Local hero Vali Höll arrives at her home World Cup as the clear overall leader. The reigning Downhill World Champion dominated the second World Cup round of the season in Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France, last weekend, claiming her second consecutive victory. Finishing more than three seconds ahead of Canadian rider Gracey Hemstreet, the four-time overall Downhill World Cup winner once again demonstrated why she remains the benchmark in the sport.
Fellow Austrian Andreas Kolb also delivered a strong performance in Loudenvielle. The Styrian rider secured seventh place, marking his second consecutive top-10 finish and confirming his strong form ahead of the home event.
Austria even celebrated a one-two finish in the Junior Women’s Downhill race. Rosa Zierl claimed victory after a dramatic finale, edging out compatriot Lina Frener by the narrowest of margins. Zierl crossed the line just 0.017 seconds ahead of Frener in one of the closest finishes of the weekend.
In Cross-Country, Laura Stigger had already made a major statement at the World Cup in Nové Město the previous week. The Tyrolean rider secured a commanding victory in the Olympic Cross-Country race ahead of Jenny Rissveds and Sina Frei. Having already finished second in the Short Track race the day before, Stigger capped off an outstanding World Cup weekend.
Katrin Embacher also impressed in Nové Město, celebrating her first-ever U23 World Cup victory. Another strong Austrian result came from Max Foidl, who finished eighth in the Elite Men’s race, achieving the best World Cup result of his career in a race won by Tom Pidcock.
Austria’s young talents continued to shine as well. Michael Hettegger finished second in the UCI Junior Series race in Nové Město, while Michael Ortner rounded out the strong Austrian showing with a fifth-place finish.
Meanwhile, Mona Mitterwallner returned to winning ways just in time for Leogang. The rider from Silz claimed victory in the C1 race at the International Raiffeisen Austria Grand Prix in Windhaag last weekend. Following challenging World Cup rounds in South Korea and Nové Město, the win in Upper Austria was particularly important in securing valuable UCI points for her starting position at the home World Cup.
Austria’s success in Windhaag extended beyond Mitterwallner, with additional category victories claimed by Simon Hihn, Anja Pink, and Mario Bair.
With Austria’s riders enjoying outstanding form across both Downhill and Cross-Country disciplines, Saalfelden Leogang can look forward to world-class racing and strong home representation from 11–14 June at one of the highlights of the mountain bike season.
