Bruni and Nicole are the Winners of Les 2 Alpes

The third race of the iXS European Dowhill Cup at the Crankworx Europe crowned Myriam Nicole and Loic Bruni as fastest out of 260 riders from 30 nations. We're looking back at an incredible weekend in Les Deux Alpes!

After last year's success, the iXS European Downhill Cup took us once again to beautiful Les Deux Alpes. As a part of the European version of the Crankworx Festival the race clearly was one of the season's highlights, calling for the best athletes of the scene. This was more than obvious already during registration, including some real big names that rather reminded of a World Cup race.

The track walk proved what everyone still seemed to remember: not only is it a rather long track, but it is also an extremely fast one with 700 meters of descending. The dry conditions added to the picture by providing nearly no grip at all, making it extremely hard to stay on the bike.

As usual, the training sessions were rather relaxed and there was more than enough time left to stroll around and enjoy the festival. Some of the riders even took part in some of the other competitions as well – and the festival had lots of those on offer. Thursday set the stage with the Whip-Offs, crowning Bernardo Cruz (BRA) and Casey Brown (CAN - Bergamont Hayes) as first winners of the weekend.

Friday started with downhill training and continued with some more action at the Dual Speed & Style and a pump track challenge, luring numerous visitors to the festival. At the Dual Speed & Style it was yet another downhill rider who took the title with Bernard Kerr (GBR - Pivot Factory Team), while Adrien Loron (FRA - Scott Velosolutions) and Anne Caro Chausson (FRA - Ibis) dominated at the pump track.

Saturday included some more training sessions before the first timed runs in qualifying began. Throughout the weekend, the overall conditions still seemed to have grown worse after hundreds of runs each day. It was either keeping your distance or breathing the dust of the rider in front. Fresh mountain air seemed to be replaced by a Sahara sandstorm and all that somehow reminded of racing in the mud of a very rainy weekend just without getting wet…

The qualifying was especially important for the Elite Men riders for whom it was the only chance to reach Sunday's Super Final. Wyn Masters (NZL - Team Bulls) was the fastest rider of the day, followed by Sam Blenkinsop (NZL - Norco) and Remi Thirion (FRA - Commencal). However, the track seemed to have taken its toll: Last year's winner Gee Atherton (GBR - GT Factory Team) was too fast and just disappeared in a huge cloud of sand and dust.

In the Elite Women category Tracey Hannah (AUS - Polygon UR) finished fastest with a 5-second gap towards Myriam Nicole (FRA - Commencal). The French champion is finally back in business after her injury and was eager to defend her title in Sunday's race. Finn Iles (CAN - Lapierre Gravity Republic) and Alex Marin (ESP - Giant Factory) finished fastest in their respective U17 and U19 categories, and would both have easily reached the Elite Men Super Final with their results.

On Sunday, the Masters once again opened the race: Mads Weidemann (DEN - madsweidemann.com) finished 7 second faster than Paolo Alleva (ITA - Scout/Nukeproof) and took the title. Jerome Crottaz (SUI - Cyclone DH Team) completed the podium in third.

Finn Iles once again pushed his speed after his success on Saturday and set the best time of the U17 with a 13-second lead. But after all he comes from Whistler, which is the birth place of the Crankworx Festival so it was not that much of a surprise. Kaos Seagrave (GBR - FMD Racing) ended up in second, followed by Andrea Bianciotto (ITA - Korax Lapierre Dirty Team) who still dominates the rankings after this weekend.

Loris Revelli (ITA - Argentina Bike) went fastest in the U19 category, followed by Alex Marin and Max Warshawsky (AUS - Bergamont Hayes).

The Elite Women Finals definitely were a highlight of the day guaranteeing maximum excitement. Anneke Beerten (NED - Specialized Racing) was the first one down the hill and had some time to relax in the Red Bull Hot Seat until Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI - Pivot Cycles) finished faster. When Casey Brown crossed the finish line, she did it with a ripped tricot and tape on her handle, making it impossible to reach the podium this time. After that, all eyes were on Nicole and Hannah. Myriam Nicole finished with a huge 8-second gap which set the bar high for Tracey Hannah. But Hannah was also extremely fast. When she crossed the finish line she only missed the title by split seconds, once again crowning Myriam Nicole the champ of Les Deux Alpes. Tracey Hannah went second, followed by Emilie Siegenthaler in third place. But even if Hannah did not win today, she still secured her lead in both the rankings of Crankworx Downhill and the iXS EDC.

After that, it was time for the Super Final! George Brannigan (NZL - Trek World Racing) opened the race, after having some problems on Saturday. But both Atherton and Brannigan still reached the Super Final due to their 'protected' status. However, Brannigan simply seemed to have a bad weekend: he came down hard again and had to leave the track without finishing his run. Gee Atherton already took the title three years in a row and finished with a time of 3:52.529 minutes, only slightly above Saturday's best time. While Atherton relaxed in the Red Bull Hot Seat, the others tried to take over the lead. Ferran Jorba (ESP - Intense Factory) really seemed to have a chance at first, but did not reach his time in the end. When Bernhard Kerr finally managed to beat Atherton's time, he didn't even have the time to celebrate when Guillaume Cauvin (FRA - Giant Factory Team) already finished even faster. Loic Bruni (FRA - Lapierre Gravity Republic) delivered one hell of a performance and set a new best time under the massive applause of the crowd with only 3:44.759 minutes and 5 seconds faster than Cauvin. The next rider, Remi Thirion, was also faster than Cauvin, but did not reach Bruni's result. Sam Blenkinsop placed himself immediately behind Thirion. Then, all eyes were on Wyn Masters, everyone was waiting, and… waiting. When he finally came into sight, a flat tire immediately gave an explanation. So in the end, Loic Bruni sealed the French double and now dominates the iXS EDC rankings, as well as the Crankworx Downhill rankings.

This weekend, the track has definitely taken its toll and pushed the riders to their limits. That was some real hard work in Les Deux Alpes. Now it's time to relax a bit until we all meet again at the next round of the European Cup in Spicak in August. For more information, visit www.ixsdownhillcup.com