Latin calmness at Canazei’s iXS European Downhill Cup

None of the participants knew what to expect from Canazei’s first showing as a race venue so getting accustomed to the conditions at hand was the first thing to do. The Latin calmness admittedly might have been unfamiliar for many starters, but generally it was a beautyful race. The course was a pretty raw high-speed track, adding to the motto of «release the brakes and give it a go». As with this racing serie’s first stop, the weather conditions were pretty unsettled. Right in time for Saturday’s lunch break, the rain set in. So many riders had to compete their seeding run on a wet track without having had the chance to practice under these tricky conditions. Andreas Sieber (GER – Solid A-Class Factory Team) handled the extremely slippery course best, winning the seeding run and thus securing himself the last starting spot on Sunday.

Conditions were changing on Sunday as well: The literally soaked soil was getting more and more dry so full attention and a healthy portion of riding skills were absolutely necessary in the technical sections. Marcel Beer (CH – iXS Sports Division) was the first serious contender for the victory to occupy the Red Bull Hot Seat, but shortly after he had to give way for Marco Bugnone (ITA – Ancillotti Team). The Italian’s time was only to be bested by Andreas Sieber (GER – Solid A-Class Factory Team) who rode to his first victory of this season posting a time of 3min26.

In the women’s race Scuol’s third-place finisher Harriet Rücknagel (GER – Team Zonenschein) stood up to her competitors, winning ahead of Silya Stadler (CH – RMC Kerns) and Miriam Ruchti (CH – Sport Promotion). After having won the seeding run, Sandra Rübesam (GER – Rad Art) had a crash in her final run and was out of contention for the victory.

The internationally well-cast Junior category race was won by Daniel Gottschall (GER – DH Youngstars), who managed to put more than five seconds on Dave Goris (BEL – Troy Lee Designs). The third place went to Justyn Norek (ITA – Racing Team Dayco ASD). Having also won the seeding run, his final time would have put Daniel Gottschall well within the elite’s top ten positions. In the Master’s category, Jörg Heydt (GER – Last) climbed to the top of the podium.