The 2017 Lourdes DH World Cup Gave us Some Surprises

Some new names made the podium at the first stop of the 2017 UCI Downhill World Cup in Lourdes, France. After torrential downpours and hurricane-force winds essentially destroyed the course midway through the men’s elite race, Alexandre Fayolle, Mark Wallace, and Marcelo Gutierrez stood atop the men’s podium. Current reigning champion Rachel Atherton, who is still undefeated since partway the 2015 season, won the women’s race, beating out Tracey Hannah and Tahnee Seagrave. She has now won 14 out of the last 15 World Cup Races (she placed second in the 2015 Lourdes race).

The big names and favorites, who dropped in last thanks to their faster qualifying times, were treated to some of the worst conditions ever seen in a World Cup race, and were forced to go into survival mode to simply get down the track. We will have to wait and see until the next race in Fort William on June 3-4 to see if Fayolle can hold his lead.