place qualifier. His race run will be a freaking wild one! @maddogboris

This guy has some unique lines, is loving every second of the track, and is in front of his home crowd. That's a recipe for a top result in finals if ever I saw one! -Dan Hearn

Luca Shaw weaving through the woods. Four #USDH racers in the top ten today, something we haven't seen for a very long time. -Sven Martin

The track dried out quickly throughout the day, allowing the top guys to start pushing hard for the first time. 6th place in qualifying for Luca Shaw. -Dan Hearn

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Dakotah Norton in 7th!. @maddogboris

Bruce Klein has had a year of ups and downs. Strong and fast enough for good results but sometimes his own excitement gets the better of him. A repeat top ten tomorrow will be a good way to end the year. -Sven Martin

Yeah Bruce! 9th today in qualifying, making it 4 Americans in the top 10. -Dan Hearn

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Tracey Hannah with the fastest quali time! Over 2 seconds faster than Marine Cabirou. If Tracey keeps it up, the overall is hers. @maddogboris

Marine Cabirou just 2.5 seconds off the win she needs tomorrow to help with her chances of taking the overall series. -Sven Martin

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Danny Hart goes fastest today by a tiny margin. Conditions suit him just fine. -Sven Martin

Loic Bruni, 2nd, was just 0.250 seconds slower than Danny Hart in 1st. We are pretty sure that we will see a perfect last world cup finals. @maddogboris

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Loic Bruni threading the needle through the rocks with the same precision that earned him those stripes once again. -Dan Hearn

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Troy Brosnan in 4th with some mistakes in the bottom section. He knows what to do tomorrow! @maddogboris

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Yeah Kye! The rainbow jersey is looking good. The first-place qualifier went down in practice early this morning before finals. He broke his wrist and won't compete. #gutted @maddogboris

Myriam Nicole brought out the rainbow stripes with pride for the first time in her qualifying run. -Dan Hearn

Anna Newkirk will be pushing hard to take a second win of the season in front of a home crowd. #USDH -Dan Hearn

Danny Hart is hungry to finish the season with a win! @maddogboris

Almost 3 seconds up at the third split, Thibaut Daprela had a big crash in his run and ended up 6th. He already has the season wrapped up so will be going all out in the last race of the season. -Dan Hearn

Irony. -Sven Martin

'MEERRRICCAAAA @maddogboris

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Big beard, small bell. @maddogboris

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West Virgina, baby! @maddogboris

It's the last race of the season - a bit of 70% liquor can't hurt. Just got to remember it's finals day tomorrow... -Dan Hearn

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Some lines aren't as precise as others. -Sven Martin

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B group riders definitely had tougher conditions this morning for training. Those top grassy corners were slippery! -Dan Hearn

A white-out mist and a strong headwind made early practice tricky this morning. Tahnee, happy to let someone else, anyone else drop in ahead of her. -Sven Martin

We heard about a photog who couldn't find the Track because it was so foggy this morning. @maddogboris

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Matthew Sterling had a good run which places him in third today. #USDH. -Sven Martin

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Bernard Kerr not completely in the air for once. -Sven Martin

Greg Minnaar with the fastest first split dropped back a little bit after a few stalls in the lower woods. A track walk after qualifying should help him tidy up some lines. -Sven Martin

Myriam Nicole on her maiden run in her rainbow jersey. She is skipping a couple of big gaps and drops, still too risky with her foot not quite at 100% yet. She still slots into third. -Sven Martin

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Dante Silva has been looking good in training and backed it up with a 5th place qualifying result. -Dan Hearn

Crowd favourite Aaron Gwin giving 'er some in training. -Dan Hearn

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Joey Foresta seventh in junior mens. Carrying speed through these flattish rock gardens is key in this race -Sven Martin

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Vali with focus and aggression needed on this tricky track. -Sven Martin

Wyn Masters sneaks into the final spot in 60th position. Cutting it fine. -Sven Martin

Thomas Estaque on the exit of a quick, hard 90-degree quick turn with all the style. -Sven Martin

Greg Williamson with an impressive top five as he gets back up to speed after his mid-season concussion. -Sven Martin

Greg Williamson had a near death experience in his qualifying run but held it together and finished 5th. -Dan Hearn

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Being able to ride skinny rocks in rock gardens at high speeds will be a helpful skill to have here. -Sven Martin

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Rally brake into and red rocky clay berm. The hips and eyes say it all. -Sven Martin

Greg Williamson's mechanic Jesse getting things ready for racing in their improvised bus-stop pits. -Dan Hearn

Connor Fearon down the steeps into the void with West Virginia's finest soil. -Sven Martin

Max Hartenstern with his best elite qualifying result. He's super happy and hopes to follow it up with another top 20 tomorrow. -Sven Martin

Sam Blenkinsop making easy work of a blind, tricky trials DH move. -Sven Martin

Green and gold leaves of a changing season and a charging Aussie junior. Unfortunately, Kye went down in training before finals. Broken wrist and out of the race. -Sven Martin

Canadian Patrick Laffey got a bit wild in his qualifying run but held enough speed through here to take 4th spot. -Dan Hearn

Its muddy out there! @maddogboris

Emilie Siegenthaler with a rough qualifier into 8th place. She knows that she be can up on the podium tomorrow. @maddogboris

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Austrian, Andrea Kolb from Gamux Racing, seems to handle the difficult track pretty well. 10th place for him. @maddogboris

Laurie Greenland had a crash in quali and finished 77th Luckily he is protected and fingers crossed he is okay for the race. @maddogboris

Our buddy Francisco Pardal went down hard and ended his season. Still enough time to recover for the first World Cup in 2020 in his home country Portugal. @maddogboris

Get well soon bro. @maddogboris

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Big guy, Flo Payet, with a big drift in a big berm. @maddogboris

Sik Mick Hannah with 20th. Mik is a momentum-carrying boss. @maddogboris

Damn it. Matt Walker broke his hand in training! @maddogboris

Amaury Pierron just with a 15th due to a crash in his quali run. Thankfully this qualifying did not award points toward the overall. @maddogboris

Loris Vergier is still struggling with his injury. @maddogboris

Neko Mulally is so gutted not be able to race. @maddogboris

Early morning drifts delivered by Joe Foresta! @maddogboris

Swiss Team Project Junior, Janosch Klaus, with the second fastest time behind Kye A'Hern. @maddogboris

Vali and her mechanic Matt are friends and a brilliant team! @maddogboris

Veronika Widmann with 4th! @maddogboris

Thomas Estaque has been steadily rising back towards the top as the season has progressed. 37th in Qualifying gets him in the big show tomorrow. -Zach Faulkner

2/3 of the Trek Factory Racing Team. Charlie and Reece in the first wood section. @maddogboris

This root-to-berm gap is quite popular, but few nailed it as well as Laurie. Judging by the last couple of days training, he's definitely going to be a race-day favorite. -Dan Hearn

Rudy Cabirou popping through the light in the beautiful native forest. -Dan Hearn

Fast and low makes the show! Kirk McDowall kept it tidy on track, matching his previous best qualifying result of 11th at Val di Sole. -Zach Faulkner

Fog and sun can be a fun combo as a photographer. -Dan Hearn

There was already a good size crowd out for qualifying which will only grow bigger in finals. Dean Lucas has a few places to make up on his 17th place qualifier. -Dan Hearn