RACE DAY SLIDESHOW - Val di Sole World Cup Downhill 2019 - Mountain Biking Pictures

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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.

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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

If ever there was a track for Laurie to have the run of his life, this was it. #whereswaldo is back! -Dan Hearn

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

High-speed whip into the finish area on a winning run with a massive margin for Marine Cabirou. -Sven Martin

Last race it was winning team, this week it's winning bike. Well done Marine and Scott. -Sven Martin

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

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

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

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

It's virtually impossible to have a clean run here, but Loris made fewer mistakes than most to take 3rd. -Dan Hearn

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

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

A crash is where most off the time disappeared to in Anna Newkirk's run. @maddogboris

All the lads. @maddogboris

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

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

Emilie Siegenthaler onto another podium. Two Swiss riders in today's Women's top five. -Sven Martin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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