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The Valley of the Sun lived up to it's name today in Italy as the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Val di Sole came to a close. By day's end, there were four first-time winners in the four competing classes - a World Cup first on its own. Laurie Greenland, Marine Cabirou, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene and Mille Johnset stepped to the top of the podium after a grueling and tortuous day of competition. Sven Martin, @maddogboris (who's already on a plane to Whistler for the EWS) and Dan Hearn document an incredible day.
Grit and determination, speed tucks with style. Laurie storms into the final straight and finish nearly three seconds faster than Loic Bruni to take his first-ever World Cup Downhill win. -Sven Martin
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If ever there was a track for Laurie to have the run of his life, this was it. #whereswaldo is back! -Dan Hearn
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Laurie Greenland finally got the win that has been within his grasp for a couple of years now. Every winner today was a first-time World Cup winner which has never happened before. #DOD -Sven Martin
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Yeow Laurie! @maddogboris
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A quick phone call to Dad just after the flower ceremony had Laurie welling up. His dad has been supporting him his whole career, even to the point of recommending lines on the VDS track years ago that Laurie raced on today. -Dan Hearn
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Marine with more commitment and speed, smashed the women's field with a margin we've only seen Rachel Atherton pull out. Well done on your first win...in style. @maddogboris
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High-speed whip into the finish area on a winning run with a massive margin for Marine Cabirou. -Sven Martin
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Last race it was winning team, this week it's winning bike. Well done Marine and Scott. -Sven Martin
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Tuhoto-Ariki Pene has had a World Cup win on his radar but surprised a few with his pace and commitment in finals, storming his way into first place. Congrats! -Dan Hearn
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Two Kiwi's catching up. Sven interviews Tuhoto. @maddogboris
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Mille Johnset uncorked a run today. Knowing she had to risk a lot and stay loose, she rode with confidence. It paid off with her first win in a very competitive Junior Women's field. -Sven Martin
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Mille also did one of the best whips on the tricky finish line jump to fade away. These Junior girls have what it takes. -Sven Martin
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Loic solidifies his overall lead. #1 plate, World Champs Jersey - everything is on track for Loic, but that doesn't mean he was satisfied with 2nd today. -Sven Martin
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There's nothing simple on this track. Even this corner has a flat squared-off exit with limited support and grip. -Dan Hearn
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Loic Bruni railing the infamous Sam Hill corner, taking 2nd on the day and retaining his leaders jersey. -Dan Hearn
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Tracey Hannah was excited for all the new winners in all the categories. She is ready to fight back in Lenzerheide. @maddogboris
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Zak Gomilscek launches into the finish hill and straight into Junior Men second place. What a ride, backing up his good qualifier yesterday. -Sven Martin
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The brutality of the Val Di Sole track tool its toll on Vali Holl who couldn't find her flow in finals. 2nd place for the Austrian. -Dan Hearn
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It's virtually impossible to have a clean run here, but Loris made fewer mistakes than most to take 3rd. -Dan Hearn
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Loris towing a black snake down the Black Snake in training. -Dan Hearn
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Camille Balanche took her well deserved first podium today. -Dan Hearn
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Camille Balanche's pits and hotel and chill zone all in one, tucked behind one of the big team trucks. Well done on your third today. -Sven Martin
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Kye stretching into third. @maddogboris
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A crash is where most off the time disappeared to in Anna Newkirk's run. @maddogboris
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All the lads. @maddogboris
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Not your normal tea party. Proseco all round! -Sven Martin
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Two fresh faces on the Junior Podium. Zak Gomilscek on the left in second joins Tuhoto-Ariki Pene in first. Kye a regular in third. All less than half a second apart. @maddogboris
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A special moment as the Norwegian National Anthem plays. @maddogboris
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Johannes always backs up his good qualifiers. He had some of the loudest cheers from the Italian crowd. Be sure to check out his standalone feature from yesterday. #denimdestroyer -Sven Martin
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Forrest Riesco backed up his top 5 qualifying spot with a 15th place in finals, smashing his previous best by several places. -Dan Hearn
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Emilie Siegenthaler onto another podium. Two Swiss riders in today's Women's top five. -Sven Martin
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Brook Macdonald wanted it bad, as the one of the fastest qualifiers in the worst conditions, he was the one to bet on. Unfortunately a crash up top kept him out of the the running. -Sven Martin
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Amaury throwing on the air brakes to slow down for the landing. He missed a few set-up lines and made one mistake in a run he wasn't particularly happy with. 4th place. -Sven Martin
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Sam Gale joins his Subway NZ teammate in the top 5 with a 4th place finish. Craig Prattle in audio. -Dan Hearn
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Veronika Widmann got the loudest cheers from the home crowd. Fifth place for the young Italian. #deathgrip -Sven Martin
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A big performance from Danny Hart who got a rear flat yet still pulled a podium out of the bag. Check the tire rolling on the Sam Hill corner! -Dan Hearn
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Davide Palazzari gives us a quick overview of his life as a racer while enjoying some classic Italian definitely-not-fake props. (Beer out of shot) -Dan Hearn
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David Trummer misses the podium by less than a 10th of a second. He will no doubt be on a lot of team's radars for next year, but does he care? @maddogboris
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This was the first race that Troy wasn't on the podium this year. A top 10 still isn't bad and he gained enough points to stay in 3rd place overall. -Dan Hearn
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Charlie Hatton equaled his career-best result of 11th at the same venue 2 years ago. -Dan Hearn
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Baptiste Pierron only 2.5 seconds off his brothers time for a top ten. Watch out Amaury! -Sven Martin
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Brook will be back on it next week again. -Sven Martin
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Remi Thirion had a great ride today, sending it deep off the fade-away and climbing 4 spots in the overall to 11th. -Dan Hearn
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Mike Jones making my day on my most challenging shot this week. Blind panning. -Sven Martin
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Grip levels returned to normal throughout the day causing some tactic changes; especially with tyres and suspension. -Dan Hearn
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SIK Mick. That is all. -Sven Martin
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Last man down. He can be proud of his riding this week. Joe Breeden closes out the day and Laurie can begin to celebrate. -Sven Martin
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Capacity crowd hanging about for the podium in the glorious sun. -Sven Martin
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Style master and sender, Flo Payet into the finish area and a top twenty. @maddogboris
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Nina Hoffman was on a good run before a massive crash took her and her front tire out. Here she is double-checking to make sure she wasn't holding up any other riders. Better luck in Lenzerheide. -Sven Martin
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The organization recognized the recent passing of Italian legend, Corrado Herin. We miss you. Thank you for everything you did for downhill in both Italy and the rest of the World. @maddogboris
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What could have been for Greg Minnaar. 7th place with a crash in his race run is a still a crazy result. -Dan Hearn
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Greg not only raced, but submitted this photoshop job at 3am this evening, applying for Squids on Tour 2020. Does it make the cut? -Dan Hearn
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Minnaar knows that media is the future and is trying out different roles for when he retires. @maddogboris
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Preaching, panning and puzzling. The Squids vs VDS. -Dan Hearn
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Nail-biting. Victory so close you can taste it. Smiles all around as the field and clock runs down. @maddogboris
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Lloydy's beers and Gee's beers. Oi Oi! -Sven Martin
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I'll be back. -Sven Martin
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The one minute Eliot Jackson wrap up brought to you by Speed Dealers Sunshades Industries. -Sven Martin
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Smiles for nearly everyone today! Emilie is on Pivot. So is Bernard in the audio. -Sven Martin
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The Specialized boys cut loose to support Loic's dad who was competing in the e-bike race which ran after the downhill. @maddogboris
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Sideways is forwards. Fayolle sends it after a crash. @maddogboris
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Reece Wilson styling it into another top twenty finish. 14th. @maddogboris
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A wise man once said, "Just pull up". -Dan Hearn
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Win number 1 for Marine Cabirou! This one will stick in the memory bank for a while. -Dan Hearn
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Flowers, showers and girl power. -Dan Hearn
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Crowd surfing for the victor. -Sven Martin
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The three musketeers joined by two Brits this time to make up the podium. -Sven Martin
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Some well-earned rehydration for Laurie Greenland. -Dan Hearn
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That's all. Thanks Italy! -Sven Martin
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Thank you Sven, Boris and Dan! What a weekend!
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