Thirion and Atherton win iXS Season Opener

The first race of the iXS European Downhill Cup is now history, dominated by bad weather on race-Sunday. After the final had to be cancelled, the results from the seeding run were used, with Remi Thirion and Rachel Atherton as winners at Monte Tamaro (SUI).

Video from Saturdays practice and Seeding:

As usual the year for the iXS races starts at Monte Tamaro in the Swiss Rivera. This year's course at Monte Tamaro was changed only slightly and is with a length of 2,5 k and a vertical drop of 640m still one of the longest ones in the series. But not only the topographical numbers make it a difficult course for the riders, the field of starters had some big names in it with a number of favourites for the podium. The field included 324 riders from 24 different countries.

After the weather conditions had been perfect for the official training on Friday and the seeding run on Saturday, things changed on Sunday as thick fog and rain made it impossible to secure the course. As a consequence the race had to be cancelled, as any attempts to rescue riders with the help of a helicopter would have been impossible. Therefore the results of the seeding run were declared as final results.

The podium in the elite men class was shared by three French riders. Remi Thirion (FRA - Labyrinth Shimano Racing) won the as Hors category classified race with a time of 4:43.245. He was 3 seconds faster than vice world champion Damien Spagnolo (FRA - MS Mondraker) and almost 7 seconds faster than Mickael Pascal (FRA - CK Racing Santacruz). Nick Beer (SUI - Devinci Global Racing) took place four in front of Bernat Guardia (ESP - Massi) and Ben Reid (IRL - Dirt Norco Race Team).

Rachel Atherton (GBR - GT Factory Racing) took the title in the women’s elite class, finishing almost 12 seconds in front of the current world champion Emmeline Ragot (FRA - MS Mondraker). The course seemed to suit her well, although she was making a (not so serious) comment that she wouldn’t have made the journey if she had known how long and demanding the course would be. Emilie Siegenthaler (SUI - Scott 11) finished third after she had already showed off her skills at the GoPro course check on Friday.

Loris Vergier (FRA - US Cagnes) dominated the U17 class and finished ahead of Marcus Hansson (SWE - Hanssonbil.se) and Loris Revelli (ITA - Argentina Bike). The fastest rider in the Masters category was Samuel Aklin (SUI - Bikegarage DH Team), followed by Christian Greub (SUI - Radbar Racing) as second and Heinz Hostettler (SUI - BanditBike.ch) as third.

So the season was off to an unplanned start, but the safety of the participants was more important, and due to their nature downhill races cannot be ridden inside, so the decision to cancel the final run is more than understandable. The next stop of the series is on 26/27 May in Leogang in Austria.

All other information can be found at ixsdownhillcup.com