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Fantasy Form Guide: Pinkbike’s Predictions for the Les Gets DH World Cup 2024 – Pinkbike
As riders check out the slippery course in Les Gets for this weekend’s racing, we have looked through the data to give our best guesses as to who will be the ones to watch at the fifth round of the 2024 Downhill World Cup series. Before the riders get into the race for points, here are our thoughts on who could be in the running for a top result in finals.
Who Was Fast In Val di Sole?
Riders battled slick conditions with some incredible runs coming together for the fourth round of the 2024 World Cup series at the iconic venue of Val di Sole.
In the first of two comeback wins in Val di Sole, Tahnee Seagrave returned to the top of the podium after putting at least 1.8 seconds into every rider in the first two splits. Seagrave was dominant in the upper part of the course, pulling a gap against the elite women’s field that was unmatched despite the best efforts of her rivals. Marine Cabirou found herself in 2nd place, 0.32 back. Monika Hrastnik crossed the line third, 0.941 off the pace.
Closing out the weekend’s downhill racing in Italy, we witnessed another vintage Amaury Pierron run as he laid down his signature all-or-nothing run to blow apart the top men’s race time with a lead of 4.893 seconds against Dakotah Norton. After Norton’s run had looked all but unbeatable, Pierron proved why he has so many historic wins with a masterclass on the black snake. Finn Iles continues his strong form in 2024 with another top-three finish.
Elite Women
1st. Tahnee Seagrave: 4:31.471
2nd. Marine Cabirou: 4:31.791 / +0.320
3rd. Monika Hrastnik: 4:32.412 / +0.941
4th. Myriam Nicole: 4:35.427 / +3.956
5th. Vali Höll: 4:38.192 / +6.721
Elite Men
1st. Amaury Pierron: 3:39.004
2nd. Dakotah Norton: 3:43.897 / +4.893
3rd. Finn Iles: 3:44.884 / +5.880
4th. Troy Brosnan: 3:45.635 / +6.631
5th. Loic Bruni: 3:47.240 / +8.236
Full elite results, here.
Who’s Fast in 2024?
After starting the season in Fort William at the start of May, we are in the second half of the Downhill World Cup season with the racing in Les Gets the fifth of seven rounds in 2024. The 2024 season has seen some incredible racing moments with dominant performances by Vali Höll and Loic Bruni alongside some wild rides, as perfectly demonstrated by Amaury Pierron’s near five-second win in Val di Sole.
When looking at the women’s racing after four rounds, three riders have started 2024 with some big performances. Firstly, Vali Höll, who leads the overall standings and has taken two wins from four rounds of racing. Höll remains unrivalled on a good day. Höll has seen some struggles as crashes and illness saw her go sixth at round two and fifth in the last round in Italy. Tahnee Seagrave has been a near-constant podium threat in 2024, as outside of a crash in Leogang has always been in the top five, even taking the win in Val di Sole. Finally, there is Marine Cabirou, who has always been in the top six and took the round two victory in Poland.
The men’s racing has seen one dominant force in 2024 as Loic Bruni has yet to drop off the podium while securing two wins from the opening four rounds. Bruni’s teammate Finn Iles has also seen some great successes as apart from a 12th-place in Poland has placed either third or second. The big question heading into the first French round will be whether Loris Vergier can fight back from a slower start to 2024 and if Amaury Pierron can follow up his masterclass from Val di Sole.
Round 1 – Fort William
Elite Women
1st. Vali Höll: 4:41.424
2nd. Nina Hoffmann: 4:41.985 / +0.561
3rd. Tahnee Seagrave: 4:43.255 / +1.831
4th. Camille Balanche: 4:45.381 / +3.957
5th. Gloria Scarsi: 4:48.651 / +7.227
Elite Men
1st. Loic Bruni: 4:04.264
2nd. Troy Brosnan: 4:06.104 / +1.840
3rd. Finn Iles: 4:06.253 / +1.989
4th. Dakotah Norton: 4:07.353 / +3.089
5th. Luca Shaw: 4:07.943 / +3.679
Round 2 – Bielsko-Biala
Elite Women
1st. Marine Cabirou: 3:26.643
2nd. Camille Balanche: 3:27.831 / +1.188
3rd. Nina Hoffmann: 3:28.323 / +1.680
4th. Jess Blewitt: 3:29.068 / +2.425
5th. Tahnee Seagrave: 3:29.890 / +3.247
Elite Men
1st. Ronan Dunne: 2:55.766
2nd. Loic Bruni: 2:55.830 / +0.064
3rd. Loris Vergier: 2:56.963 / +1.197
4th. Benoit Coulanges: 2:57.326 / +1.560
5th. Amaury Pierron: 2:57.596 / +1.830
Round 3 – Leogang
Elite Women
1st. Vali Höll: 3:40.141
2nd. Anna Newkirk: 3:47.243 / +7.102
3rd. Myriam Nicole: 3:47.980 / +7.839
4th. Lisa Baumann: 3:48.087 / +7.946
5th. Marine Cabirou: 3:49.848 / +9.707
Elite Men
1st. Loic Bruni: 3:05.523
2nd. Finn Iles: 3:07.917 / +2.394
3rd. Lachlan Stevens-Mcnab: 3:08.638 / +3.115
4th. Oisin O’Callaghan: 3:08.757 / +3.234
5th. Benoit Coulanges: 3:08.784 / +3.261
Round 4 – Val di Sole
Elite Women
1st. Tahnee Seagrave: 4:31.471
2nd. Marine Cabirou: 4:31.791 / +0.320
3rd. Monika Hrastnik: 4:32.412 / +0.941
4th. Myriam Nicole: 4:35.427 / +3.956
5th. Vali Höll: 4:38.192 / +6.721
Elite Men
1st. Amaury Pierron: 3:39.004
2nd. Dakotah Norton: 3:43.897 / +4.893
3rd. Finn Iles: 3:44.884 / +5.880
4th. Troy Brosnan: 3:45.635 / +6.631
5th. Loic Bruni: 3:47.240 / +8.236
After a tough week battling illness and even a few crashes in Val di Sole, Vali Höll remained the fastest rider this season. Following four rounds of racing, Höll still leads the combined season times with a gap of seven seconds back to Marine Cabirou. A winning run from Tahnee Seagrave put her back in third place, with Anna Newkirk the only other elite woman to complete every qualifying, semi-final and finals run of the season.
The elite men’s combined season time rankings are getting closer as while Loic Bruni maintains his lead from the start of the season Troy Brosnan is just 5.54 seconds back. After an incredible week in Val di Sole, Amaury Pierron is rapidly closing in on Bruni as he rockets into third, 9.56 back.
2024 Season Stats
Fantasy League Rider Spotlight
Ahead of this weekend’s racing in France, we have looked through the points in the Fantasy League to highlight some of the lower-priced riders who picked up great results from the first three rounds of the 2024 season.
Lisa Baumann
After missing out on finals in the opening two rounds, Lisa Baumann has seen great success in Leogang and Val di Sole. After finishing fourth in the slippery carnage at Leogang and then going tenth in Italy, Baumann could be a great pick for this weekend’s racing. Especially, as we are predicting some precipitation to make the greasy track even more challenging for finals. Not only is Baumann on a string of great results, but she is priced at $118,631, making her a good choice to fill out your team if you have some leftover budget.
Luke Meier-Smith
Another potential good pick for this weekend’s racing is Luke Meier-Smith, who is hot off second place at last weekend’s Enduro World Cup racing. After finding some near-race-winning form last weekend, the multi-discipline talent could be a strong pick for Les Gets, especially as he costs just $35,000 for round five.
Elite Women’s Picks
Vali Höll
After taking two wins so far this year and after a strong showing before a finals run crash at Les Gets last year, it’s tough to bet against Val Höll. It definitely won’t be easy, but we think the World Champ will be back on top of the podium once again as she looks to build momentum into her defence of the rainbow stripe at the end of August.
Marine Cabirou
Last year’s Les Gets winner, Marine Cabirou, has already shown she can go fastest in 2024 and with the chance for a win on home soil, she will be pushing even harder this weekend. With a tight overall standings battle against Tahnee Seagrave for 2nd place, Cabirou will need the extra points from a top result to push her ahead with just two rounds left after this weekend.
Elite Men’s Picks
Amaury Pierron
With a history of legendary performances in Les Gets and following his ride in Val di Sole, Amaury Pierron is the rider to beat. Can Pierron match the raw speed he found here back in 2019?
Benoit Coulanges
After securing his first win in Les Gets last year, Benoit Coulanges has struggled to show the same level of ferocious speed. With a return to the track where he celebrated his huge success last year, we think Coulanges will be tough to beat, as he mastered the track in 2023 to beat Andreas Kolb to the line by 0.160 seconds.
Wildcard Picks
While we have made our main predictions for potential winners above, there were other riders we need to mention as potential top performers for the fifth round this weekend.
Dakotah Norton
After coming close multiple times this year, will Les Gets finally see Dakotah Norton take a World Cup win? Norton almost tasted victory in Val di Sole before Amaury Pierron’s wild winning run ended a hot seat streak of over an hour in finals.
Monika Hrastnik
If one rider has shown they have the Les Gets track figured out, it’s Monika Hrastnik. Since 2021, Hrastnik has not dropped outside the top five, with her best results being second place at last year’s World Cup round in Les Gets. Following a third place in Val di Sole, Hrastnik has already proved she has the podium pace and will be a threat for a top result on Saturday.
Who Do You Think Will Win?
We shared our thoughts and picks for this weekend, but who do you think will be on the top of the podium?
Fantasy League Stats
After four rounds of racing, we have compiled some stats ahead of the team editing window closing before qualifying tomorrow.
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