The French resort of Les Gets, a famous tourist destination for mountain bikers within the Portes du Soleil area, returned to host the most important event in the world of MTB after the memorable 2004 edition. The UCI DH World Championships 2022 provided spectacle to the public in France thanks to an extremely fast track, full of jumps and off cambers, interspersed with roots and on the whole made very challenging by the dry and dusty terrain.
And it was a super complex race, with the athletes who had to really give their all to conquer the top positions of the standings. Above all, Loïc Bruni dominated with a literally flawless run, despite a season affected by injuries.
The French athlete won his fifth world title right in front of the home crowd, at the head of an entirely French podium that made the French fans explode with joy. After Durango 1990, it is only the second time in the history of DH that three athletes from the same nation dominated a podium in a world championship held at home.
Silver medal for Amaury Pierron who pushed hard with incredible lines and worried Bruni but the performance of the World Cup leader was not enough to undermine his compatriot from the first step of the podium.
Loris Vergier completed the podium, also like Bruni recovering from a shoulder injury sustained during the last World Cup round in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Vergier really gave it his all and made no mistakes but he could do nothing against the perfect performance of his countryman and friend.
Fourth and fifth place respectively for Troy Brosnan and Laurie Greenland, both with an excellent run and deserving of a medal. A highly respectable 7th and 8th place for Dakotah Norton and Aaron Gwin respectively as the fastest Americans.
At just 20 years old, Valentina Höll wears her first elite rainbow jersey. With what was probably the most precise and cleanest run of her career, she attacked the French track showing extreme determination and a composed and competitive maturity that deservedly awarded her the title of 2022 world champion.
Nina Hoffmann came close to to her and with less than a second of a gap from the new world champion she puts the silver medal around her neck, proud of an aggressive run especially in the very fast sections where she particularly shone.
Understandably disappointed, the outgoing world champion Myriam Nicole failed to add to her collection a the third world title which, in front of the home crowd, would have had an even sweeter taste. Surely she is still happy with a bronze medal, despite an absolutely fluid and precise but not fast enough run.
Congratulations to Camille Balanche who, only 3 weeks after her collarbone injury, laid down an amazing run finishing in fourth place. Anna Newkirk was the fastest American woman in 14th place.
Jordan Williams’ consistency was finally rewarded and, thanks to the fall that relegated the talented outgoing world champion Jackson Goldstone to 14th position, the Briton won first place in the most important race of the season, wearing the junior rainbow jersey with the gold medal around his neck.
Second position for the Australian Remy Meier-Smith while the bronze medal is Italian Davide Cappello, with a splendid performance, constantly growing faster in his last season as a junior.
The junior world champion rainbow jersey is worn by kiwi Jenna Hastings who blows the gold medal to World Cup leader Gracey Hemstreet, second and silver medal.
Excellent race from Colombian Valentina Roa Sanchez who won a bronze medal, while the outgoing world champion Izabela Yankova was unable to defend the title due to a crash that did not allow her to finish the race.
Charts
World DH is back on track next week with the final round of the 2022 UCI DH World Cup season which will take place in Val di Sole.
