5 Things You Need To Know: World Cup DH 2015, Val di Sole

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1. THE VENUE

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Val di Sole is a valley situated in the Trentino province of north eastern Italy, a region steeped in history. The area was inhabited by hunters and farmers in the Stone Age, and then conquered by the Romans in 15 BC. Close by is the Brenner Pass, which throughout history has been a coveted route for emperors, kings, generals and more recently Nazi soldiers in WWII, due to its low elevation as a route through the Alps.

Nestled in the foothills of the Brenta Dolomites adjacent to the Rhaetian Alps, the region is a lot more peaceful these days and is one of the wealthiest areas in all of Italy. In between the ancient forts, churches and hamlets, there are plenty of vineyards, farms and olive groves to be found. Higher in the mountain range, the region's forestry business is constantly busy and in the winter months the area's lift-assisted resorts are a constant draw for skiers and snowboarders due to regular heavy snowfalls.

The Val di Sole World Cup is actually hosted in the municipality of Commezzadura, which makes up several towns along the valley floor. The name roughly translates to 'land given to colonists with half the product going to the owners' and was first mentioned in records dating to 1213. The population of just under 1,000 have access to the main chairlift in the small village of Daolasa, which takes you from 850 metres to over 2000 metres in a matter of minutes.

Daolosa has its own railway station, and the train is probably the best way to get to the venue during the World Cup as Commezzadura is closed to vehicular traffic for the weekend. The nearest airport is in Verona, 160km away, or further afield, Milian (300km).

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2. THE TRACK

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The track at Val di Sole is infamous for being one of the most technically demanding in the world. It will be a fitting scene as riders battle it out for the final few valuable points remaining from the 2015 season. It’s also a final preparation for those outside the World Cup 'overall' bubble to train and hone their skills before the UCI World Championships in Andorra in two weekend’s time.

After a year’s break from being a World Cup venue, the resort has updated the 'Black Snake' track. The updated track was tested at last year's iXS European Cup race, and it managed to hold up despite the rain. The track is 2.2km/1.24 miles in length, and the top of the track is where the updates stand out the most. The trail crew have made the track 300 metres longer, with it now starting closer to the lift station.

Out of the gate, riders are flat-out across an open section and then have to shoot off a road gap and into the woods, where the old course used to start. The renowned technical nature of the track in the woods has also been refreshed, with a scattering of new sections added to keep things different and additional wooden features added to give riders a bit of relief before they're ping-ponged over the big roots and rocks.




Next year, Val di Sole will host the 2016 UCI World Championships from 7th to 11th September. Until then, will this legendary track - a favourite of many because there isn't much pedalling required to get up to full speed - create a wild enough atmosphere to get the peoples' favourite, Sam Hill, back on form? Val di Sole is certainly going to be an apt warm-up for the wild Vallnord track next month.

Jump on-board with Bryn Dickerson, at Val di Sole for the third round of the iXS European Cup from 2014.

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3. THE WEATHER

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It’s been a long, hot summer in mainland Europe and the Trentino region has had unusually high temperatures lately. As if the weather gods knew the World Cup was coming to town, the rain began to fall this week, hopefully helping the track to breathe a little.

With rain forecast for Wednesday, clearer skies and warmth returns for the rest of the week, with temperatures increasing from 24°C on Thursday, to 26°C on Saturday in town. At the mid-station, it will be a chillier 13°C on Thursday for practice, 14°C on Friday for qualifying, and 16°C for the finals on Saturday, with only be a light south-easterly wind forecast. However, and that’s a BIG however, there are threats of spot-thunderstorms in the area up until the weekend.

Currently the track is damp thanks to the rain, which is getting a few people worried.

could somebody dry up the track for my @gopro run at @valdisoletrentino PLEASE!

A photo posted by Claudio Caluori (@claudiocaluori) on Aug 19, 2015 at 1:37am PDT

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4. THE VANQUISHED

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Back in 2013 when the last World Cup was held in Val di Sole, GT Factory Racing's Taylor Vernon took one of the hardest slams we had seen for a while. Taylor attacked the track, but the track bit back. Vernon was back on his bike soon enough, but step forward three weeks and he was in the same situation but worse, after crashing and breaking his back in Crankworx Les 2 Alpes.



Crashing is easy in Val di Sole. The track is wild and takes no prisoners, as Vernon quickly learned. Other riders, like former Madison Saracen Factory Team rider, Harry Molloy, also learned the hard way.


Who of course, can ever forget Sam Hill's monumental skin-suited run from the 2008 World Champs? He had the finish line in sight, and after being rapidly fast through the woods, he wiped out on the big left-handed corner in front of the massed ranks of spectators and media. For those who may have been living under a rock, or for those new to the sport, Hill managed to pick up his bike and still crossed the line in third place.


As for those who survived to make it to the bottom, it was so close but yet so far for Danny Hart back in 2011, when he almost took the win. Try as he might, he was unable to set the pace that would secure him the top step. His efforts were undone by the wizard of downhill, Aaron Gwin, who crossed the line 1.232 seconds up from the Redcar Rocket. Hart's run is still worth watching though, not only to remind ourselves how wild the track is but also how wild Rob Warner's commentary used to be!

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5. THE VICTORS

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Gee Atherton and Aaron Gwin have been the dominant forces at the track, but the rider with the most victories is Rachel Atherton. With three Val di Sole wins under her belt in 2008, 2012 and 2013, and given her current form and with the 2015 overall win already in the bag, could we see yet another victory?



Josh Bryceland won his first ever World Championship here in 2008 as a Junior, so will certainly have some fond memories from Val di Sole. Ratboy's time that year would have placed him 10th in Elite Men...not bad for a kid who six weeks earlier had been laid up in a Slovenian hospital after doctors had said his season was over.


Keeping with the young-gun theme, Troy Brosnan, only one year into signing his deal with Specialized Racing, was a Junior racer back in 2011. He was out to make his mark against his elder competitors and stormed down the track to finish in fourth place. The crowd went wild...and so did Rob Warner.



Aaron Gwin's win in 2012 showed his peers who was boss. With a winning margin of just under eight seconds, the crowd went crazy as he crossed the line. This year, everything is down to the wire, with Greg Minnaar and Löic Bruni hot on his heels for any points they can muster to climb above Gwin's points tally. It's sure going to be a thrilling series finale come Saturday. In the meantime, here's Gwin's winning run from three years ago.



HISTORICAL ELITE MEN RESULTS FROM VAL DI SOLE

DATE	EVENT	WINNER	WINNING TIME	WINNING MARGIN
2008	UCI World Championship	Gee ATHERTON	3:12.12	2.620s
2010	UCI World Cup	Marc BEAUMONT	3:17.85	1.400s
2011	UCI World Cup	Aaron GWIN	3:10.36	1.232s
2012	UCI World Cup	Aaron GWIN	3:10.58	7.850s
2013	UCI World Cup	Gee ATHERTON	3:12.19	1.001s

HISTORICAL ELITE WOMEN RESULTS FROM VAL DI SOLE

DATE	EVENT	WINNER	WINNING TIME	WINNING MARGIN
2008	UCI World Championship	Rachel ATHERTON	3:49.92	11.990s
2010	UCI World Cup	Emmeline RAGOT	3:59.75	2.400s
2011	UCI World Cup	Myriam NICOLE	3:52.23	0.809s
2012	UCI World Cup	Rachel ATHERTON	3:49.44	4.485s
2013	UCI World Cup	Rachel ATHERTON	3:43.81	5.235s

HISTORICAL JUNIOR MEN RESULTS FROM VAL DI SOLE

DATE	EVENT	WINNER	WINNING TIME	WINNING MARGIN
2008	UCI World Championship	Josh BRYCELAND	3:23.55	7.510s
2010	UCI World Cup	Lewis BUCHANAN	3:26.490	No data
2011	UCI World Cup	Troy BROSNAN	3:15.773	No data
2012	UCI World Cup	Loic BRUNI	3:22.494	No data
2013	UCI World Cup	Dean LUCAS	3:24.63	0.160s

HISTORICAL JUNIOR WOMEN RESULTS FROM VAL DI SOLE

DATE	EVENT	WINNER	WINNING TIME	WINNING MARGIN
2008	UCI World Championship	Anais PAJOT	4:17.710	5.730s
2010	UCI World Cup	Manon CARPENTER	4:25.120	No data
2011	UCI World Cup	Manon CARPENTER	4:11.240	No data
2012	UCI World Cup	No rider	No data	No data
2013	UCI World Cup	Fiona OURDOUILLIE	4:30.114	No data

Note: The Junior Men and Junior Women categories received wider recognition from the UCI in 2013. More information here.

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Stay tuned to Pinkbike for all the news from Val di Sole this weekend, and don’t forget to keep up to date with the live timing from qualifications and finals on the site from the following times:

FRIDAY - QUALIFICATIONS
12:30 CEST - Junior Men
13:30 CEST - Elite Women
14:00 CEST - Elite Men

SATURDAY - FINALS
12:30 CEST - Junior Men
13:15 CEST - Elite Women
14:00 CEST - Elite Men

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MENTIONS: @shimano / @geebeebee / @natedh9 / @meagerdude / @iXSsports / @Laurence-CE

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